Things the Eye Can't See. Penny Joelson

long is it for this time?’ Gran’s disapproving tone is so obvious it makes me cross.

      ‘Five days, I think,’ I tell her. ‘But we’ll be fine. It’s important work that she’s doing. I’m proud of her, Gran. She’s trying to make a difference – to help to save this planet!’

      Mum’s an engineer, developing environmentally friendly alternatives to plastic, and she gets asked to speak all over the world.

      ‘Yes, but you and Joe are important too,’ Gran insists. ‘She should get her priorities straight. He needs help, that brother of yours – spending all his time stuck in that room with those reptiles. It can’t be healthy. And you’re doing well, Libby, but you’re only just getting used to having a guide dog. Your mum should be helping you.’

      I love Gran, but I’ve had enough of biting my tongue for one day. I stand up and push my chair back. ‘I’d better get on with my homework.’

      ‘Yes, I guess you had,’ says Gran, sighing. ‘But before you go – guess who I bumped into today?’

      ‘Who?’

      ‘Dominic!’ Gran exclaims. ‘Would you believe it – after all this time!’

      Gran goes to a Book Group at U3A (University of the Third Age – classes for old people) on Thursdays and had started getting friendly with a guy called Dominic. We teased her because she seemed to bring his name into every conversation for a while, though she insisted they were ‘just good friends’. But then he stopped coming, and they turned out not to be such ‘good friends’ because they hadn’t even exchanged contact details so she had no way of keeping in touch. I wondered secretly whether he’d stopped because he got fed up with Gran, though I know that was a mean thought. He wasn’t young, and it also seemed possible that he might have died.

      ‘So where’s he been?’ I asked.

      ‘In hospital, poor soul. He had a heart attack, but he’s doing fine now. He’ll be back at the group next week, he says. And he asked if I’d like to meet him for coffee tomorrow!’

      ‘Ooh, Gran! Did you say yes?’

      ‘’Course I did!’ Gran chuckles. Then she adds, ‘I’d like to see you finding yourself a nice fella – someone who’ll look after you.’

      ‘Gran!’ I exclaim. ‘I don’t want or need some boy to look after me! And I don’t want a boyfriend right now, anyway.’

      ‘Sorry, sweetheart – have I put my foot in it again?’ Gran says. ‘Of course, there’s no rush, you’re right. I was sixteen when I met your granddad though,’ she adds. ‘And it might be harder for you – to find someone who’ll be prepared to . . .’

      ‘Gran!’ I exclaim again before she can finish that sentence.

      I can hear Dad’s voice in my head saying, ‘I know she doesn’t always say the right things, but she means well, Libs. Her heart’s in the right place.’ But Gran really does go too far sometimes – and this is one of those times. I open my mouth to tell her how I feel, but then I close it again. Gran hurt my feelings, but hurting hers back won’t make it better.

      ‘I’m off upstairs,’ I tell her, and I go. Samson pads up the stairs behind me. I think he’s had enough of Gran too.

      I sit at my desk and open my BrailleNote – it’s a laptop which converts my work from Braille to print and vice versa. So I can type Braille and print out a text version for the teacher to mark. I can also convert online handouts into Braille. I used to prefer to enlarge everything or use a magnifier, but now I have to do so much reading and writing, I’ve got faster at Braille and it’s much quicker and less strain on my eyes.

      Samson curls up by my feet while I try to get on with my history homework – but my mind keeps slipping back to Charlie and the note. I wonder what it says, and I’m tempted once again to open it. But I’d have to go back downstairs to get it – and anyway, I promised. I wonder how I’m going to give it to Kyle without anyone else knowing. I wonder what kind of trouble Charlie’s in. I feel a nervous kind of excitement in the pit of my tummy. This isn’t the sort of thing that happens in my very ordinary life. Everything’s routine – at home and at school, going from lesson to lesson. But now I have a challenge – a task that takes me out of my normal zone.

      Maybe I shouldn’t have stopped when Charlie called my name. Maybe I shouldn’t have taken the note. I could have said ‘no’. But I didn’t.

3

      I’m walking to school, telling Samson, ‘Straight on,’ so he guides me along the road. Today I don’t feel like going down the path that cuts through to the station, where I was when Charlie gave me the note yesterday. The sun’s bright and I enjoy the warmth on my face. Cars zoom past one after the other, a constant hum. This, along with the smooth, hard pavement underfoot, feels reassuring right now, even though I usually prefer the birdsong of my usual route, with the occasional rattle of a train passing nearby, and the gravel, grass-edged path. There’s nothing to stop and photograph here.

      I’ve put the note back in my skirt pocket, but it feels like it’s burning a hole. I’m still wondering what’s going on with Charlie, and also why and how Kyle is involved. He’s not exactly a friend of Charlie’s. I’ve never been aware of them hanging out. Kyle’s a bit off my radar. He doesn’t say much, so I don’t really notice him. The only thing I’ve noticed is his height. I’ve been paired with him a couple of times for projects and he has a nice voice, but he’s a bit of a loner and he seems to be absent from school more than most. He’s never been in trouble though – not even a detention for late homework as far I know.

      My challenge is to somehow approach Kyle and give him the note without attracting attention. It isn’t going to be easy. I might think that he’s on his own, but there could be a bunch of people nearby who I don’t even know are there and who can see everything.

      I always meet my best friend Madz at the school gate. I want to tell her. I wasn’t going to, but as I get closer to school I think maybe I will. I can trust Madz – and it would be a lot easier to do this with her help.

      ‘Hey Libs! Hey Samson!’ Madz is in her usual spot on the wall. She jumps down to greet me.

      ‘Hi Madz. You all right?’

      ‘Yeah. But last night was a disaster!’

      ‘Why?’ I ask.

      ‘I think I’ve made a mess of things with Ollie.’

      ‘Oh – what happened?’ I ask.

      ‘You know I was meeting him to see that film?’

      I do know this. I was actually a bit peeved because I wanted to go to the film with Madz. And yes – I do enjoy the cinema. Once, when I had just started secondary school, a group of girls that I was hanging out with arranged to go to the cinema and didn’t even tell me, as they thought I’d be upset to be left out. When I told them I could have used headphones and audio-description (a voice describes the action through the headphones) and that I love going to the cinema, they were completely shocked. At least they didn’t leave me out again after that.

      Madz and I go to the cinema quite often – or we did, until Ollie came on the scene three weeks ago. Now he’s all that Madz can talk about. I don’t want to be jealous of her having a boyfriend, but sometimes it’s difficult.

      ‘So what happened?’ I ask.

      ‘I only went to the wrong cinema, Libs! I went to the Vue and Ollie had booked for the Odeon!’

      ‘Oh no! What did you do?’

      ‘I felt such an idiot. I waited for ages – and then I called him, and I couldn’t believe it! I said I’d get the next bus, but he said it was crazy to miss the beginning and he’d get his mate to come instead. I’m gutted, Libby. I’ve