Catie Whitworth unpacked the Perkins Brailler and typed a greeting for Jessica Heneisen when she walked in, after school at Calvary Lutheran High School in Jefferson City.
Heneisen then picked up a swing cell and punched the dots to share a message back to Whitworth.
Members of the new Braille Club are learning their letters right now. Once that's down, they have projects in mind to help the visually-impaired in the community.
Club sponsor Louise Whitworth has a variety of tactile devices to help the members learn and practice.
"When they do it in different ways, it's fun for them to learn," she said. "They love to leave each other notes."
Once they've learned A-Z and punctuation, Louise Whitworth said she will leave notes around the school for them to find, read and follow.
"The same rules of written English applies to Braille," she said.
Whitworth, who can read Braille upside down like any classroom teacher learns to do with printed words, said teaching Braille is similar to the old-time typing class drills and exercises.
Such a club is not common. Several teachers of the visually-impaired across the state are watching to see how this develops, Louise Whitworth said. They hope to model similar clubs in their areas from this effort, she said.
And several local adults have shown an interest in joining the club, too. The next step would be to provide transportation.
Louise Whitworth also teaches the visually-impaired students within the Jefferson City Public Schools and she serves on statewide committees.
But what drew her to learn Braille and other methods to serve people with vision impairments was the result of her daughter Liz's diagnosis of macular degeneration.
Since then, she has earned her certification from Missouri State University, the only institution in the state offering it for teachers of the visually-impaired. Before that, she was a band and choir teacher for 18 years.
"This has been the most rewarding thing I have ever done in my life," Louise Whitworth said.
The Calvary club members have the benefit of both seeing and feeling the six cells that comprise each letter or punctuation.
But a couple of them are looking at a future where they eventually will not have their sight.
"You can make a picture in your head of what bumps are up," Louise Whitworth said. "(Eventually), it's like your fingers know. The more you do, the easier it gets."
For now, they lightly touch the Braille then double-check with their eyes, Catie Whitworth said.
"If you knew you were losing something, you'd fight it because you don't want to lose it," Liz Whitworth said. "You'd use it as much as possible."
Heneisen said she almost didn't join the club because it was a reminder.
"When you know you have to learn it, it's a lot scarier," Heneisen said.
The Braille Club has made it easier, Heneisen said.
With doctor's permission, Heneisen was able to earn a driver's license with restrictions. That affords her freedom to go where she wants, she said.
Learning Braille also will give her the freedom to continue learning when the time comes she can no longer use her eyes to see the written words.
"It's inevitable I will lose my sight," Heneisen said. "For now, if my eyes get tired, I can still continue a lesson in Braille."