Chapter 11

Ever since he found out how people could view his Asperger's, Matt had been avoiding his friends. Whenever they saw him and waved at him, the teen simply looked away. When they came up to him to possibly question his strange behavior, Matt walked away as fast as he could. He didn't want to reveal his Asperger's; if they ever found out about it, they would stop being friends with him, or worse, they could spread it around the school, making him more isolated with the other students. He even avoided James and Chelsea, particularly Chelsea; she witnessed the Autism Speaks speech from Mr. Jackson, so he assumed that Chelsea agreed that autism and Asperger's was a disease and that it must be eradicated.

He even avoided his mother, since she was the one who gave birth to him with this condition. He wished he hadn't been born at all, and he wished that if there was a time machine, he'd go back in time to prevent his birth. The feeling of being alone because of his Asperger's made him depressed and lonely.

The only friends he trusted with his Asperger's were his toys. They all understood him, and they were always there for him. They would never abandon him like his father for having it. They promised.

Now, Matt was in his room, sighing as he had no idea what to write next in his story assignment. He was near the end of the story, yet he had no idea who to use as the main antagonist. No matter what, he didn't want to use Master and Crazy Hands, believing that it was unoriginal to use hands as the bad guys.

With another sigh, he placed his binder and pencil to the side, and he held his head in his hands. His crazy hand shook slightly, bouncing Matt's head.

"Matt?"

The teen jumped when he heard a squeaky voice. Turning to face the shelf containing his toys, he smiled slightly when he realized it was Ness who was speaking.

"Are you okay?" Ness asked, an eyebrow raised in Matt's mind.

Matt nodded, not willing to talk at the moment. "Yeah...I'm fine."

"But you've been sitting like that for awhile," Wolf was the one to speak up. "You sure you're okay, kiddo?"

Matt turned his head, knowing that his toys wouldn't leave him alone unless he confessed. He understood why they would be concerned for Matt's health, but at the same time, it was overwhelming. However, he didn't want to hurt their feelings if he ever voiced his true feelings. "Not really. I don't know who to make as the antagonist."

"What's an antagonist?" Popo asked, his hand raised as if he was in class.

"If I recalled in middle school," Matt answered, "an antagonist is the villain, the bad guy. For example, Bowser and Ganondorf are antagonists."

"Damn straight," Bowser and Ganondorf quipped at the same time, eliciting a chuckle from Matt. Even though the two villains were evil, they sure had their hidden humorous sides to help cheer Matt up, even though they couldn't admit it.

"Why don't you use Master Hand and Crazy Hand?" Pokemon Trainer was the one to ask, with his Ivysaur nodding in agreement.

Matt shook his head. "I did thought of that, but hands as the bad guys? That could dock points off my grade..."

"How about you take a break? You've been working hard on that story all week now," Lucario suggested.

Matt smiled, glad that his toys wanted to let the boy rest. He grabbed his binder and pencil and placed them back in his school bag. If his toys suggested to take a break, then he would do so. The assignment was due next week anyway, so Matt didn't mind taking a day off from writing.

"So, what do you guys want to do?" Matt asked, getting up from his bed and walking towards the shelf containing his beloved toys.

Diddy Kong began to jump, his hand raised as he made monkey noises. Matt tilted his head, wondering what the smaller Kong wanted.

"The monkey says that we should play a match," Wario piped up. "Me and him, on that Halberd ship thingy that puffball knight drives."

Matt grinned widely as he grabbed Diddy Kong and Wario. "That's a great idea. Let's do it!"

He placed the two toys on his desk, and he grabbed the Halberd toy ship and positioned it in front of them. Grabbing a book, he moved it in front of the ship, and he placed Wario and Diddy Kong on the opposite sides of it. In his mind, Wario entered the battle via his motorcycle, and it exploded as soon as he got off of it. On the other side was a barrel labeled "DK", and after a brief second, Diddy Kong burst out of the barrel, clapping his hands before facing Wario. Matt held out his right hand, counting down.

"Three...two...one...GO!"

With that, he grabbed Diddy Kong and Wario, imagining the fight in amazing detail as the toys began to battle. While Matt was playing, he didn't notice the door cracking open a bit, revealing Maria. She peeked into Matt's room, seeing her teenage son playing with his toys like a young child. Her frown intensified the more she watched her son play with his old toys.

He should be outgrowing them by now...she thought. But he's still playing with them. Is it because he had Asperger's that made him like this?


The day at school went by pretty quickly to Matt, as he was already in fifth period. Ms. Grille wrote on the board in front of the class, saying to write the words and their definitions in a journal. She also suggested to add the words written on the board in everyone's story for a few extra points. Of course, like any teacher, she reminded the class that the assignment was due next week, and to not wait until the last minute to write it.

As Matt was writing down the words on the board, there was one word that caught his eye, and he grew intrigued the more he stared at it.

Taboo: prohibited, forbidden.

Even though Matt knew what "prohibited" and "forbidden" meant, he still had no idea what "taboo" actually meant for some reason. Without even thinking, he raised his hand, and Ms. Grille pointed at him and called on him.

"What's taboo? Could you explain its definition?" Matt asked.

Ms. Grille smiled her trademark sweet smile as she nodded. "Of course, Mr. Jones. Class, listen closely. Taboo means that something is not allowed in our country or in other countries in general. For example, killing another person is taboo. In other words, it's not allowed to kill someone else."

Matt's eyes widened, his heart beating faster. Now knowing what taboo actually meant, he put two and two together and realized: his Asperger's must be taboo as well. From what he read and heard, Asperger's was considered a disease and must be eradicated, thus making it forbidden to have it. If anyone—anyone—found out he had it, things would go downhill for the teen.

His leg bounced, making a small tap noise as it hit the bottom of the desk. He began to sweat as his crazy hand joined in the bouncing by shaking uncontrollably. Thankfully, no one didn't notice his strange behavior...at least, that was what he thought.

He raised his hand, asking if he should use the restroom. Ms. Grille held out her hand, asking for Matt's bathroom slip. The teen immediately pulled out his slip and handed it to her. After she signed her name and the time, she gestured the teen to go on. Without looking at the other students in the eye, Matt rushed out of the classroom and into the boys' restroom. Making sure that no one was inside, he hid in one of the stalls, and he sat down on the cold, hard floor. He held Mario—who he brought with him to school today—in his crazy hand, sniffling as tears began to drip down his face. He knew it. He knew that his Asperger's was not allowed here. He was sure that he wasn't allowed at all in this country if his Asperger's was considered taboo—

He heard a knock on his stall door, and he jumped in surprise. Behind the door, a young voice called out, "Hey...are you okay?"

Matt had to think up a good way to avoid this person. He began his excuse, "I-I'm okay...just that—"

"Are you sure? You've been acting like that the past few weeks now."

Matt's eyes widened. How did he not notice that someone had been seeing his strange behavior? Was this person watching him the last few weeks?

"...Come in," Matt whispered as he unlocked the stall door. A boy, who appeared to be one year older than Matt, entered the stall. He had freckles on his face, and he had curly, red hair. His clothes consisted of a purple shirt, blue jeans, and black shoes. The boy frowned, noticing Matt's tear-stained face.

"You feeling okay?" he asked.

Matt shook his head "no", and the other boy grabbed a roll of toilet paper and ripped a few pieces. He then handed the paper to Matt. "Here. It may not be much, but hopefully it could help your meltdown."

Matt raised an eyebrow, wondering how in the world this boy knew what a "meltdown" was. Despite that, he took the toilet paper and wiped away his tears, sniffling.

"I notice the signs right away," the other boy said, a comforting smile on his face. "You're...autistic?"

Matt's eyes widened, and holding Mario tightly in his hands, he shook his head vehemently. If this boy found out that he had Asperger's, he would be laughed at and even be bullied by him.

The boy smiled slightly, understanding Matt's reaction. "It's okay. I won't judge you. I have a little brother who's also autistic."

Matt tilted his head, trusting the stranger slightly. From what the boy said, apparently he had the knowledge of autism and Asperger's. Without thinking once again, he blurted out, "I have Asperger's."

Realizing what he had said, he gulped, sweat pouring down his forehead. Why did he tell this stranger about his Asperger's? Now the secret was out, and there was nothing he could do—

"Asperger's?" the boy repeated. "My brother also has it. His leg bounces like yours do, though he doesn't notice till Dad pointed it out."

Now, Matt felt more comfortable with the boy. He figured that living with someone who had Asperger's, he knew many of the symptoms and how one acted with it. "R-really?" he asked.

"Yeah," the boy confirmed. "I'm Wayne. You're Matt, right?"

Matt nodded. "Y-yeah..."

When Wayne looked down and saw the Mario toy, he smiled before asking, "You like Nintendo?"

Matt's expression changed into a grin, and he began to speak in a loud and excited voice once Nintendo was brought up. "Yeah! I love Nintendo! I own a lot of figures, like Mario, Link, Pikachu, Samus, and many others!"

Wayne nodded, listening to Matt intently despite the other boy's loud volume. "My brother loves Legos. He couldn't stop talking about them. He's a good kid."

"Awesome!" Matt cried. "Do you think your brother and I could be friends?"

Wayne chuckled before nodding, his smile still on his face. "Of course. I'm sure he'd want to be friends with you."

Before Matt could reply to Wayne's comment, the bell rang. Wayne looked up at the ceiling before he looked at Matt again. "See you at recess and health class?"

Matt nodded quickly before Wayne could finish his sentence. However, when Wayne mentioned health class, he grew curious. "You're in health class as well?"

"We're in each and every class this year," Wayne confirmed. "Anyway...see you at lunch?"

"Yeah! See you, Wayne!"

With that, Wayne left the restroom, and once the other boy was gone, Matt's crazy hand shook (after he placed Mario in his other hand) in excitement. The boy finally made a friend—a friend who understood his condition. Mario chuckled at Matt's excitement. "See? I-a figured you'll find someone who understands you."

Yeah! Matt replied to Mario in his mind. I can't wait to see him again at lunch! It makes me happy to meet someone who understands what Asperger's and autism were!


Maria noticed that Matt was in high spirits today. For the last few days, she saw how depressed her son was, so seeing him happy and cheerful again warmed her heart up. When the car pulled up the driveway, Matt got out of the car and ran into the house, greeting his toys when he entered his room.

"HI MATT!" the toys greeted back, with some of them chuckling and giggling at Matt's happiness.

"My, you're happy today!" Peach was the first one to comment.

"Yeah! I made another new friend!" Matt cried, "His name is Wayne, and he knows what Asperger's is!"

"REALLY?!" the toys gasped, with some of them chanting Matt's name and celebrating their friend's accomplishment.

"Great job!" Nana cried. "We knew that you'd make a friend who understands you! We just knew it!"

"Yup!" Matt agreed. "He wanted to be a therapist, so he studies many things, including autism!"

"AWESOME!" the toys screamed as they celebrated by dancing. Matt couldn't help but laugh. His toys wanted to see their best friend happy, and when he was, they were overjoyed to see Matt smiling and in high spirits.

The celebrating was interrupted when he heard a knock on the door. He turned to face it, wondering who was there. It could be his mother to remind him to keep it down.

Well, Maria was at the door, but to Matt's surprise, Logan stood beside her. Matt's eyes grew wide, and he took a step back. What was Logan doing here? He then remembered: he had been avoiding Zoey and the others the last few days. He gulped, now knowing why Logan was here: to yell at him for hurting Zoey's feelings. Though now that he thought about it, if Zoey was upset with Matt, she could be at his door, not send out Logan to confront him.

"Matt," Maria spoke with a small smile on her face. "Your friend, Logan, is here to see you."

Matt tried to gulp down a lump in his throat that kept coming back up. Perhaps Zoey did sent Logan to confront him, and if that was the case, he was prepared to be chewed out for hurting his best friend. He knew how sensitive Zoey was, and he figured that him avoiding her could hurt her.

When Maria left the two alone, Matt immediately began to apologize. "I'm so sorry, Logan! I know you're mad at me for avoiding you and Zoey, but—"

"Can I borrow some of those?" Logan interrupted, pointing at Matt's shelf full of toys.

Matt stopped talking and he followed Logan's finger. Raising an eyebrow, he wondered why Logan wanted his toys. Does he want to hang out with him for the day? Or does he need them for something?

"Wh-why?" Matt squeaked out.

"I need them for my...little sister's project," Logan demanded. "I need them now, Matt."

Matt smiled widely, not minding Logan's demands. This was his friend—he wanted to keep Logan happy, so he let him borrow anything, even his toys, to make sure of that.

"Sure!" Matt agreed. When he turned to face his shelf, he asked Logan which ones he wanted. However, Logan grabbed Pokemon Trainer and Squirtle and Ivysaur, Snake, Wolf, and the Ice Climbers without asking. Matt didn't seem to mind; he assumed that he was in a rush.

After placing the toys in his bag, Logan left the house, not even thanking Matt. Matt simply shrugged at Logan's impoliteness, and when he turned to face his toys, they all stared at him. Some of them even had frowns on their faces.

"Matt..." Lucas gulped. "A-are you sure it's a good idea to let Logan borrow them?"

"Of course!" Matt spoke, nodding. "He's my friend! I'm sure he'll bring them back once his little sister was done. We just have to wait till she's finished with her project!"


Logan left Matt's house, a wide, sinister smirk on his face. As he walked down the street, he chuckled darkly. His mission was a success, though he was surprised that Matt fell for his trick easily.

"Matt's so stupid, trusting me with his toys," he spoke in a whisper, "I'm sure I'll get a lot of money for selling these stupid toys. But for now..."

After about ten minutes of walking, he entered another small town, and he walked towards the nearest store: a music store.

"I need some more money."

He entered the music store, pulling out what could be a pistol from his waistband…


To Matt's surprise, Logan was absent for half of the day. It was unusual of his friend to be gone, though he assumed that Logan must had been sick, or something came up that forced him to stay home. He hoped that it was just sickness: hearing the death of Logan's family member would tear the other boy up. Perhaps he could come in the middle of class, claiming that he overslept.

However, as the hours passed by, he still saw no sign of Logan. Did something happened? Was he sick? Did he overslept? Or did something popped up?

One particular question that bothered him was: when was Logan going to bring his toys back?

When recess came around, he couldn't stop that gut-wrenching feeling that something was definitely wrong. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he had a bad feeling that something must had happened that caused Logan to stay at home.

When he heard distant sobbing, he turned to see Zoey, who had her face buried in her hands as she sobbed. Peter was right beside her, trying his hardest to comfort her.

Matt's heart broke into small pieces that he wanted to cry himself. Without hesitation, he ran towards Zoey and Peter, concern written all over his face. He'd never seen Zoey be this hysterical before. Did something happened?

He then remembered: he had been avoiding her. Perhaps he had hurt Zoey to the point where she was sobbing her eyes out?

"Zoey?" Matt had the courage to speak up. The girl looked up at Matt, and he could see the tears still dripping down her face. Matt wanted to hug her right here, right now, the more he stared at her upset face.

"Zoey..." Matt gulped. "I'm so sorry I've been avoiding you. It's just that—"

"It's not that," Zoey interrupted.

Matt raised an eyebrow. "Then...what is it?"

He wished he hadn't asked when Zoey sniffled, "L-Logan's...in juvenile for robbing a store with a gun..."


Constructive criticism is welcomed!