Chapter 26: A Fairly Normal Super Class...?
"My name is Riley Ross. I did not think I would meet someone else on the spectrum in this class, Mr. Gary."
"W-what...?"
A heavy silence fell over the hall. The only sound that followed was the faint, awkward smacking of Gary’s lips as the confident smile on his face twitched and then vanished entirely. He opened his mouth to respond, but he didn’t get the chance as Bella’s voice completely drowned his.
"BWAHAHAHA!" Bella erupted into laughter, walking straight toward him with a finger pointed dramatically at his face. "Bro, you autistic?!"
"Bella!" Hannah hissed, quickly nudging her to the side. Her eyes flicked toward Riley, silently reprimanding Bella about him.
"O-Oh..." Bella’s grin faded as she cleared her throat. She glanced at Riley, slightly wincing as she realized what she had just said. "My bad."
"For what, Ms. Bella?" Riley tilted his head, not knowing what Bella meant at all.
"D-Don’t sweat it," she said, waving a hand. "And nah—this dude ain’t autistic, he just one o’ them moody, edgy anime boys."
"Edgy?" Riley asked.
"She means he’s stupid," Hannah added, sighing and shaking her head at Gary.
Pauline, meanwhile, lowered her gaze even further. Why... are they so comfortable saying things like this to someone they just met? She wondered.