Sea-colour

Date/Timing: 12 November 2005
Setting: Edan & Rhys' room, University of Manchester dorm; Manchester, United Kingdom
Scene-ifying "Achromatopsia"
.
Sitting on the bottom bunk with a notepad on her lap, Vigsai groans. "I can't /believe I have to work up basic phenotype-genotype eye colour charts for this class. This's /university, not kindergarten." She brightens. "So, you're all my subjects. Edan, what colour are your eyes?"
"Why'm I your guinea pig?" Edan whines, sprawled on his bean bag.
Hermann takes up a notebook, compares a page to his.
"You're not. I already filled in Rhys' information. Don't be difficult, Gingersnap."
Edan sticks out his tongue and goes back to pretending to read.
Vigsai rolls her eyes. "Rhys, what colour are his eyes?"
"How should I know? It's not like I spend my spare time gazing into them. Ask Hermann."
"Why am I stuck working with infants?" Vigsai mumbles. She sighs heavily, then, "What colour] would you call Edan's eyes, Hermann?"
"They're light?" offers Hermann.
"What kind of answer is that?"
"It's an honest one. I'm achromatopsic."
"/Achromatopsic?" squeaks Vigsai.
Edan props himself up. "Wha?"
"It means he's /completely colourblind."
Hermann busies himself with his notes. "Everything's grey to me." Scans a page. "I don't even know what colour /my eyes are, let alone anyone else's."
"That is /so cool," breathes Vigsai.
Edan clears his throat, says, "They're a warm brown." 
"Pardon?"
"Your eyes." Edan rubs his neck. "They're kinda chestnut."
An 'oh' slips out around the lump in Hermann's chest.
"Of course you'd know," sighs Rhys.
Edan hisses.
"Shut it, you two. This's really cool! Achromatopsia is /incredibly rare! Hermann, were you born this way or did something happen to cause it? I'd love to take you down to the med lab and get a look at your retina!" She drifts closer and closer to Hermann, trying to peer into his eyes. 
He scoots his chair until Edan is between himself and Vigsai to shield himself from her curious advance.
She leans over Edan.
"Do you miss them?" asks Rhys, freezing everyone in place.
Hermann ponders for a moment. "I can't miss what I've never had." He gently kicks Edan's shoulder. "Just tell her your eye colour and put us out of our misery."
"Well, my mum always says my eyes are the colour of the sea," Edan says, placing a theatrical hand over his heart.
"That's poetic of her. Probably the only poetic thing ever said about you," Rhys snarks. "Unless Hermann's waxed rhapsodic in your direction lately."
"Nah. He saves his lyrical impulses for the stars and other celestial bodies," sighs Edan.
"So, definitely not you, then."
A pillow flies across the room, aimed roughly at Rhys' head. 
He knocks it aside easily. "Hermann, you have no idea, then, you're hanging out with the gingerest of twiggy Scottish gingers, do you? Poor thing probably thinks he's being pursued by a blond Scandinavian."
"There's nothing wrong with being a ginger Scot. It's honest Scottish colouration," Edan huffs.
"Whatever you say, Gingersnap. The twiggy's the funny bit, mate. I'm pretty sure we could wrap a sheet of A4 around you. Not that our Continental import's much more substantial, mind. Together you two skinny fucks might weigh as much as a normal person."
"You're just jealous of our girlish figures," Edan says with a dismissive gesture.
"Which reminds me," Vigsai breaks in, "we should probably go eat before the two of you—what do you space people say—collapse into singularities? I can finish this later."
Category:Ficlet
Category:University of Manchester (setting)
Category:Manchester (setting)
Category:Hermann
Category:Hermann's POV
Category:Hermann (ficlet)
Category:Hermann is colour-blind
Category:Hermann (description)
Category:Edan (ficlet)
Category:Edan
Category:Edan (description)
Category:Vigsai
Category:Vigsai (ficlet)
Category:Rhys
Category:Rhys (ficlet)
Category:Dona (mention)
Category:Ficlets with images