Unable to speak, autistic Claire fears she will never be hired. Then an autism organization offers her a chance to realize her dream: to publish her writing and share her voice with the world.
It's a dream come true, right? But Claire's father can'...
Claire stares at her reflection in the mirror. A short Japanese American teenager with long black hair and a delicate build stares back.
It's still hard to believe, sometimes, that she's still alive. She had never really expected to reach age 17. When she was lost in the hellhole of her early childhood, she had anticipated, even hoped, to die any day. But then her dads rescued her. It was like she had died and been reincarnated.
Could she have died, actually? Died briefly, and been resuscitated? It was possible. When she was in the hospital as a little girl, nobody would tell her what was going on. They hadn't bothered. They didn't think she'd understand.
No, no more thoughts about the hospital. Not fun. Too scary. Change the subject.
Time to get excited! She's going to an autism resource fair! For a future she thought she'd never survive to see!
Wow, she's really bad at changing the subject.
Think about cats. Or purple things. Purple cats?
Claire blinks. Time to get dressed. She puts on a light purple shirt. Then her lucky underwear, just to be safe. (It has balloons in pretty colors.) She slips into a dark purple skirt and a light blue jean jacket.
Wearing purple makes her happy. So why not be happy every day?
Claire brushes her hair, washes her face, and shakily applies some pink chapstick to her lips. With her limited motor skills, chapstick is about as good as it gets. Anything more noticeable, like lipstick, would exist very noticeably outside of her lips, on her teeth, and wherever else Claire could manage to put it. Best to play it safe.
She begins bouncing up and down, smiling at herself in the mirror. Claire is ready for the day! Her dads are both still asleep. She'll play some quiet music and read a few poems.
At the autism resource fair
The sun beats down on the swarm of people milling about. Organizations have set up different tables with trifold display boards, pamphlets, and jars of semi-melted candy to placate the kids and teens whose parents drag them from table to table. The non-autistic adults buzz with excitement, while most of the autistic people stand staring into space in boredom, ignored.
John points to a display board advertising job placement services, hoping against hope that Claire will see a possibility for a bright future. "See, Claire, this agency can help you get a job without an interview!"
His excitement isn't contagious. Claire types, "And how long would that job last once they find out I can't talk?"
"You don't know," her dad says. "Don't assume they'd fire you right away."
Claire is considering this when a very tall man walks up to them. He has blond hair, blue eyes, and a blue "Autism Rescue" shirt with a puzzle piece logo.
"Hello, sir," he says, "are you finding what you need at the fair?"
"Yes, we're finding some helpful resources," John says.
For an alternative definition of "helpful," Claire thinks. Most of these resources are for little kids. Do they expect her to poof out of existence at age 18?
The tall man doesn't notice her facial expression. "I'm glad to hear that!" he tells Claire's dad. "My name is Angel Rainnen. I work for Autism Rescue. We just opened a new branch in Port Winston."
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