He’s not normal...
(Ally's POV)
The first-semester break came quickly. Chloe and I decided to spend it together. Her parents gave her permission because they knew she would be treated well. We spent the first week reading lots of romance novels and fantasizing about them. I had gotten so close to her that striking up conversations had become easy. My parents were also happy because I had never been this way.
The following week, we decided to go to the park to play for a bit but while we were out, Chloe got injured so I had to take her to the hospital. She got treated at the hospital where my mom works so things were easy for us. As we were about to leave, we saw the emergency team rushing someone in. I glanced at the person, and I was shocked. It was Zack. What on earth has happened to him? I immediately told Chloe and being the curious kids that we were, we followed them. Just as we were doing so, we happened to stumble upon Mike who was also getting treated at the hospital. He stopped us and asked why we were here. Chloe looked a bit scared, but she still answered him. Knowing that he and Zack were friends and didn't want to keep him in the dark, so I told him what we just witnessed. Mike jumped up from his hospital bed and we all ran towards the emergency room. By the time we got there, he was gone. Then I saw someone who looked familiar. It was a girl. I remembered seeing her following Zack when he was rushed in. I didn't focus on her because of Zack but now that I was thinking about it, I realized that she must have known Zack to have brought him to a hospital by herself. I noticed that she was eavesdropping on the conversation the doctors were having so I told the other two to follow me so we could hear their conversation too. We hid somewhere a bit far from her so we wouldn't be noticed but we could still hear clearly. "We did a CT scan and found something wrong. He must have hurt his head somewhere. When he wakes up, he might have to undergo therapy. You know he's not a normal kid but an autistic one. What would we tell his grandfather when he shows up?" This is what I heard the doctors say. I couldn't believe my ears. "Zack is autistic, He's not normal". That's what I heard Chloe say. I turned to face both of them, and I saw a Shocked expression on Chloe and a worried look on Mike's face. I didn't even know what to say. While I was still lost for words, I heard one of the doctors telling a nurse that he was in the VIP ward, so I quickly dragged Chloe and Mike to the VIP section, and we spread out to look for him. We finally found his room and went in to check on him. He looked so pale. I couldn't help but feel sad for him. Mike walked towards him and stared at him. He also looked pale like he was afraid of something. I had never seen such a vulnerable expression on his face. He always had a stern expression. He must care about Zack. We heard some footsteps and quickly ran out of the room. On my way out, I bumped into the girl I saw earlier. She gave me a scary look and passed by. I felt offended, but I let it slide and I left.
The three of us left the hospital and we went to a nearby restaurant because we hadn't eaten anything all day. While we were eating, I kept on observing Mike. He was lost in thought. I was worried about him, but I didn't know what to say. Chloe probably noticed and decided to break the silence. "Everyone has something they struggle with in life. Mike, you don't have to brood so much about it. He would be fine. If he's able to go to school even with his condition, I'm sure it's not that bad. You can visit him if you're so worried". She tried to encourage him, and I noticed a change in his expression as he listened to her words. Then he gave her a reply, "I knew something was off about him but I'm not one to pry into other people's business. I'm sure he doesn't want anyone to know about it so please keep it a secret. I don't want to make him feel uncomfortable" Who would have thought that Mike could be such a considerate person? He looked in my direction and smiled at me then he spoke. "You haven't said anything all this while, cat got your tongue?" I almost choked on my food. What was I supposed to say to him? I was thinking so hard about what to say when Chloe spoke up for me "She's not comfortable talking to people she's not close to and, she's a bit shy. She probably can't even think of what to say to you." When she said these things, I couldn't help but smile and Mike did the same. "Both you and Zack are quite similar", I wonder what he means when he said that. I was curious so I opened my mouth and asked why he said that. "I thought you wouldn't speak, anyway, it doesn't matter. Zack told me something similar when we first met and just like I told him back then, as far as you know who I am, we're no longer strangers. Why don't the three of us become friends" he said these words with a big smile. He must love smiling. Chloe disagreed with his suggestion, but I seemed to like the idea. He didn't seem like a bad guy, and he was friends with the guy was crushing on so there was no harm in it. As I thought of this, I realised that I was crushing on an autistic patient. I couldn't help but feel weird about it. But I rebuked the feeling and told myself that just because he was not well, didn't mean that he was different from the guy I fell in love with. I told myself that I liked him the way he was and that if he wasn't this way, I may not have liked him. He was perfect just like this. It was then I decided to finally summon the courage to talk to Zack. I wanted to become friends with him and get to know him better. I want him to have more people to rely on whenever he feels like he is alone. I was ready to give him my all.