16-year-old Victoria is shaken to wake up to the sound of her mother’s voice,
“Get up, Tori.”
Tori reaches for her white cane, as if she’s done it a million times.
“ Yes, Mother, dearest,” she replied sarcastically.
Her mom leaves as she sits up. Yay…… Mondays. She’s never seen her mother. She’s never seen anybody, for Tori was blind. She didn’t let that stop her from being upbeat.  Even though Tori would never see them, she forced her mother to hang up One Direction posters on her hot pink walls. She was devastated when Zayn left. She cried and ate nothing but ice cream for 3 days. She shook off the thought of what she imagined Harry Styles hair looked like and reached for her braille clock. 6:00, October 20, 2012. Tori had to get up and start her new life at her new school, sadly without her pink walls or her 1D posters.
    Tori carefully worked her way down the stairs with her white cane in hand. It always took her a while to get dressed by herself, but she managed.
“Are you coming yet?” her mother shouted
     “Yah!”. Tori yelled in reply.
She walked off the last step. Her mother saw her enter the kitchen.
“Oh good, you’re already dressed. We have to get going if I’m going to be able to get back for work in time”.
It usually took Tori five minutes to get in the car, but her mother didn’t like to say that to her face. They didn’t have to pack the suitcases into the car because they did the night before.
Once they got in the car, they were off to Jackson City, Pennsylvania, where she would attend and live on campus of Newton School for Disabled Children. It was a one and a half hour drive there from her hometown, Gyro Hills, where she had lived her whole life. While on the drive, Tori thought about her new life. Will I be able to make friends? How can this school be like an regular school? Regular schools don’t have a 24-hour hospital on campus. Tori became lost in thoughts and to the steady rhythm of the bumps in the road, as well as “Moments” by One Direction, silently cried herself to sleep in the back seat of the car.
Tori was woken up by her mother cursing at incompetent drivers. Realizing that she just yelled, she looked back at Tori.
“Oh, sorry baby” her mother apologized.
“It’s okay. How far are we from the school?”. Tori asked.
“About 10 minutes”.
Tori slumped back down. 10 minutes until her new life. There better be cute boys, she thought. Though, she’ll have to ask her potential friends if they were cute.  She figured her and Harry Styles wouldn’t work out, considering she would need to go to their concert and her mom refused to pay the expensive prices. She was still thinking about boys when her mom spoke.
“We’re here!” she said excitedly.
“Hooray” Tori replied in monotony
The car rolled to a stopped, and Tori asked if she could get out now. When her mom’s car door opened, she took that as a yes and stepped out onto the campus grounds. A teenager, around 17, followed by two other teens walked toward them and asked them for their luggage and name.
“Victoria Wu” Tori’s mother responded.
He shifted through the list of students. He showed a look of confirmation and looked towards them.
“Your bags will be waiting for you in your dorm” he handed Tori a key, “in room 47”.
Once they were finished, Tori and her mother walked towards the entrance to the campus. Her mom told her to stop.
“We’re at the gate, sweet pea” her mom said. She tried not to sound sad as tears slowly started to roll down her face.
“Okay, I love you”. Tori’s voice managed to falter out.
They hugged and said their goodbyes. As they went their separate ways, Tori bit back her tears and treked onwards beyond the gates of her new school and her new life.
Tori may not be able to see, but it was easy to tell the campus was bustling with life. She heard the sounds of dozens, possibly hundreds of students talking and giggling their heads off. She felt at her special braille watch that read 7:45. She needed to hurry up if she’s to meet with her guide at the main building in five minutes. With white cane and binders in hand, she stepped with her best foot forward, tapping against the slightly bumpy sidewalk specifically designed for the blind and visually impaired. As Tori walked, she felt a newfound confidence. This is her place and chance to shine, to become someone she’s always dreamed to be. Tori was now smiling as she scaled the slight ramped incline into what hopefully was the “main building”. She was interrupted in thought as she violently crashed into someone at the top of the ramp, sending her sliding back down to the bottom. Tori reached for her mouth, which felt like it was bleeding.
“I’m so sorry! Where are you?” said what sounded like a guy. Tori tried to help herself up.
“Here” she groaned in response.
She felt herself being poked with the end of a stick, which felt much like the one at the end of her white cane. Then, a hand searched from her shoulder to wrist and grabbed practically yanked her up.
“I’m sorry. I was rushing and...” Tori interrupted him.
“No, it’s fine. I know what it’s like to not being able to see where you are going”. There was silence for a few moments.
“Well, my name is Mitch.” said this new guy.
“Tori”.
She’s heard that this is supposed to be the part where they shake hands awkwardly and walk away, but considering neither of them could see each other hands, that was out of the question.
“I have to run, but maybe we’ll see each other again sometime” rushed Mitch.
“Yeah, that would be cool”. Tori responded.
And just like that, the sound of his footsteps trail off back to the sound of laughter. Great, how am I going to pick up my stuff. She kneeled down on her hands and knees, surveying the ground for any evidence of her things. As quickly as the crash, someone came rushing outside. Tori felt a tap on her shoulder.
“Excuse me, are you Victoria?” said the lady.
“Um, yes?” Tori answered.
“Hi! I’m your guide, Rita.” She extended a hand.
“Hi, um, can you help me pick up my stuff?”
Rita lowered her hand as she remembered Tori was blind “Oh, yeah, of course!” She crouched to pick up her binders.
You are far too peppy for a school of disabled kids thought Tori. Once all of her stuff was picked up. They continued together touring the school. Tori stopped listening after a while when Rita started to talk about things were irrelevant. It also made her mad how Rita would say “and this” and “that is”. Like do you not understand I can’t see.
“Anyway” Rita said. Tori clung on to the hope of those words. Can I go to class now? I’m going to be late and I’m not hesitating to blame you.
“Here’s your schedule” Rita handed Tori a folded piece of paper and this time shoved it into her hand. The bell rang and the halls were empty except them.
“Gotta go, bye!” Rita sprinted down the hallway.
How am I supposed to find a room in the endless hallways of this one building? Flustered and distraught, Tori roamed the halls, hoping for anybody to help her. It was then that she heard the sound of footsteps. She started walking faster.
"Hey! Wait! Can you help me?". She pleaded. The noise stopped and started getting closer.
"Um, hello?" The voice belonged to a boy.
"Yes, hello! Can you please tell me where ," Tori felt the paper, " room 19 is?”
"Yeah, it's just pass my class. I'll walk you there". From there, they walked in silence for a few paces. Be aggressive. That’s the only way you’re going to make friends.
“So, what’s your name?”. Really! That’s all you got? Come on, brain!
“I’m Benjamin”. Silence. Can this guy seriously not hold a conversation. I can’t even see who I’m talking to and I’ve got better social skills than you!
“Um, I’m Tori”.
“Nice to meet you”. Benjamin said. On the bright side, at least I didn’t hear him try to give me a handshake like Rita.
“Well, we’re here” He sighed and knocked on the door of room 19. The teacher opened the door to the two teenagers in front.
“You’re a bit late.” The teacher responded.
“Sorry, Mr…” Tori felt her schedule to make sure she would get his name right, “Harrison. I got lost, but Benjamin helped me find my way here.”
“That sure was kind of you, Mr. Jackson. Now, hurry off to class.” Mr. Harrison shooed.
“Thanks, Mr. H.” Benjamin looked at Tori and whispered, “Call me Ben”. And just like that, Benjamin sprinted down the halls, not giving Mr. Harrison enough time to say no running in the halls.
“Come on in, Victoria. You’ve got work to do.” Mr Harrison insisted.
Tori walked into the classroom and could feel the attention in the room as it quieted down and pencils dropped. She didn’t know what to say. Luckily, Mr. Harrison introduced her.
“This is Victoria Wu. She’s a little late for her first day…”Did you really have to mention that? “but she is here now and that’s all that matters”. He heard him get closer towards her ear.
“I’m gonna walk you to where you will be sitting, okay?” Tori nodded in response. They started walking and before they got a few steps, someone broke the silence.
“Mr. H! Mr. H! She can sit by me!” someone cried as she heard them wave their hand wildly in the air.
“Okay, Courtney. You can…” Mr. H couldn’t get anymore out before Courtney leaped out of her seat and dashed towards Tori, wrapping her arm around hers, and skipping back to her seat with Tori in tow. She practically shoved Tori in her seat, causing the entire class to roar with laughter and Tori couldn’t help but join in. She felt as if she was going to like Courtney.
“Okay, settle down class. Get back to work on the ‘About You’ worksheet I handed out. I’ll get you a copy in a minute Tori”. Mr. H instructed .
Tori sat down and waited for her paper. When she got it, she was also presented with a braillewriter. She grinned as she ran her hand across the device she had become so in love with. Tori loved technology and the braillewriter was one of her favorite contraptions. It worked just like an old typewriter, but instead it printed braille and not text. She read the first question. What is your full name? Easy. She clicked the combination of buttons that spelt out “Victoria Zoey Wu” Next. What do you like to do in your free time. Read. She typed it down. She worked her way down 12 more questions, a few of them obviously not meant for blind people (like what is your favorite color).
It wasn’t until she got down to the last question that actually made her think, If you could get rid of your disability, would you? Um, well duh. Then, she started to ponder But… would I? Could I? That sounds like so much work. Like I have to memorize colors and shapes and figure out what animals look like and what everything looks like. Tori couldn’t decide anymore. She ended up just putting “Maybe” and leaving the question. She got up to turn in her paper as that was the only thing she could think of why all the people got up and down while she was completing hers. She was slightly surprised when it was taken out of her hands. Then, Mr. H’s voice filled the air.
“Okay, now that everyone has finished…” Tori sat back down. Once again, thank you Mr. H. “I want to know now what you answered the last question, question 14. So raise your hand if you said ‘yes’”. There was a moment of silence, then the sound of writing on a blackboard. The screech hurt Tori’s ears. I don’t want to be deaf too, Mr. H.
“Okay, that’s 16 for ‘yes’ and how many for ‘no?’” Again, silence.
“Three for no and how many were unsure?” Tori raised her hand.
“Just one? Okay”. Again, the sound that could make your ears bleed.
“Interesting, okay, well, the bell will ring in a few minutes. Do what you wish with your free time”. The classroom quickly became as loud as it did outside and Mr. H did nothing to calm the chaos down. Tori turned around to “look” at Courtney.
“Hey, Courtney.” Tori stated. She heard what was possibly Courtney whirling around to face her.
“Hi, Victoria!” She exclaimed
“Thank you for getting me out of that awkward position.”
“No problem. I know what it’s like to be the new kid at school. It’s especially hard at a school like this”.
“So, you must know the cliques around here, don’t you?”
“You know it. So, The most popular person in school is Rita Vasquez. She is what you call the “I’m flawless” kinda girl. Her boyfriend is Ben Jackson who is like totally hot.”
“No way! I’ve met both of them. Rita was supposed to guide me to my class, but instead she just ditched me”.
“That is just like Rita. Anyway, I’m like just a little below Rita, slightly less popular, but still well-known. Except people actually like me”.
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
“Hopefully, I will soon. I’m into this guy named Damian. He wears goth clothing without being goth. He’s like perfect. In fact, I’ll introduce you” She leaned back. There was a bit of silence.
“Um, now?” Tori asked confused. All Tori was a strange fumbling noise.
“Damian says ‘nice to meet you’” replied Courtney
“Tell him I said…’hi’?” Tori heard the fumbling noise while she talked and afterwards, Is the girl crazy or is just me?
“Oh, sorry. Damian is deaf. I don’t actually have a disability. I’m just his translator. That’s why I was so open about liking him, because he can’t hear me”.
“Oh” Tori sighed and laughed in relief. “I thought you just had an imaginary friend”.
“Who’s to say I don’t”. Courtney joked
“Is there anything going on now?”
“Well, the talent show is Friday. Everyone is going to be there. You can still sign up if you want. You may not win, though, because Rita is going to show everyone up, like she does every year”.
“What is her talent? Being a diva?”
Courtney giggled, “No, it’s ballet. And the worst part is she has her dad pays for a professional ballet dance crew to dance with her which makes her look better.”
The bell rang and the class dispersed into the hallways. On the way to her next class, she heard the diva herself call out.
“Look everybody, it’s blindy!”. Rita cackled like a witch.
“I don’t need to see to know that you are the biggest joke in school,” Tori retorted.
Rita was now in her face, “That’s some pretty bold words for a new kid. By the way, love the gray old lady weave”. Her personal entourage giggled with Rita. Well, except Ben, who was in the behind them all, cowering and looking disappointed. Of course, Tori didn’t know.
“One, it’s platinum. Two, it’s natural. And three, I heard you’re doing ballet for the talent show. Can’t wait to see you in a tutu”. Ben snickered to Tori’s comeback. and she realized he was here
Rita turned around, “Ben, shut it. And you, Dorky Tori, keep imagining because you can’t see a tutu anyway.
“You think your flawless, but you wouldn’t be at this school if you were. No one’s perfect and you're not an exception. Now, if you’ll excuse me. Actually, I don’t care if you excuse me, cause I’m leaving, anyway”. Tori walked away dramatically, hoping not to hit something cause she wasn’t using her white cane.
“Ugh, that...ugh!”. Rita shrieked in anger.
Ben ran from the crowd of roadies after Tori. He caught up with her and slowed down to the same pace as her. She was unfolding her white cane when he rounded corner.
“What do you want? Here to make fun of me like Rita?”. Tori asked.
“No. Actually, I was coming to tell you that that was pretty cool. No one steps up to Rita. That’s why I’m too afraid to dump her”. Ben said embarrassingly.
“Oh. Well, thank you”.
“I’ll walk you to your next class”.
They walked to an entirely new building on campus. They talked about a lot of things on the way, from what it was like to be blind, then about what his disability was.
“I have a severe case of narcolepsy. I could fall asleep at any time throughout the day. That’s why I’m allowed to have this”. He asked Tori to put her hand out. She did and felt something furry that crawled all over her.
“What is this!” She wailed
“It's my pet weasel, Reuben. Don’t worry, he’s harmless. But he senses when I’m asleep during the day and gives me a wake-up nip”.
Tori petted the weasel, “Aww, he’s wonderful”.
She gave back Reuben and they continued walking. Once they got to her class, they said their goodbyes and parted ways. They ended up doing this twice more that day. All their classes seemed to be close by for all four blocks. After school, she ran into Mitch, the guy that brutally ran into her with the force of 1000 suns.
“I’m very sorry about that. I’ll come with you to sign up for the talent show I’m supposed to meet my friend, Wendy, there anyway”. Tori made up her mind about that during 3rd block, she would run against Rita for the talent show trophy.
“Thanks.” Tori responded. When they reached the office, they asked for her name and contact information and other nonsense. She finished registering and started to walk towards the dorms when she heard Courtney call her name.
“Hey, Tori!”. Courtney caught up and walked together.
“So, guess what? I’m in the talent show!” Tori proclaimed.
“Cool! What’s your talent?”
“No idea”. Tori said glumly.
“Don’t worry, you’ve got a whole week to figure it out”. That’s how the week started. Throughout the week, she tried everything. That day she tried singing in her dorm room (right across from Rita) and got noise complaints, from Rita. Tuesday she tried the instruments in the band room. They all had been mysteriously sabotaged.The strings were out of tune, the woodwinds and brass filled with a strange gooey liquid, and the percussions went missing. Wednesday was the best day ever, however, because she shut Rita up again and Ben dumped her. But when she tried dancing, the dance instructor had to leave early. Now, it was the day before the talent show and she was without a talent. It was after school when Rita started to tease her.
“It’s Thursday, Dorky Tori. Is your talent being useless?” Her entourage laughed their heads off. Tori didn’t have a comeback. She felt useless. No talent. No skills. No chance. She just walked away as their giggles filled her head. Then, she heard Ben’s voice and all of her worries disappeared.
“Hey, are you okay?” He asked.
“No, tomorrow’s the talent show. And I still don’t have a talent”. Tori complained.
“There’s no way someone as wonderful as you can be untalented”. That’s when the lightbulb went off in her head.
“That’s it! Gotta go, Ben. I have a show to plan”. She went to Mr. H and asked to borrow his braillewriter and typed for hours. By ten o’clock at night, she had the perfect layout for her performance. Eat your heart out, Rita. Tomorrow, I win this thing.
The next morning, Tori walked everywhere with her head held high. People complimented her on her mood this morning. She met with Rita between 2nd and 3rd block.
“What? Are you so eager to lose?” Her entourage hooted and hollered, but Tori was determined.
“We’ll see who loses tonight on the stage, tutu”. She walked away, more confident than she was before. She ran into Ben in between classes as well.
“What are you doing?” He pleaded to know.
“No one is knowing until 7 o’clock tonight.” Tori replied to him, as she did to everyone else who asked.
At 6:45, the seats of the auditorium were packed with students and parents. Tori’s mom couldn’t make it, but she called the other day and said she was proud no matter what place she entered. But all the students knew one thing, the top 2 spots belonged to Tori and Rita. And everyone on campus spent three dollars to see who wins first place trophy. They were also the final two acts, first Rita then Tori. The five previous acts consisted of juggling, eating, and three different instrument players. Then, Rita took the stage. The music filled the auditorium with a heartwarming soundtrack that brought tears to the eyes of some audience members. The dancing was even more amazing, each step was as graceful as a swan. Rita’s footwork was in perfect sync with the professionals. The ending consisted of Rita’s own solo, where she performed 20 exceptional pirouettes(the fancy ballet spins) before stopping and the curtains closing. She walked towards Tori.
“So, I know you didn’t see that, but that was talent that you will never achieve in life. I’m going to show courtesy and because you couldn’t see my spectacular performance, I’m not witnessing your bombshell of an act”. Rita whispered in Tori’s ear.
Tori wasn't fazed about Rita’s rude comments. This was her moment and no one is going to take that from her. The announcer, Mr. H, came on the speaker.
“And the final act of the evening is by… Victoria Wu!”. Applause filled the air as the curtains slid open to reveal Tori standing with a mic in hand. Off to the side of the stage was a piano with sheet music. On the other side, a canvas and an assortment of pencils were waiting to be used. Tori cleared her throat.
“Hello, students, faculty, and parents. In your scheduled program, my talent is listed as a question mark. That is because up until now, I did not know what my talent was. I entered this show for alternative methods rather than showing off my talent. That was childish and selfish of me. Today, I show off my talent. My talent is the very reason I am here. My talent lies within my blindness”. She walked over to the piano. The crowd muttered in response to the short speech. Tori continued as she sat down.
“My talent makes other talents, possibly more traditional talents, difficult” She set the mic in the stand. She played a few seconds of a beautiful melody, specifically “Fur Elise” by Beethoven. “But never impossible”.
The audience clapped, impressed for someone able to play at such a young age. She returned to the middle of the stage.
“As Helen Keller once said, ‘The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision’. I have a vision. My vision is of a world where everyone knows what there talent is and that they are never ashamed of it.” She walked over towards the canvas and sat on the stool and talked as she drew.
“My talent makes it hard to see where I’ve started.” The silence was longer, around 30 seconds, but just as impressive as the piano playing, the picture showed of a railroad track that trailed off into the unseeable distance, “But never the destination”. The crowd once again cheered. And once again, Tori reported back to center stage.
“On my first day of school, my teacher and today’s host, Mr. Harrison, asked me a question, ‘If you could get rid of your disability, would you?’. My initial reaction is of course. But today, my opinion changes. I would not want to rid myself of my blindness. This ‘disability’ that I claimed as my talent is apart of my identity and my identity is describes me as an individual. Taking away my talent is takes away from individuality. My talent lies within my blindness. That sentence is true. My blindness is a part of my identity. That sentence is also true. My blindness is my disability. That is not and true and never will be. I am never at a disadvantage when I’m with my talent. It is only another obstacle to overcome in the game of life. Thank you!”
Tori received a standing ovation. Everyone in the room clapped for a speech that wasn't technically a talent, but was everything a talent should be which is to be true to oneself. As Tori walked back stage, she was suddenly hugged.
"You did great!" Ben told her.
"Thanks! I don't know if I messed up or not on the last part" She worried.
"It couldn't have been more perfect”. He paused. “ So Tori, I was wondering…if maybe...you…wanted…to...be…”
" Yes, I'll be your girlfriend". She hugged him tighter than a teddy bear and let go when they called all contestants on stage. "Gotta go, bye!".
They all lined up, side by side, and the curtains parted to show the cheering crowd. Mr. Harrison came on over the mic.
"All of these kids did a wonderful job tonight so let's give them a big hand!". The audience clapped louder than they had with Tori and Rita. This is going to be close.
" Our 3rd place winner is Wendy Babineaux". She got a certificate and the audience applauded.
"Our final two finalists are..." He opened one of the letters in his hand. "Rita Vasquez and Victoria Wu!". The crowd continued to clap, but that wasn't exactly a surprise.
"And now, the moment you've all been waiting for. The first place winner and the title 'Talent Show Hero', goes to..."
Tori  at Rita and at the same time, Rita looked at Tori, Rita whispered "You're going down". Tori whispered back at Rita, "Watch me!".
"Victoria Wu!" Tori grabbed the trophy in triumph as Rita stormed off stage, enraged. Tori Wu was the winner. Holder of the title, Tori Wu: Talent Show Hero.