-Scent of Chocolate Part 2:
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(So, we catch up on the teacher in Timmy's class. After a quick talk about chocolate facts, and after the morning math, they move on to talking about making chocolate together. The song, "Daydream Believer" by The Monkeys is playing on the radio, Nathan's favorite song. Timmy is visibly excited, smiling, and happy.)
Radio: "Cheer up sleepy Jean, oh what can it mean, to a-"
Timmy (smiles and giggles, softly swings his hands and head around as a dance): Yay! Timmy Tim-Tim-Oh! Yay!
Nathan: "Daydream, believer, and a, homecoming queen!" One of my favorite songs too. (smiles and shakes head, nodding as a dance)
Teacher (holds up her visual schedule and points at it with her finger): So, good we finished those division facts. Now, we're ready to move on to the fun stuff. For today, we'll make Valentine's cards in art class, listen to love songs in music class, do more math with candy hearts, and -
Another student: Make our own bootleg Hershey's kisses? Mimsy doesn't like Arnold-Palmer.
Nathan: Shut up, Billy! Arnold-Palmer was a good man. Leave him alone!
Jimmy: Isn't b-b-bootlegging a chocolate um, illegal?
Teacher: I'm sorry, class. But I got interrupted by you again. Please settle down. For history, we'll learn about Saint Valentine and the history of the holiday, and for social studies we'll observe how it's celebrated around the world.
Jimmy: Um, uh, teacher? What about gym?
Teacher: Gym will have a costume play today, instead of dodgeball.
Jimmy: Then why can't we make the actors play dodgeball?
Teacher: Because they just didn't make the play like that. Now, we'll go to the cafeteria to make chocolates, where there's more room.
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(Over at the cafeteria, Timmy and his classmates are mixed in with the other students for this activity. Each kid gets to choose a flavor of chocolate, with sugar-free flavors available, gets to choose a filling, gets to choose a mold shape, and gets to eat it on a napkin.)
(As for the flavors, there is milk, white, mint, and strawberry. As for the silicone mold shapes, there are woodland critters, flowers, pine cones, and seashells. As for the fillings, there is sunflower seed butter, blackberry jam, mini marshmallows, and crispy rice.)
(As for Timmy Burch, he gets a pinecone-shaped milk chocolate, with a sunflower seed butter filling. Jimmy helps him out.)
Chocolate lady (greets Timmy and Jimmy): Hi there! What's your name?
Timmy: Timmy! (makes a gag-like weird sound in joy, and giggles)
Chocolate lady: Oh, Timmy! Are you okay?
Jimmy: I'm Jimmy Valmer, and that's Timmy Burch. Timmy's autistic. He can't control his weird sounds. He mostly just says his name. But I'm his best friend.
Chocolate lady: Oh, okay. I work with autistic people a lot in another school up in Denver, in a care home. But I rarely work with people with physical disabilities like Timmy. How's he doing?
Timmy: Timmy!
Jimmy: Timmy says he's doing great. But he speaks mostly just his name, little words, weird sounds, and sometimes, he repeats something that another guy said. Why is that? Hm?
Chocolate lady: That's called echolalia. Many autistic people have that. It means they repeat words, music or sounds that another said.
Jimmy: And I have a speech problem too. I stutter, and my voice sounds weird. I have a tax-s-s-ic (ataxic) cerebral p-p-palsy. And p-p-Pfieffer Syndrome.
Chocolate lady: That's good to know. So, what type of chocolate do you, Jimmy Valmer want?
Jimmy: Um, okay so... milk chocolate, with a sunflower seed butter f-f-filling, shaped like a b-b-b-bear.
Chocolate lady: I just thought of something, how about you name your chocolate?
Timmy: Timmy! Livin' a lie!
Jimmy: "Livin' a Lie" might be a good chocolate name. And Timmy's telling me he wants the same chocolate I'm getting, but his will be pinecone-shaped.
Chocolate lady: Okay! Let's do this, and I'll show you how! Follow me, boys!
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(Timmy Burch and Jimmy Valmer are led into a cafeteria seat and it's table has a few big bowls of melted chocolate in many flavors, several mold trays, spoons, napkins, and packages of sunflower butter, marshmallows, jam and a box of crispy rice, with the crispy rice in a bowl.)
(A bus aide, who knows Timmy well, helps Timmy hold a spoon to spoon up some milk chocolate and pour it into a pine cone mold. The aide also helps out Jimmy.)
Aide (gently holding Timmy's fingers, helping him scoop up a little milk chocolate): Alright Timmy, here we go! Scoop up chocolate, pour it in the mold. Good work!
Timmy (smiles and makes happy noises): Timmy! Good work, Timmy!
Stay tuned for the next chapter...