Sandra was a very popular girl at school, and it was no surprise when she was chosen as the beauty queen in her final year. As she was in a girls-only school, she had only limited contact with the other sex. She was also a great sportswoman in school, holding the record for 400-metre hurdles and being the netball captain.
After school she went to a nearby university, utilising a bursary the university offered her due to her all-rounder achievements while at school. Sandra was also quite brainy and chose a finance and economics course. She always wanted to have her own business. For her practical "social science" at project at school, she chose a non-government organization (NGO) working with physically handicapped children and young adults.
Even if she was 19 at the time, Sandra was still a virgin, although she had some experience with kissing and petting, but insisted that she was not ready to go further. There was also no shortage of suiters and the "boys" or men, often tried to sit with her while they had lunch in the cafeteria.
She had only one class on a Friday, and on this particular day she went to the library after lunch to look for a research publication that her lecturer suggested she look up. Because it was almost 5 pm on a Friday, most students had already started their weekend, including partying and drinking. There was only one other student, a man deeply immersed in a thick book. As she passed him to get to the shelf where she was expected to find her research material she noticed that he was sitting very awkwardly on the chair, oblivious of her presence. She also noticed that he has great difficulty to turn the pages. His arms looked stiff and his hands were curled inwards, so that he could hardly grip the page he wanted to browse.
She put that out of her mind and started her research with only cursory glances at her fellow student paging through the documents.
Suddenly she heard a slight commotion when the man closed the book and started to get up. Sandra was also finished and was about to leave herself. The man tried to heave himself upright planting his clenched hands firmly on the table to try to steady himself. Sandra only now noticed the wooden crutches that were under the table which she didn't notice before.
"Manfred, can I help you"' comes from the librarian behind the counter, which she didn't even notice before then. It was quite clear that they knew each other well and she was used to assisting him. "Thank you, Betty, I feel extra stiff today, comes from the student named Manfred. Betty came from behind the counter, picking up his crutches and helping to position it under his armpits. He swung his legs from under the table and Sandra could now see the big black boots that hid his deformed clubfeet. "Manny, can I help you to your car", Betty said, but Manfred told her that he is quite used to it, but thanks for the offer.
As Sandra was also about to leave, she decided to introduce herself to the disabled co-student. "Hello, I am Sandra" and she extended her hand while sporting a sparkling smile. "Ohhhh hello" he stammered, "my name is Manfred, but my friends call me Manny for short", he blushed when he pressed his clubbed claw into her outstretched hand.
"If you want to, I can walk you to your car", she says. "i-i-i-its not necessary", he retorted, but Sandra's previous experience with disabled people made her feel like a mother hen to this unfortunate, and embarrassed young man. She touched him softly on his shoulder, indicating she won't take no for an answer, and the two staggered their way out of the library, Manny also had trouble with his access card, and Sandra helped to log them both out of the library, He dragged his stiff legs and orthopaedic boots behind him, till they reached his modified Toyota SUV. They hardly spoke a word to each other; but Sandra felt a strange connection to the poor man. She helped him in the driving seat asking him how he managed to drive (since his hands and feet were mostly stiff and useless. He seemed more at ease and showed her the airplane-like joystick that he uses to control the car. The gas- and brake pedal were also on the joystick and he told her that he already had four years' experience driving the modified vehicle.
He started to thank her for her assistance, but she somehow didn't want this encounter to end. "Manfred, may I call you that, can we maybe have a drink or lunch later in the weekend?" He stared at her as if she was mad and asked why she would be seen with a guy like him. She told him that her fellow students invited her for the weekend at the beach, but somehow, she declined and had nothing planned until Monday.
Still not believing her words, he said that they could go for an early supper on Saturday and maybe have a beer or two. He completely expected her to deny his suggestion, but she just thanked him and asked if she could pick him up at his residence. They confirmed the time, and he gave her his address and telephone number and they said their goodbyes.
Sandra was strangely excited when she showered and put on a light flowery dress before her "date" with Manny. She still didn't know what drove her to such a step, she never even thought about starting a relationship, let alone with a disabled man.
She also put light makeup on and made sure that her bush was trimmed just in case she needed to get rid of her clothes. While thinking that thought, she nearly collapsed in uncontrollable laughter. Of course nothing will come from this. She merely feels sorry for the guy and he feels he owns her something for her assistance.
What an absurd thought! she giggled, but still made sure that her bra and panties matched.
She felt like a schoolgirl when she stopped at his residence five minutes before the time they discussed. It seemed that Manfred also was ready for he came crutching slowly trying to keep his balance.