Log: Matt and Hope - Prom

[x-daredevil.livejournal.com]

Matt and Hope have dinner before prom and discuss the summer, the future and how Matt actually handles some of his classes



Sitting at the table at the sushi restaurant Matt had chosen for their prom dinner, Matt tried not to toy nervously with his fork. He had not yet mastered chopsticks. "So...any summer plans?" He asked.

"I am not quite sure yet, to be honest. I am still looking into a few options. Probably visit my parents as well." Hope lifted a small piece of her sashimi with her chopsticks, dipped it into the soy sauce next to her plate.

"Is she still driving you crazy with her weird classes?" He asked. Hope hadn't seemed nearly as stressed or as busy recently. "You could take circus classes. So far it's me, Johnny, Topaz and Molly," which was a good group.

"Let's just say she has her own idea's of what my summer should look like. I am currently working on a way around them. But let's not talk about my mother. I really don't want to think of her this evening." Sipping her green tea, she continued: "The circus classes do sound like fun though."

"They sound amazing!" Matt was so excited to take them. Maybe it was because he couldn't see how high up he was, but the entire thing just sounded amazing and he loved taking trapeze now. As the conversation drifted again, he took another bite of sushi. "You look gorgeous," he offered.

She quickly glanced down at the ivy embroidered peach chiffon gown she was wearing. Not quite sure how much Matt was able to make out with his powers, she replied: "Thanks Matt. You look quite spiffy in your tuxudo as well." Hope cast around for another subject. "Do you know many people at the prom?" She herself didn't really know any of the students attending the local high schools.

Matt had absolutely no idea what Hope's dress looked like, much less how well it suited her. He just knew girls liked compliments. He'd already told her how pretty she looked when they had met downstairs at Xavier's, too. "A few, but not a ton," he replied, "Melissa is the girl I know the best. She was my note-taker for debate class," he took debate at the local high school and went with the rest of the class to compete in the debate tournament, but wasn't actually on the team. "But there should be others I recognize," he paused, then added, "they don't really know what my powers are. I act blind there."

Hope nodded, taking in the information. "That is good to know. They were not very curious what you could do when you first started attending classed?"

"They were," Matt agreed, "but I didn't really tell them. It's not really easy to demonstrate and I didn't want to be Matt the Mutant, you know?" There was definitely some of that, it was inevitable, just as he was Matt the Blind Guy, too. But there was more to him that just those things. "I don't really care if they see me using my powers or not tonight. I just want to have fun."

"I am sure they won't quite notice if they haven't before. I know what you can do, but I sometimes have to watch to see if you are acting blind or using your powers..." Hope dipped another piece of sashimi in her soy sauce, before eating it.

Really? Huh. "I always use my powers around you, Hope," around anyone from Xavier's, actually. "Unless I'm doing something where my powers don't make any difference."

"Hmmm." Hope considered for a moment. "Then it's probably better to say I have never been around when you 'act blind' so to speak?" She shrugged a little. "I have never met anyone who is blind before I met you, so I never really considered how daily life would be for them."

That was fair. "Well, you've seen me use my cane. That's the biggest thing. And I read braille," he preferred it actually, "I guess the biggest thing is in the kitchen when I cook. Lorna labels things for me with the label maker and there are lots of separate scoops for measuring that I use instead of a measuring cup. Blind people are generally more handsy than I am. I'm pretty hands-on, but not as much," he stabbed a sushi roll with his fork for demonstration. "When I first came to Xavier's and I didn't know how to use my powers I would walk down the halls with one hand on the wall until I learned the layout better so I wouldn't get lost. And because all the public rooms have braille on the signs so you know what room it is."

Hope nodded thoughtfully as she took things in. "That does make sense. How did you handle things with finding your way around the local high school?" She asked, getting interested in the topic.

"I had a guide until I learned the layout and there are Braille signs, all public buildings are required to have them," ADA laws were good for him. "I'm blind, powers or not, it won't change."

"What about university? Do you also get various accommodations there after the summer? It seems to me that getting some of the textbooks in braille or audio form will be difficult."

Matt nodded, spearing his last bit of sushi. Chopsticks were the devil. "They're required by law to accommodate me," he explained, "but it takes a while to get those books transcribed into braille or audio, depending on which is easier, if it hasn't already been done. I have a person at the disability office that helps get the things I need and there's a braille printer there and stuff like that for handouts and whatnot. They work with me and my professors to get the materials I need. And I'll have a designated note-taker in all my classes," he had one now at the public school, but he was alone or in small groups for most of his classes now, so most of his teachers just gave him notes. That didn't mean he could sleep through the class or not study. "The other side of it though is that I signed up for classes in April and changing them is really discouraged since it takes so long to get materials. I don't have the freedom to add/drop classes quite as easily." He could still do it though.

"What about things like lab classes? I imagine those would be difficult, but from what I have seen many colleges expect you to take at least one for their General Education Requirements." Hope asked, finishing the last of her sashemi as well and sipping from her green tea.

Matt shrugged, "I get help," he explained. "There's Braille for math. I've taken lab sciences at Xavier's, I'm just more hands on." Science wasn't his favorite class, but it was pretty interesting. He waggled his fingers at Hope.

"It still must be difficult. Mr. Summer keeps mentioning the importance of observation in science during Chemistry..." Hope decided to let the subject rest though and shifted directions a little. "Do you have any idea's on what you want to major in?"

"There's a reason I'm not going to major in chemistry," Matt laughed, "Not entirely. I'm considering some of the soft sciences. Maybe history or sociology,".but definitely not psychology.

"They both sound like interesting options."
***


At the prom, Hope and Matt dance the night away



"Here we are." Hope guided them towards the punch bowl, quickly ladling out two cups of the fruity concoction for the both of them. "That was some very nice music to dance to." She said, as she handed Matt one of the cups.

Taking the cup, Matt adjusted how he held his cane, "Yeah, the DJ's pretty good," it was all popular stuff, but nothing too jarring or the bass too high. "Having fun?"

"Yes, I am. I have always enjoyed dancing, even if I am more used to ballroom dancing." She smiled at him as she continued: "But it has given me a good grounding and a capable lead does help. Even if he is supposed to be fully blind." She lowered her voice almost completely at the last sentence, knowing he would get it easily.

Matt had taken ballroom dance before as well while at Xavier's. "Well, next slow song we'll waltz," Matt smiled, sipping the punch and then reaching for a brownie, "If you want, I can put the cane away and we can really mess with their heads," he was good either way really.

"Hmmm..." Hope giggled as she pictured the looks on peoples faces. "Why not? It would certainly cause a bit of a buzz." She agreed, feeling a little mischievous.

Shoving the rest of the brownie in his mouth in a most un-gentlemanly way, Matt folded his cane up and secured it with the wrist band before slipping it into his back pocket under his jacket. "Well then. What should we do?" he thought for a moment, "You're gonna have to tell me what people look like, you know." His powers didn't allow for that. "Still on break or back to dancing?"

Hope took a moment to survey the floor. "Quite a few are starting to make their way back to the dance floor. But the majority is still on the sidelines."

"Can you do lifts?" Matt could lift her, but he didn't want Hope to freak out when he did so and then get them both hurt. That would be epically awful.

Melissa from his debate class came over with her date, "Hey Matt!" she chirped, looking at Hope curiously. This wasn't the girl he was dating the last time he went to a dance. "How's it going? Who's your friend?"

"I am Hope Abbott, a friend of Matt's. It's a pleasure to meet you..." Hope let her voice trail of in a question as she smiled at the girl and held out her hand.

"Melissa," she said, giving Hope a brief, weak handshake. "I'm in Matt's debate class here. I take notes for him." She added as an explanation. "I guess you go to Xavier's? What do you think?" She thought prom was pretty awesome.

Matt didn't recognize Melissa's date, but he didn't seem interested in joining the conversation so he let it go.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Melissa. The dance is is a lot of fun and you have found an excellent DJ." Hope easily slid in small talk mode, a polite smile on her face. Neatly sidestepping the question if she attended Xavier's and to turn the attention away from herself, she added. "You have found a lovely dress. It's a wonderful shade of green."

"Oh, thanks," Melissa liked her dress and she resisted the urge to do a little twirl. She'd had a crush on Matt at first, but not anymore. The mystery (and potential to drive her parents insane) had become boring. "I like yours too."

"Hope and I were gonna go dance. You want to, too?" Matt suggested. "In your green dress."

"Thank you Melissa." Hope smoothed out the peach chiffon as she turned to Matt. "I would enjoy a dance. But I think I prefer to stay with both feet on the ground for now."

That was fair. "You don't trust me?" Matt teased, "I wouldn't either, but it was worth a shot," he had never actually tried lifting someone while dancing after all. It sounded cool, though. Offering her his arm, he headed to the dance floor, assuming Melissa and her date would follow.

"I had far too much trouble to find his dress to risk having it torn." Hope had to suppress her giggles as she accepted Matt's arm and let him escort her to the dance floor. She easily settled her hand on his shoulder as he started to guide her around the dance floor.

Ballroom dance was not common at school dances, not even at prom. They had plenty of people staring at them, Matt was sure. It wasn't that they were doing anything special, it was that they were waltzing at all. "Is everyone staring?" Matt murmured.

"Uhm yes..." Hope eyes twinkled a little as she considered something. "Shall we give them a bit of a show?" She was already straightening out her posture, lifting her chin proudly.

"Absolutely," Matt agreed, adjusting his stance slightly as well. He couldn't meet her eyes like they were supposed to in a waltz, but that couldn't be helped. Taking a half step, Matt twirled Hope.

Hope easily matched his steps, compensating here and there just a little for his lack of conventional sight. A faint blush colored her face as she heard the soft murmurs of the other people around, but she mostly ignored it, just enjoying the dance itself.

It was probably a good thing that they weren't doing a more difficult dance. "We're making everyone jealous," Matt could hear the comments. Spinning Hope one more time, he dipped her back, "And you weren't sure about coming tonight." Worth it.

"It was certainly worth it."