Chapter 3: Friendship

A child with autism is not ignoring you. They are simply waiting for you to enter their world.

That's one example of my favourite quotes which I found online, because it describes everyone else who has autism and myself perfectly. We may be different, but what we have is one of many things that makes us who we are, essentially - and I think we should be seen for us, you know? If more people could do that instead of tossing us to one side then that would be great, it really would.

But at least some people are willing to do that.

Seconds after I followed Andrew, I couldn't help but notice that he had decided to stay put instead of going on ahead like I thought he would. Oh, hello. What's happening here?

"Everything okay?" I frowned with concern.

"Yeah," He answered as we resumed walking side by side. "I just didn't want to leave you by yourself, that's all,"

A surprised yet appreciative look painted my face. "Oh, you didn't have to stick around for me. I-I mean, I appreciate it, but still..." Well, there I go stammering gibberish again. What's going on with me, does anyone know?

"True - but I wanted to, you know?" My friend told me, smiling. Aw..! You're sweet, Andrew. Unfortunately, said smile faded when he added: "Plus, those students could have been nicer, come to think of it,"

"Don't worry about them," I reassured him, even though he was right. I'm used to it, anyway. No biggie. "Look, why don't we think about something else?"

"Okay, like what?" The older boy asked curiously.

"I don't know," I innocently shrugged, unaware that my friend was glancing at me with a hearty grin. Cue me racking my brains for a split second and... my mind just went mental. For goodness sake. I literally cannot think straight today, can I?! "I... First thing that comes to mind, really,"

"You tried to think of something, but you couldn't?"

"Yep," I shook my head with an amused sigh. "Lost my train of thought, brilliant!"

"That's fine, Lils," Andrew laughed. "It happens all the time,"

"Thanks," I giggled, feeling glad to know that my friend was in happy spirits again. Yay!

By this point, the two of us reached the end of the corridor and turned a left to enter a rather chatty classroom. Sounds like there are some people here, already. Cool. It was just like any other with your typical chairs, desks, interactive whiteboard and colorful images plastered over the walls - but the one pro was this stack of brown bags which stood near our professor's desk (I wonder where he's at?). These were referred to as compliment bags and a student would essentially write or sketch something for a classmate to pick up.

Speaking of which, I think I've lost count of how many drawings I've done since starting uni.

"Hey guys!"

"Hey!"

"Hello," I greeted Conrad and his sister, Julia with a wave before I made a quick detour for John's desk to place the class' register box down. Job done for the morning. "How's everyone doing?"

"We're great, thanks," My 21 year-old friend, who was clad in a burberry plaid shirt, grey t-shirt, denim jeans and black converse sneakers, answered in a friendly manner. He then changed the subject a little too excitedly: "Though, JJ here has some good news," Oh?

"Really?" I asked with curiosity as I walked over to join them and a visibly nervous Andrew, who flashed a relieved smile when I stood next to him. Hey, Andy!

"Yes," Julia, who wore a silver moon necklace, long-sleeved blue shirt, dark denim jeans and black booties, sighed amusedly. "But I'm gonna wait until everyone's here before I spill the details,"

"Oh, come on! You're gonna leave those two in suspense!" Conrad protested with a grin, influencing her to playfully roll her eyes. Dude...

"The payoff is huge, guys," She reassured Andrew and I. "Trust me on that, okay?"

"Got it," I chuckled, whilst the 18 year-old nodded. No problemo. "How are you guys feeling about the trip, by the way?"

"We're both really excited!" Julia answered happily. "Right, Connie?"

"Yeah," Conrad confirmed, smiling. "How about you two? You both pumped?"

Hearing this, I couldn't help but frown. Huh? "What does that mean?"

"Are you guys excited as well?"

"Oh, right!" I exclaimed in understanding. Thanks for the heads up. Cue me racking my brains for a second and exchanging a quick glance with Andrew. "I..." For a split second there, I bl**dy froze. Why? Because on one hand, I wanted to tell my friends about my anxiety over the possibility of getting bullied again but the other was pestering me with nervous thoughts such as what if they don't believe you?! I'm being silly, I know. Feel free to blame my anxiety for that. I also knew that I had to react quickly, because I didn't want my three classmates to start thinking of me as anti-social.

You know what, Lily? Best to be upfront.

"I'm not too sure, to be honest," I answered, grimacing as I continued. "I mean, I guess I'm excited but I'm a bit nervous too,"

"Why's that, Lils?" Andrew asked me worriedly.

"Yeah, why?" Julia, equally concerned.

I sadly shrugged. "I don't want to get ganged up on before we go," As long as I don't run into them, that is...

Hearing this, the two siblings exchanged a glance before Conrad spoke. "Lily, I don't think that's gonna happen if you stick with us,"

"Yeah, those Mean Girls don't stand a chance," JJ scoffed in agreement. "Right, imagine you, me and Taylor in a wrestling match with those three - who would lose?"

"Them?" I asked in a surprised manner.

"There you go," The older girl confirmed with a satisfied smirk. S-Sweet!

I couldn't help but chuckle. "Okay, cheers guys,"

Maybe I'm worrying for nothing?