

Have you ever forgotten your literacy words for the week because no one actually does their lit homework, and panicked when you realised that you had forgotten how to spell "symbiotic"? Because I haven't. In fact, here is me using symbiotic in a sentence. Having an eidetic (read: photographic) memory is almost symbiotic with the way school is run. By this, I mean that it fits together perfectly. School is about teaching you things and making you remember them. Guess what I can do? Remember things. Not just things. everything. I can tell you that yesterday morning the garbage truck came by at exactly 6:54 AM, or that during last years Math test the answer to question 21 was -184. So today when I handed in my literacy test, my teacher Mrs. Lendine just skimmed it and marked it fully correct. Everyone else was still struggling to remember how to spell symbiotic. There was twenty minutes of this class to go, so just like every other Tuesday I had to sit there and wait. For the others. The people with a normal memory that didn't remember every detail of every day. I smirked and played with the idea in my head that I was some sort of next evolution of human. It was a funny thought, but I knew that by the time I was an adult my eidetic memory would be gone like most people who have one. Twenty minutes later my thoughts of being better than everyone else were rudely interrupted. The bell rang and I made a beeline for the door. If I made it out in time I'd be able to see Madeline between classes. She'd tell me the stupid things Lachlan had said in the Human Health class she had with him, and I'd have a chance to laugh and smile before I was thrust into Advanced English, which is so much worse when you know that every word of lord of the flies will be stuck in your head forever. These plans however were put to a halt. "Liandry, can I talk to you please?" I heard Mrs. Lendines voice. (Side note: Please, don't call me Liandry. Li. Just call me Li. Never Liandry. Seriously, who the hell calls their kid Liandry? My mother. That's who.) I walked slowly to her desk. I couldn't have done anything wrong. All I do in class is daydream after finishing my work. So why did she look so disappointed when I looked up at her? "Liandry, some of the school staff believe you have been cheating in your exams. I don't want to believe it, in fact most of us don't. I just don't understand how it is that in almost a year of literacy class you are the only student who has never misspelled a word." You see, here's the thing about having an eidetic memory- you never, under any circumstances tell anyone about it. Because it becomes a novelty. Because suddenly everyone wants you to teach them how, or shows you a book page and then wants you to recite it to them. Being the 'smartest' wasn't always great, but being a simple novelty was worse.

I was thinking "Do I seriously look like someone that cheated? What is wrong with you? you can't just assume that people doing well are cheating. This accusation is completely unfounded." What I was saying however, was "Honestly miss, I just write them down every night. I read them after I write them out, and then I do the same the next night. Even if I forget a word, I just sound it out. It's simple. I'm just dedicated to my school work." Mrs. Lendine nodded and smiled approvingly. "Well I'm glad to see that some students still work hard. I'm sorry, but I hope you could see the suspicion." She said. I walked out of the room calmly, but inside I was alight with rage. I was now late to class. I would not have a chance to laugh about dumb-ass Lachlans dumb-ass comments, and apparently I seemed like the type of student that cheated. I walked faster and angrier, looking down to hide the redness in my face. Suddenly I was falling. I head a clumsy yell in front of me, and I was tangled in the limbs of someone. Someone tall, with dark sunglasses and short brown hair. With a walking stick. And dark sunglasses. My brain was processing but my mouth was moving in blind instinct. "Watch where you're walking." I hopped up and dusted myself off, picking up my books. The other kid clambered onto his feet clumsily, and his voice was heavily layered with sarcasm. "Ah, I'm so sorry. Us blind people really need to be more considerate and watch where we walk"







