angel baby (heavy editing)

20.0

"Bye, honey. Have a great day at school. Good luck on your tests", Lia kissed Chris goodbye after dropping him off at school. She had used part of Chris' price money to buy a run down car. She would make sure to take him to school and pick him up, at least until Kathy was strong enough for school. Past experiences had suggested letting him go to school alone was a bad idea.
Chris nodded, got out of the car and walked into the school. She watched him go. She was glad he liked it here.  The thought of the conversation she would have with him later tonight filled her with dread but she knew she had no choice. The kids deserved to know the truth. For a fleeting moment, as Lia stared at the building, she realized that everything Jessica owned would go to Chris. She then felt bad for Oliver.  Maybe it was a bad idea. Nobody had to know. Nobody would get hurt. It wasn't that big a deal. But she wanted to get to know Oliver, she really did but she couldn't imagine her life without her son in. She quickly shook her head and twisted the ignition key. She would cross that bridge when she got to it.
    Chris, on the other hand, walked into the school building and came in contact with other students. These days, it wasn't that bad being in the crowd of students. It was still bad but at least he didn't feel like bolting. He did what Kathy told him to do: imagine everyone was cotton candy. Sometimes it worked, most times, it really didn't.
He saw Barkis before she saw him. He liked her. She made him comfortable.
"Hi, Chris, how are you today?"
He wanted to reply but he really didn't want to so he settled for silence but nodded regardless.
Barkis smiled at him, "That's good. Come, the guys are at the library. We're going to do one last revision before the test. Ugh, I'm so not ready. Were you able to study last night? Is studying difficult for you? What is wrong with me? I keep saying the wrong things around you. I'm such a terrible friend"
"Why? I think you're my best friend"
Barkis suddenly stopped surprised. She turned to face him.
"Really?"
He nodded.
"You're my best friend too" She smiled at him as they walked away.

        The moment Chris sat down for his fourth period class, the first class of the day without a test, he felt eyes on him. Sometimes he felt people watching him, especially since the cafeteria when everyone found out of his autism but that moment was different and he didn't know what to do.
Barkis wasn't in this class so he could not seek help from her. Past experiences had suggested that making eye contact with whoever was glaring at him would only lead to verbal abuse or worse but the glaring was getting to a place where he couldn't stand it and to avoid a panic attack or him throwing a tantrum, he turned and almost flinched when he made eye contact with said person.
Oliver.
He was confused. The look he directed at Chris was similar to the ones Kathy gave Chris when she was annoyed with him. He didn't understand why Oliver was mad at him. From day one, Oliver had never liked him. He had even put his fist in his face as a show of his never ending hatred. The said boy frowned at him for a few seconds before looking away. He continued to stare at the boy, long after he looked away. He was aware what he was doing was creepy and Kathy had told him behavior like that would only get him beaten up but he couldn't stop, not when the teacher entered, not when he called for everyone's attention, not when his name was called for attendance (which he didn't give a reply to), not when his name was called the second time and the third time. He only did when he felt a tap on his shoulder from his seat partner. He flinched and turned.
"I love when my students pay attention in class. I trust you won't repeat that, Chris", the teacher said to him. He had zoned off. Kathy hated when he did that.  He nodded just as someone said,
"It's his autism. He belongs in a special school"
He recognized the voice as Jacob but refused to acknowledge it, neither did he acknowledge the chuckles that followed.  It wasn't like he could do a thing. Kathy had told him she would take care of the bullies. She wasn't there. He hated her.
"Detention after school, Jacob and to the rest of you who laughed" 
No objections were made.
"Spoilt bastards", he heard the teacher mutter before he started the class.
Kathy had said if a teacher swore and cursed at students, they could get in serious trouble but a small smile appeared on his face regardless due to the teacher's kindness.