Dylan woke with a start, not knowing where he was. He opened his eyes and saw only white around him. His breath caught as he struggled to remember where he was and what was going on. Closing his eyes again, Dylan saw less white and more grey. Reaching to his side, the boy found a long piece of cloth and wrapped it around his head thrice, tying it into place.

The world around him exploded as his eyes adjusted to the material he had just covered them with. His desk sat in a corner and clothes were strewn about haphazardly in a manner that would make his mom yell at him. Letting out a sigh of relief, the boy stood and got ready for the day. The walls to his room wavered every now and then but remained more or less solid as he pulled on his jeans and found a clean shirt.

As he brushed his teeth, the dream that had woken him up in confusion floated to the surface of his mind and he shivered. Being chased and captured in a dream was never fun, especially when your legs didn’t want to work and you seemed to only go one mile per hour.

Dylan walked to the kitchen table where a plate of food and a note waited for him from his mother. It outlined her day and ended with an “I love you.” as was typical. The boy sat down and ate the pancakes in front of him as they came in and out of view and then grabbed his bag and walked out the door. The bus was going to be there any minute and he had to catch it in order to get to class in time.

As he walked, Dylan unfurled his white cane. He didn’t actually need it but his mom insisted that he use it. From a young age he had been taken to a variety of ophthalmologists who all said the same thing and that was that he was blind. However, Dylan had a bit of a deformity that none of them knew about. On the back of his head he had another set of eyes. When he opened his eyes, he opened all of his eyes, and when that happened he saw through everything. There was no wall or door he couldn’t see beyond. The problem, and the reason that he was ‘blind', was that there was no stopping his seeing through things, creating a world of pure white. Dylan had done some experimentation of his own though and discovered that if he covered his eyes a couple of times he was able to better control the amount of seeing through he did.

The long haired boy found the bench for the bus stop and sat down while people around him looked at him anxiously. He liked his secret. It made him feel invincible. He could see people but they couldn’t see him seeing them. It led to a lot of interactions that would have been otherwise awkward. He saw the time an older man shoplifted 5 candy bars from the store and the time a mother accidentally dropped ketchup from her hot dog onto her newborn’s head and then licked it off. Dylan saw the world better than most people around him and it made him smile.

The bus finally drove up and he was let on first, just as he was everyday, and he took his seat. There were a total of six stops until they got into the city. Dylan sat quietly enjoying the rumble of the engine and the world that wobbled between physical and white light in his eyes. That is until a girl got on board with bits of leaves in her hair. She looked frighten and a little nervous but otherwise unharmed. As the vehicle drove into the city, Dylan turned his head and watched the girl sitting next to an older woman as she fidgeted.

The bus stopped and the girl nearly jumped from her seat. Dylan followed close behind and almost ran into her as she stopped and stared down a street that had been barricaded for whatever reason. He was so preoccupied with what was going on down the street that he didn’t see the girl disappear. Dylan looked around him in all directions, getting pity filled looks from the people around him.

Realizing that everyone thought he was blind, the boy stopped circling and unwrapped his eyes one time. Instantly the people around him vanished, along with the cars near him and the buildings. He saw inside the bank to his left and saw a teller smiling at a customer. He saw the inner workings of a car as it drove past and the motor ran off of mini explosions. In front of him he could see inside a person drinking a coffee and watched as the liquid went down their throat. Then there, the girl stood by what could only be a dumpster filled with trash. She stood as if she were leaning.

Not wanting to lose her, Dylan cautiously stepped her direction with his eyes still uncovered. She didn’t move but she vanished from his sight. Quickly, the boy covered his eyes again and ran towards the alley he knew the girl was in. He turned the corner and saw nothing. Dylan searched with his eyes covered and then uncovered them once but still nothing. The only thing he saw was a couple of rats scurrying around underneath him.

Covering his eyes again and looking at his watch, Dylan made his way towards school. His first class started in fifteen minutes and even though he was a senior, the teachers still were wardens on the rules. He walked, pretending to use his cane, to the steps of the school and took them two at a time as his classmates and other students moved out of his way. At the top of the stairs Dylan took a right and headed towards his locker.

When he was nearly there, a girl came running down the hall in an over-sized sweater and pushed past him. She shoved him out of her way with a force that was greater than he thought was possible for a girl her size and kept on running. Seeing the blind kid get shoved, a couple of students grabbed him by the arms to make sure he was okay. Dylan thanked them but said he was fine and continued on his way.

At his locker, Dylan quickly spun the lock and grabbed his books. His first class was right down the hall and he was positive he would make it in time. As he closed the metal door and clicked the lock back into place, the cloth around his eyes seemed to undo itself and the world went white. Dylan could still see bits and pieces, which meant it was still partly covering his eyes, but it had mostly fallen off. With his arms full of books and his white cane, the seventeen year old tried to make his way to class. Eventually someone came to his aid and grabbed him by the arm.

“You’re almost there.” A voice said in his ear that he recognized as his teacher, Ms. Hahn.

“Thank you Ms. Hahn.” He said back letting her lead. “I guess I grabbed more than I should have from my locker.”

“Not a problem Dylan. Take a right here. We’re in the classroom and your desk is in front of you.”

Dylan set his books down and quickly wrapped his head tightly. As the world came into view he saw Ms. Hahn walking to her desk as his classmates conversed with one another. There were molecule sculptures around the room and the periodic table filled a wall. The boy took his seat and waited for the bell to ring prompting Ms. Hahn to begin class.

“Alright everyone, today we are going to begin our lesson on genetic mutations. Open your books to page three hundred thirty two please.”

Dylan smiled at himself as the world around him flickered on and off. The girl who had pushed him flickered in his vision as the wall faded and he saw tears streaming down her face. Trying to focus on the lesson, Dylan looked straight ahead ignoring the world he could see all of and followed along with Ms. Hahn.