The receptionist chimed, “Welcome to Sia Eye Wear & Contacts. Do you have an appointment set up with us?” Akira replied, “No, but she needs glasses asap. Hers broke during class, and it would be difficult for her to attend classes without them.” The receptionist was so focused on Akira’s handsome appearance, she didn’t realize I was standing next to him.
I guess it’s true that ugly people are invisible when a beautiful person stands next to them. Her face crinkled up when she saw me. For a second there, I thought I saw her glare at me, but I must’ve been imagining it. Her face beamed with a natural customer service smile, “May I take a look at your glasses? We just might be able to fix it for you.”
I reached into my pocket and gave her the broken the glasses. The glasses were definitely impossible to repair. One of the lenses fell out and the frame was crooked. The screws were missing, and it was impossible to find them since they were so tiny.
The receptionist frowned at the mess I presented her. She sighed, “Unfortunately, we won’t be able to fix those. I can book you for an appointment this afternoon. The earliest appointment would be at 2pm. Is that okay?” I looked at Akira in question, “Can we be out this late? Shouldn’t we be in class?”
Akira smiled, “Forget classes. You need new glasses. How are you going to see the lessons in the first place? I think it’d be better to book the appointment now and during the wait time we could find something else to do.” I refused, “That’s not the only problem. I don’t really have the funds to be getting a new pair of glasses.”
The receptionist rolled her eyes at my comment. I could tell that she was judging me for being so poor. I quickly looked down at my feet to avoid her gaze. I really hate feeling this. If only I didn’t come with Akira. She was probably also judging him for hanging out with a girl like me.
Akira noticed I was uncomfortable. He placed his hand on my shoulder to reassure me, “It’ll be fine. Don’t worry about the cost. I’ve got you covered.” I shook my head, “No, you don’t have to do that.” He smiled in response, “If it bothers you, you can always pay me back later. You still need to be able to see.”
The receptionist cut in, “Just to let you guys know, although you’ll get to see the eye doctor, the glasses won’t be prepared by today. I’d suggest that you try on our sample contacts to get you through the day. We can do a quick exam for you so that you can enjoy the rest of your time downtown.” Akira agreed, “Lets do that.”
After filling out the paperwork and completing the exam, I was taken to a room for patients to try on their contacts. I’ve never worn contacts, so I had to get special instructions from the employees to help me put them on. It took me a couple tries to get the contacts in. My eyes were burning and extremely watery from the unfamiliar object that was in my eyes.
I looked in the mirror at my own reflection. I looked good with contacts on. My hair wasn’t neat, but I had a face that looked good without the glasses. My vision is very bad and so my lenses tend to be thick. My eyes usually look very small because the lenses are fit for my prescription. I wondered if I should switch to wearing contacts from now on.
If I was bullied in the future, I wouldn’t have to worry about anyone crushing my expensive glasses. It was also bothersome to wear glasses when riding the subway. There were many occasions when I almost lost my glasses in the crowd of people. When it’s packed in the subway, it’s normal to get shoved and pushed around.
Contacts seem to be cheaper than glasses, but the only problem was I could essentially run out at some point. I had to think wisely on what I want to get. At the same time, I didn’t want to bother Akira. The less I owe him, the less I’d have to interact with him. He was being unusually nice to me. There’s nothing about me that made people want to spend time with me. It made me wonder why Akira chose to help me out.
I noticed that Akira was standing next to me the whole time while I tried the contacts on. He laughed, “I remember the first time I tried contacts on. It’s very painful.” I asked, “You also wear contacts?” He nodded and pointed at his eye. I looked closer and noticed the clear circular lenses that covered his irises. While searching for the contacts, I noticed the color of his eyes.
His eyes weren’t the same as all the other Japanese people. Was he a mix of different ethnicities? His eyes had a lighter tint than everyone else’s. It was a warm hazel color with hints of green and blue on the edges of his iris. Without realizing what I was saying, I muttered, “So beautiful…” He blushed, “Are you always so direct?”
I coughed in embarrassment, “I meant to say, are you fully Japanese? Your eyes have a different color than most.” He responded naturally, “I’m fully Japanese. I was just born with some unique features. My eye color tends to look different in different lights. I find it kind of weird. I don’t really like talking about my eyes that much.”
I could sense that he wasn’t comfortable talking about his eyes, so I changed the topic, “So, what’s the plan? What are we going to do while we wait for the appointment?” He shifted his focus towards the window. He pointed at the café across the street. He suggested, “Do you want to hang out at that café?”
I agreed, “Sounds good to me.” After putting on the contacts successfully, we headed out.
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