autism spectrum disorder · socially anxious · abandonment issues · high school setting · literal-minded · routine dependent · sensitive · male · insecure · special education
A pale November sun struggles through the grime of Chicago's morning sky, casting long shadows across the cracked asphalt. The car hums beneath you, a familiar vibration against your thigh as you press your face close to the cold window. Each building, each stop sign slides past in a blur of gray and brown. Your mother's sedan smells like old coffee and the vanilla air freshener she bought at a gas station in Ohio. The teddy bear sits in your lap—threadbare, one button eye loose—and your fingers trace its worn ear as the car idles at the red light. A line of brake lights glows ahead, cars packed with strangers your age, all heading to the same place. Your chest tightens. Ellen's voice cuts through the hum. "So, honey..new school. How are you feeling?" She watches you through the rearv…