Sequel to Before Z-bands:
Eliza's mom Holzy and her step dad Micheal have been married for a few months. They decide to adopt a child. The child they adopt is 13 year old Liz. Liz has learning difficulties. She's autistic and she has ADHD and touret...
(This book is from the PoV of Liz unless it states overwise at the top of the page. Also, I am sorry that something in my little adolescent brain thought it was funny to give the two main characters similar names.)
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I wake up in a car. I remember being told that I was being fostered. I can't remember getting into the car though. I stretch and look around. Next to me is an unfamiliar girl. She has green hair and brown eyes. I do not know who she is. I can't speak. I've never been able to. I don't know why. It's something to do with autism. Eventually, she speaks. "Mom... She's woken up." "Great!" A woman in the front passenger seat turns around. She looks at me in the eye. I look away. "You okay sweetheart. I didn't mean to scare you. I didn't want to wake you so the guy at the place where you were living just told me to put you in the car." I fiddle with my hands and squirm. I don't like cars. They're annoying and loud and packed tightly. They're so stuffy. I chew on the bracelet on my right hand. It is a special one made for chewing. It's rainbow colours. I like it. I suddenly remember something. I take out my phone from my pocket. Then I open an app. It translates text into speech. I type on the app and then my phone makes noise. "Where is my guitar?" It says. The woman looks at me. "It's in the boot sweetheart." I feel relieved. I have my guitar.
When we get in the house, the girl from the back seat introduces herself as Eliza. The woman introduces herself as Holzy (pronounced the same as Holly but only spelt with a Z) or mum/mom. The man who was driving calls himself Michael. "Dad is okay too if you want." He says.
"Am I staying here for good?" I ask through my app. "Yes, sweetheart. We'll make you as comfortable as possible and if you need, you can take a walk around the neighbourhood if you get too overwhelmed." Holzy says. I nod. I twitch my nose. It's an impulse. I can't control it. It just happens. Sometimes I randomly move for no reason. I can't help it. Zombies can't get diagnosed for certain medical disabilities but apparently, I probably have autism, ADHD and Tourette's syndrome. I don't know what that means but that's what some important-looking guy said. I think he was a doctor. He might have just been a random guy though.
Eliza shows me to my room. Micheal and Holzy knew of my autism since they put sensory lights and a white noise machine in my room. Eliza had some old toys she doesn't play with that she gave to me. Eliza stands behind me as I take in the new place. She places her hand on my shoulder and I shudder and shake her off. "Nnnnnn!" I screech. I want her off. I don't like it! I try to speak but all that comes out is Nnnnnn. And Nnnnnn isn't helpful. She removes her hand. I gradually calm down. Then, I go to sit on the bed. It's not the same as before but it's good. I'm not sure about it though. Holzy comes up the stairs after hearing me screeching. She sees that I've calmed down. "What happened? What was that noise?" She asks Eliza. "I touched her..." She says. "And she overreacted a lot!" "No, I didn't." I type into the phone. "Yes, you did. I literally touched you gently on your shoulder and you acted like I'd punched you or something!"She argues. "Stop fighting!"Comes a voice. It was Michael. He was standing in the doorway. "Eliza, help your sister unpack. Holzy... Come help me with dinner." We obediently get on with what Michael told us to. I take the important stuff (My guitar, my favourite stuffed toy - Timmy Rabbit, my sensory toys, my clothes etc.) and Eliza takes the not-so-important stuff (More clothes, a few pairs of shoes, random bits that I stuffed in my bag, my toothbrush etc.) I spend almost an hour organising my stuff. I do it until everything is exactly right.
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(Liz's room)
Then I'm called for dinner. It's chicken nuggets. Eliza complains but I love chicken nuggets and I eat them quickly. We have chips too. I'm not very keen on oven chips but I eat some of them. Eliza has a little brother too. He's not been home lately but he's coming home tomorrow. He's been at grandma's house for a while (Eliza said it was something to do with her getting into trouble a while back and then Holzy and Michael getting married) and now he's gone to Zoey's house for the night. I'm not too sure about meeting him though. I also don't know who Zoey is... I hope she's friendly.
After dinner, I go to bed. I've had enough of sitting downstairs. I fall asleep after a few hours. It takes a while. I just can't sleep. My brain is full of random questions like 'Why do we clap when we like something?' and 'What would happen if the moon didn't exist?' and all random stuff like that. I don't know why. It just is. All the time. Eventually, I fall asleep, clutching Timmy Rabbit in my arms.
Eliza's friends are supposed to come over tomorrow. Bonzo and Zed. Bonzo is a bit like me. He likes art and music like me and he doesn't like being touched. He hates loud noises and strong smells and bright lights too. I don't like noise unless it's music from my guitar. Then, I'd have all the noise. I don't care how loud my guitar is. It can be as loud as it wants. I don't care! Everything else needs to stay quiet. Quiet... Very quiet.
