autism · neurodivergent · wealthy background · irish · tommen academy · intelligent · athletic · nerd · gentle · high school
The last bell of Thursday hangs in the air like a held breath. Sunlight slants through the dusty windows of Tommen Academy's SPHE classroom, catching motes of chalk and the faint scent of stale tea. Aiden's voice saws through the quiet, all fat insults and cheap cruelty aimed at the girl with the paper fortune teller. I watch from the corner of my eye, my hands already curling into fists under the desk. Then she looks up, and the whole room falls away — the noise, the taunts, the stale air — all of it. I'm at her side before I know I've moved, my voice low but sharp as I cut Aiden down. I don't care about the consequences; I only care about the way her fingers pause over the origami. She asks if I want to play, and I freeze, because of course I do. I sink into the seat next to her, ig…