I hate this…

(Zack's POV)

The midterm break ended quite quickly and all I did was spend my days studying. I wanted to enjoy alone time as much as I could before walking back into the lion's den. It's been a bit difficult, but Mike made things a bit comfortable. He always managed to take my attention off of those around me. I was beginning to think that he knew about my condition, but it was just a thought. If I was focused on something, I would never notice the people around me or the events going on around me, that's just how my senses work. As someone who was autistic, I wondered how I could even sense a lot of things. It would have been very difficult for me to understand a lot of things if I wasn't studying all the time. The knowledge that I have gained has given me the ability to understand most things that people say and do, but not everything.

School had resumed and I arrived very early as usual to avoid people. I stopped at the notice board in front of the class and searched for my name. I was in first place in the class. I wasn't really surprised but I was proud of myself for my achievement. I had full marks in all my subjects. I looked at the name below mine and it happened to be a familiar name. "Allison Green", It was that girl. Mike had told me her name once, so it was her. "She's quite smart", I said to myself. After a few seconds, I started hearing footsteps, then I quickly went into the class and retreated to my seat at the far end of the class, and I placed my head on the table to avoid seeing anyone. I ended up falling asleep.

I woke up upon hearing a lot of voices and then I heard the Homeroom teacher speak. I lifted my head and found everyone seated. The teacher announced the rankings, and I heard something even more surprising. I was number one in the whole school. It was hard to believe that no one was as smart as I was in the whole school. It was an achievement that I never thought I would attain. I had to inform my grandfather about it, I'm sure he would be very proud of me. I was lost in thought for the rest of the day and soon, the closing bell rang. Upon hearing the bell, I was about to place my head on the table, but before I could, I saw a group of girls rushing towards me. I didn't know what was happening. Before I could grasp what was going on, they started asking me questions, one after the other. I had no breathing space. They kept asking so many questions and they were so close, and I thought that I would lose my mind. I started panicking inside. I got really tense and I was on the verge of breaking down. Everything was a blur, and I could see myself screaming if this continued. "I HATE THIS!!! I HATE THIS!!!, Why does it have to be me, why can't they just leave me alone". I was breaking down by the second. I needed to hold it in. I was about to scream when someone's voice brought me back to reality. "What is wrong with you people? Can't you see that you're making him uncomfortable? Stop asking these questions and just let him be." When I heard these words, I looked in the direction of where it came from, and I saw someone backing me. Everything around me looked dark, but I could recognize that silhouette. It was Allison, she stood up for me. I never would have imagined that a girl like her would do such a thing. Why? We don't even know each other so why would she? I started questioning her actions and was so engrossed in my thoughts that I didn't notice everyone leaving. I snapped out of my thoughts and saw that everyone had disappeared. There was no one left in the class, except for the girl in front of me. She stood there frozen, and I could see her shaking. "Was she scared? If she was, why would she do what she did?" Because of her actions, I felt warm inside and felt that I could trust her. I broke the silence by getting up from my seat. She heard my movements and turned around. "Are you ok? I'll apologize on their behalf, please don't take it to heart" She said these words and ran away. I was speechless. Why was she so nice to me? I couldn't help but ponder on today's events. 

I wasn't even aware of how or when I arrived home. It was then I realized that I didn't greet anyone in the house and just went straight to my room. I was so lost in thought that I didn't notice that I ignored them all and unknowingly to me, my grandfather happened to be in the house. My nanny knocked on my door and came in. She brought me back to reality. She had witnessed this act of mine a lot of times, so she knew that I was busy in my world. She told me that my grandfather was here to see me and that I walked past him without acknowledging his presence. My heart sank when I heard those words. I rushed out of my room ran to my grandfather and tried explaining what happened. I couldn't read the expression on his face, so I just assumed he was angry and continued apologizing. "I'm not angry at you kid I'm proud of you" I was confused. Why was he proud of me? "I heard from your principal about your achievement. You truly are my grandson" he said these words and smiled. His words kept ringing in my head and all I kept on saying was "Grandfather is proud of me" I unknowingly kept repeating these words and then I burst into tears. I always wanted to hear him say that. I had been feeling so much guilt all these years because of him. But hearing those words meant that my grandfather didn't hate me. I was overjoyed and I just continued crying and kept on saying "Grandfather is proud of me." My nanny noticed that I couldn't stop myself from repeating these words and then she calmed me down. She wiped my tears and told me that dinner was ready. I stopped crying and we all had dinner together. It was the first time that I felt so warm eating with others. Even though we were just five in the house, it felt so warm. I felt like I had a family again and I didn't want this feeling to end.