Owen
Three thirty.
That's what the clock said.
A few more minutes and I'll finally get rid of this heavy weight on my chest.
I was out of the dorm and had to go to this last meet up with the people over at the ODS about my classes. Luckily, these past few days I spent with Fitz proved that he was pretty cool and he didn't even mind accompanying me to fix my schedule and accomodations here at school.
"So this is for that lab class, right? With the terror guy?" Fitz said, leaning over to me as we sat in the receiving area inside the school office.
He was the one who technically sat on the cushions and I anxiously kept tapping my fingers onto the armrests of my chair. My heart felt as if it were a cat about to pounce yet my chest cavity just won't let it do so. I was terribly scared of whatever arrangements will be made final for this specific class.
"With the terror guy, yes." I answered back.
Fitz whistled smoothly as he perched his head up, adjusting his glasses as he took his time to look around.
"You do know there are elevators around here." he said nonchalantly.
I turned my head toward him and shot him a disbelieving look.
"I know. I can't be so sure though since Charlie told me that some elevators are faulty. I don't want to be stuck in an elevator looking all helpless as I wait for the fire department to come get me. I'd rather have my Mum save my arse than firemen."
I shook my head and felt a frown form on my face.
Elevators were almost seen everywhere around campus. Even in dorms too but unfortunately, the one in my dorm was rather broken down and was deemed "unfixable" by the staff.
I even have this irrational fear of getting stuck in a faulty elevator from all these disability blog posts I've read online about elevators not working in universities and I do NOT want any person from the fire department come get me as my fellow schoolmates boggle their eyes at me and call me that kid who got stuck in an elevator.
Fitz scoffed and shot me a small, crooked smile.
"You'll be fine. Though I did beat your ass at Mario Kart." he said knowingly.
I rolled my eyes and shook my head.
"I wasn't playing that much lately. You're the one who brought your Switch to uni, not me. Of course you get to practice."
He shrugged and looked smug. He knew he won fair and square that time we went over to his room and played video games.
"I won't judge if you only play Animal Crossing. I get the hype."
"Shut up."
We were both quiet inside the Office of Disability Services here and it was not long until Mrs. Miller, the one who takes care of literally everything, came around and ushered me into her personal desk space.
I turned to Fitz and he shot me a cheery thumbs up before I unlocked the brakes of my chair and spun towards Mrs. Miller's space.
Mrs. Miller was a small, plump woman in her 50s with greying hair always tied up in a low ponytail. She always had this sweet, grandma smile on her face and it suddenly made me feel less scared of the inevitable.
"So, Owen, how's college move in doing for you? Everything okay with your dorm accomodations and erm, --roommate?" she said as she attempted to mask her amusement.
I shrugged shyly and gave her a small smile.
"It's okay, I guess."
Mrs. Miller kept her amused look on her face as she diverted her gaze towards some papers. She cleared her throat before putting them up in front of her eyes and looked at me.
I felt so scared.
"Now, let's have a quick recap of your accomodations here at Princeton. Your dorm room is large enough for you to move in and the bathroom's okay-- There aren't any dysfunctionalities yet, right?"
I nodded.
"Yes Ma'am."
Mrs. Miller kept reading her list of things adjusted around school so I can get around comfortably and might I say, as the list droned on and on, I was itching to hear about that specific class with that professor. I kept tapping my wheels anxiously with a finger as I bite off the tips of my fingertips on the other hand.
"You also have physical therapy appointments every 2nd Saturday of the month at the Health Center. 9am. Sophie is rather good with kids like you. You'll like her." Mrs. Miller continued, looking at me smilingly with a huge grin on her face.
"Noted." I muttered, though I am not so sure about waking up early during weekends.
I'd rather sleep in until around a few before lunch hits and I was convinced my mother, all the way from home, decided that it was her decision to plan out my own appointments.
If only I could just ditch it altogether.
"Before winter, we need you to map out your usual routes going to class so when it snows, we could clear out the path for you immediately." she emphasized as she handed me another map of campus.
I raised my brows in amusement and nodded along and took the map in my hands. Getting paths cleared for you sounded cool.
"And you get an extra 10 minutes getting to class. How awesome is that?" Mrs. Miller followed peppily.
I've got to say, having more time to get to class sounded so melodious to my ears, I wasn't sure it was real.
I nodded and smiled.
"That sounds amazing."
College, in some way, really is better than high school.
My old high school just sucked.
I was feeling a little better about myself now that these accommodations are rather too much for my taste since I was so used to fitting in a place that is dominated by functional leggedness.
Still, they were for me and who was I to throw it all away?
My fear subsided a bit and I felt myself relax. I stopped tapping my wheels anxiously and let my fingernails live a day longer without getting fully bitten off.
"And you get to have this adjustable desk reserved for you in every class! Your professors would be glad to help out if you need anything, honey. Just raise a hand or simply call their attention." she said quickly.
"Okay."
Mrs. Miller kept looking through her papers and as she flipped them through, she suddenly looked unsure and stopped on a specific one.
I felt my anxiousness rise again and I couldn't help but try to sneak a peek.
"So, Owen," Mrs. Miller started.
"Yes?" I said, shuffling a little in my chair.
"So far, most of your professors agreed to your specific class accomodations. Calculus I is now situated on the first floor and your Bio lab is also there. The others are already accessible to you yet one of your professors haven't given word about your chemistry lab class."
Shit.
"I'm sorry?" I said, leaning a bit into the table that separated Mrs. Miller and I.
My stomach felt sour.
Everything felt as if it were crumbling down on me.
Mrs. Miller looked at me concerningly and sighed.
"Your chem lab class, Owen. I'm afraid Dr. Anderson hasn't been checking his emails lately." Mrs. Miller said in attempt to lighten the mood.
I felt myself slump down into my chair and felt as if the world was on my shoulders.
This was a bad sign.
"What's wrong with chemistry lab?" I asked.
Mrs. Miller gave me a tight lipped smile and tried her best to still look optimistic.
"Dr. Anderson's quite a difficult man to get along with. He's been doing his classes up in the fourth floor since he started teaching here."
"Is there an elevator in his building?" I asked in hopes of actually hearing something good come out of this class.
Mrs. Miller shook her head sadly.
"Actually, there is but I'm afraid it's not working as well as it was when it was first installed. But there is a functioning elevator in the adjacent building that's connected to Dr. Anderson's." she said.
I lifted my head up and looked at Mrs. Miller inquisitively.
"What do you mean?"
Mrs. Miller pulled out yet another map of campus yet this one had all the building floor plans plotted out. She placed it neatly in front of me on the table and flattened it. Her chunky finger pointed toward a specific building and I couldn't help but lean closer to the table to see.
"This is the Humanities building. Dr. Anderson holds his class right next to it. Luckily, the two buildings are just separated by a few walls." she said knowingly.
I felt myself smile as she pointed it out to me.
This was a good thing.
"This is great! How do I get to his class exactly?"
Mrs. Miller pulled out a sour expression and shook her head.
"Sorry to say but, it's kinda a long way especially in your case."
"What?"
Not this again.
"Go inside the Humanities building first. There's a ramp by the side entrance and from there, make two lefts before a right until you get to the elevator."
I nodded along to her explanation as she picked up a pen and started drawing all over the map.
"Of course, pick the fourth floor and get off there. It's a straight hallway until a few more rights then some lefts. Once you see another straight hallway with orange accent walls, go straight for the wide door. It goes directly to the Department of Chemistry."
"Is that all?" I asked.
Mrs. Miller smiled and shook her head.
"Not yet, sweetheart. Now, after you get pass the door, it's another long hallway. Once you get to the end, take two lefts and a right before doing another left. It then leads you to another hallway where you'll be taking Dr. Anderson's class. His is the one with a white door." she said smilingly as she handed me my possibly third map of campus.
I took a good look at the map and I actually felt the least bit of contentment with it.
At least I can get to class.
I sighed and looked at Mrs. Miller who had an expectant look on her face. It was that expression that looked as if she had the utter need to please me and I didn't want to let her down.
I didn't want to let anyone down.
"I'm okay with it. I do have extra minutes going to class." I said, shrugging.
Mrs. Miller exhales a breath of relief and smiled.
"I'm glad. If you ever need anything else, talk to me, okay?" she said, handing me some papers and flyers she's got.
I thanked her quickly and left her office. To my surprise, Fitz got has a Switch Lite with him and I found him busily playing some Zelda.
I pushed my chair up to him and crossed my arms. Clearing my throat, I stared at him until he looked up and exited the game.
"That quick? I was just getting started!" he exclaimed, shoving his handheld console into his pocket.
"It lasted for a good half hour. It's not what I would call quick."
Fitz stood up and brushed off his shirt and straightened his pants before we headed out of the ODS and were out and about into the hallways.
"So, where now? Have any other places to run to?" he asked.
I shrugged and scoffed at him.
"I wouldn't technically say I could run right now to the dorms if I could." I said slyly.
Looking alarmed, Fitz' eyes widened and his mouth kept opening and closing as if he doesn't know what to say.
"Shit. Okay. I'm really sorry about that. Again. Damn, do I keep messing up around you." he said as he scratched his nape.
I hid a small smile and brushed a hand as I looked up at him.
"Don't be. I like messing with people. I'm sure you don't mind. Make jokes all you want." I said, attempting my best to look somewhat careless about the number one thing that frustrates me.
To be honest, I don't mind people using words such as run, walk, stand, etc. around me.
They're parts of normal, regular speech that does not exempt disabled people. In fact, over the recent years, I couldn't care less whether people called me disabled, handicapped or something else in between those lines.
I know I can't walk.
I'll never will and though thinking about it hurt sometimes, I've been neutral about it for the longest time now.
There will never be some sort of way to reverse the effects of the accident and I am rather okay with that. This is how it's going to be for me and I need to live with it. Besides, it was my fault I got myself into this mess.
Given these circumstances, I don't want people to act like I'm two yeats old and people need to protect me from a Demogorgon or something.
I can handle myself perfectly and I don't need any more babyproofing to take place especially here in college.
If that answers the question, of course I'm alright with somehow insensitive word usage and placement. My girlfriend makes fun of me all the time and she practically trained me for these.
"You sure? So like, when you're in my room, I could call you a crip in my crib?" Fitz asked warily.
I shot my head up at him and shook my head.
"Anything but 'crip', please. That word is just horrible." I spat.
"Meal on Wheels? I ain't gay or something but girls keep turning necks when they see you. You gotta teach me that. A girl hasn't even looked at me in the eye yet."
I stiffled a laugh and shook my head yet again.
"I don't know how I feel about that. People, especially the females, scare me." I said, shuddering.
Fitz adjusted his glasses and shot his dark brows upward.
"Well that makes the two of us. Now what do you feel about Lightning Mcqueen?"
"Weird."
"Professor X?"
"I don't know."
"Hotwheels?"
"I've heard better."
Fitz smiled widely and nodded along to some imaginary tune only he could make out.
"If you won't accept any of these, it won't be long before I call you the Magic School Bus." he said laughingly.
I let out a small smile and turned my head in his direction.
"Like I said, I couldn't care less."