"I have a question," called out a boy in the far corner. "You know people by smell?"
Amari smiled, knowing it sounded strange.
"Yeah." He shifted Taitai on his lap. "For example, Taitai's grandmother likes to burn sandalwood incense in the house. So, both he and his dad always smell like sandalwood. Taitai uses a certain kind of soap and shampoo, and I know what that smells like. And he likes to eat sweets, like chocolate and candy, so his breath usually smells sweet."
He inhaled quickly through his nose, taking in the comforting scent. "Put all those things together, and even if he's very quiet, I know the person on my lap's Taitai."
"Me?" came a timid voice toward the front. "Were you always blind?"
He shook his head. "I wasn't. I had an accident when I was fourteen and lost my sight."
"Was that hard?" asked the timid voice.
Amari huffed, wondering if he would be offended if that question came from an adult. It was so innocent from a child, but somehow always felt intrusive and condescending from anyone older. Or it used to, but so did so many other things - things that didn't really bother him anymore.
"It was, yeah. I think being a teenager can be hard anyway, so not being able to see just makes it harder. But now that I work with blind children, sometimes I think I'm kinda lucky? I can't see color, but I remember color. I can't see trees, or flowers, or birds, but I remember what they look like. So, if I touch a tree, or smell a flower, or hear a bird, I can guess what it looks like in my head. Children who're born blind will never know those things."
"That's sad," said the child, even quieter than before.
"I guess. Has anyone heard the saying 'you can't miss what you never had?'" There was a hush and Taitai tapped on his arm.
"A couple of 'em nodded," Taitai whispered, making Amari chuckle.
"Would you miss colors if you never saw color?" he asked, not expecting six- and seven-year-olds to answer such a complicated question. "Blind children experience the world differently than you, but their lives're just as happy and full."
"I have a question," called a loud voice from the front. "Can blind kids play games and sports?"
"Of course. Actually, that's a good question..." He put Taitai down on the floor and felt behind him for the kickball. "Because... I asked Miss Julie if we could play a game today. It's a game we play a lot at our school, called beep kickball. Do you wanna play?"
There were excited 'yeahs' and 'uh-huhs' and Julie clapped her hands together again. "Okay then, we're going to go out to the field behind the school to play. I want a line waiting at the door."
Julie gave Amari a soft pat on the arm before she moved to lead the kids outside. After grabbing his guitar case, he stuffed the ball under his arm and took Taitai's hand. They followed the line of children down the hallway and out the backdoor of the school, passing what Amari assumed was a playground into an open field. Once they reached the middle of the field, Julie called everyone into a circle.
"Now, Amari is going to explain the rules of the game, so listen closely."
He held out the soft foam ball in his hand and flipped a small switch, demonstrating the high-pitched beeping sound it made, then turned it off again.
"We're gonna play beep kickball," he said, putting the ball on the ground. Pulling out a handful of blindfolds from the front of his guitar case, he held them out.
"Whoever's playing'll need wear a blindfold. We do this when we play with blind and visually-impaired children so everyone is equal and the game's fair." He crouched down and put a hand on the ball. "We'll split into two teams. Miss Julie, can you make teams for me?"
The teacher split the kids into two groups of eight and Amari continued.
"Okay. One team'll kick the ball, and the other'll catch the ball. After you kick the ball, you've gotta run to me. I'll be the base, and I'll stand somewhere in the field. Once you kick the ball, I'll clap and make noise, and you've gotta try and find me."
He demonstrated, making some of the children giggle.
"Two people on the other team will try to find the beeping ball. If you find me first, you get a point. If the other team picks up the ball first, they get a point. We'll rotate through everyone, then switch, so everyone gets a chance to play." There were some murmurs among the children and Amari smiled, knowing it was a lot to understand with just words. "I think it'll be easier to try it a couple times until you get it, okay?"
The kids continued to chatter and he pulled out a blindfold. "We'll have Taitai be out in the field first, since he knows how to play. Who wants to join him?"
Another kid must have raised his hand, because Taitai corrected him and told him he had to use words.
"Me!" the kid exclaimed, and Amari waved him over, tying the blindfold around his head. He turned on the ball again as a reference, then walked the two out into the field, spreading them out to each side.
When he returned to the ball, he took another blindfold. "Okay. Now I need someone to kick the ball."
Another child stepped forward and he tied the black cloth around his head. He moved him in front of the ball, letting him feel where it was.
"What's your name?"
"Ryan," he replied shyly, tugging at his blindfold.
"Okay, Ryan." He gently pulled the child's hand away from his face. "You've gotta leave that on. Remember, we're pretending to be blind. You're gonna kick this ball as hard as you can in front of you, and as soon as you kick, I'm gonna start clapping and making noise. You've gotta come and find me, as fast as you can, okay?"
Ryan was quiet, so Amari reminded him to use his words, and he made a noise to agree. "Okay. I'm going out into the field now."
He stood and called loudly to everyone, "Miss Julie's gonna be the referee. She'll let you know when you can kick the ball, and let you know who wins each round."
Hurrying out into the field, he could hear Taitai's other classmate near him, shuffling around in the grass. "You know what to do?" he asked, turning toward the child. "You've gotta follow the beeping sound from the ball, try to grab it as fast as you can, then hold it up in the air."
He heard an "okay" in response, and Amari nodded. Shifting away a little, not wanting his voice to give his position away, he gave a thumbs up in Julie's direction. It was easy to hear the other non-blindfolded children around her.
"Okay, Ryan. You can kick when you're ready."
Amari barely heard his foot hit the soft ball and could hear the beeping fly off to the right. He immediately raised his hands in the air and began clapping, then started whistling as well. As Ryan headed his way, he heard Taitai fly past, the bells on his shoes jingling, heading straight for the ball. He could hear footsteps in the grass getting closer, but Ryan wasn't fast enough, and Taitai shouted out. Ryan reached him, almost slamming into him, and he grabbed the child's hand as Julie confirmed that Taitai had won.
Amari gently untied the blindfold and smiled. "You were so close! Great job. Was it difficult?"
"Yeah," Ryan admitted, taking a few breaths. "I couldn't see anything!"
Amari giggled. "Yeah. Now go back so your friends can try too." Free from the blindfolded, Ryan raced back to the group with Amari following carefully behind. "Okay, do we wanna try again, or are we ready to play for real?"
The children all shouted they wanted to just play, so Amari nodded. "Okay, Taitai. Pick someone from the other team and play rock-paper-scissors to decide who goes first."
Taitai's team won and wanted to kick, and Taitai decided to go first, so the others could watch. He tied his blindfold back on and stepped up to the ball while Amari walked two girls out into the field, then took a new spot. After giving her a signal, Julie told Taitai to kick, and he slammed his foot into the ball, sending it flying. Amari clapped as the two girls in the field ran in circles, desperately trying to find the beeping ball in the grass.
Taitai found Amari easily, having months of practice using his ears to navigate his surroundings, and the girls in the field groaned. While they stayed for another try, Amari returned with Taitai to blindfold the next child.
As they played and the game grew easier for the kids, it became more fun for those playing and watching. The children on the sidelines giggled, watching the ones on the field stumble and scramble around, or they shouted directions to their teammates. The children in the field became more competitive, trying hard to be the first to reach their sound. Some were obviously better than others, but it was a short and easy game to play, and they all seemed to enjoy it.
After switching and letting both teams kick and catch, Julie gathered the rowdy voices into a group. Amari collected his blindfolds back, grabbing his guitar case to stuff them into a front pocket.
"Did you have fun?" he asked, and the children shouted or babbled to themselves or friends. "Good. See? Blind children can play games just like you can. We just make little changes so they can use their ears or hands, instead of their eyes."
There was more chatter and Julie clapped her hands to get their attention. "Okay, okay. Amari has to go soon, but what Taitai didn't tell you is that he's also a singer. So how about we get him to sing a song before he goes?"