Content note: contains depictions of ableism
The film plays quietly on the T.V. Seventeen-year-old Rebecca's never been round Ralph's house before. She's heard him talk a lot about his two best friends Katie and Lucie, but she's never seen them at the school. Maybe they're homeschooled or something, but Rebecca doesn't want to ask.
"Mum, I'm home!" calls Ralph. "Rebecca's here too!"
Ralph's mother Amancia appears from the kitchen. Dressed in a red top reading #RedInstead, loose jeans and big pink fluffy earrings, Amancia is pretty much the definition of 'the best lady on Earth'. Ralph's told Rebecca all about his mum and the amazing autism charities she supports - "Not ones like Autism Saviour, ones like Superstars," Ralph had told Rebecca.
[Image description: Amancia, a middle-aged Jamaican woman, stands to the left of the picture against a bright green background. Her hair is styled in cornrows and she is wearing bright red shiny lipstick, a red t-shirt with '#RedInstead' written in white, jeans and big pink fluffy earrings. She's smiling at the viewer because she's a lovely lady. You're going to have to pretend that the proportions are correct because I'm not the best at bodies!]
"Hello, Rebecca!" Amancia says cheerfully. "Do you two want a snack? Anything to drink?"
"I'll have a pot of raspberries please, Mum," says Ralph.
"I'll have the same," adds Rebecca.
"Well, I'll get those ready for you two. Are you two ready for the film? The others will arrive soon."
Amancia's house is very colour-coordinated. It's bright but not too bright as well. On the living room coffee table there's a bowl of snacks carefully catered to suit any dietary requirements Amancia is aware of, there are multiple bouncy balls and stim toys in a basket by the fireplace and special no-spill cups of juice or water are lined up on the table. Rebecca feels slightly awkward as eleven-year-old Ralph bounces off into the kitchen to get raspberries, so she finds a nice corner in the living room and rocks.
Soon after some more people arrive. Some of them Rebecca doesn't know, some are younger than Ralph and have come with parents who are actively thanking Amancia for organising such a nice event and others are more Rebecca's age. Ralph pulls some multi-coloured beanbags out from a cupboard and some of the younger ones bounce on them. Watching all the children play reminds Ralph of all the times he's seen Katie look sadly on in the playground as others play, so he makes an effort to make sure they're all included.
Ralph notices Rebecca standing alone in the corner, still rocking. He walks over to her and says, "Hey, are you okay? You look a bit overwhelmed. Can I do anything to help?"
"I'm fine, I've just got loads of energy and nothing to do with it," she replies.
Ralph pauses for a second. "If you want, you can run laps of the garden," he suggests.
"Are you sure?" asks Rebecca. Ralph nods.
"I'm sure," he says. "Now it's just a matter of finding the key to the back door!"
Together, Ralph and Rebecca find the key and unlock the back door. Making sure only Rebecca is allowed out, Ralph shuts the door behind her. He leaves it unlocked so Rebecca can go in and out as she needs.
Elsewhere, at another Autism Saviour event
"After yesterday's fashion show, Autism Saviour invited me to attend a sponsored race in aid of finding a cure for this tragic illness," Mrs. Himura says into a reporter's microphone. "Autism Saviour works hard to help cure families ailed by such a disease, and my family wish to support the amazing charity work they do."
Rin Himura smooths down her tight blue dress. "Come on, Katherine, let's go watch the race."
Katie follows behind her mother, resisting the urge to pull the blue ribbons plaited into her hair out. She's wearing the same 'SAVING KATIE' dress as yesterday, so thankfully there are no itchy tags today. Reporters scream at Mrs. Himura for a chance to interview her, but she casually waves their requests aside with comments such as, "I'm sorry, my daughter has worn me out too much for another interview, we must get to the race" or "Oh, terribly sorry, but Katherine's being difficult AGAIN". Coos of sympathy emanate from the crowd, but not for Katie. For Katie's mum.
As soon as Katie is through the crowds of reporters that seem to be at every Autism Saviour event, she is met with another excited crowd. Plenty of children are covering their ears from the noise or being told off for flapping their hands or rocking from being overwhelmed. There are lots of different races happening all at once, and Autism Saviour workers handing out leaflets to parents and parents donating money to the organisation towards a 'cure'.
"Mum," whispers Katie, tugging on Mrs. Himura's sleeve. "Mum, it's too loud."
"Be quiet, Katherine," Rin scolds. "Just act like a normal child for once. Did that Autism Saviour therapy teach you nothing?!"
Katie wishes that Lucie was here to reassure her that her mother was just overreacting.
"Mum, there's too many people though," tries Katie.
Mrs. Himura stops walking. "Honestly, Katherine, stop acting like a two-year-old and be the ten-year-old you are. God, people with autism are such infants."
Some parents wearing red tops labelled #RedInstead look over at Mrs. Himura angrily. Katie notices that these parents are having angry conversations with a crowd of Autism Saviour workers whilst their children wiggle, dance, spin, fidget and all the other things that Katie isn't allowed to do.
A man dressed in one of the #RedInstead tops comes over and gives Mrs. Himura a red leaflet. "Please read it, I think you'll find it very interesting," he explains.
"No thank you," replies Mrs. Himura, dropping the leaflet to the ground as soon as the man has hurried off.
Katie picks up the leaflet and follows her mum. The front of the leaflet reads 'Superstars - fighting autism awareness, raising autism acceptance'. It appeals to Katie. She stuffs in the pocket of her jeans and keeps following her mum into the crowd of blue-clad adults and children cheering and screaming at the races - though Katie notices most of the children are still covering her ears. She wishes she was one of the children by the #RedInstead parents. Maybe they'd do this 'autism acceptance' thing for her - whatever that was. It sounds like a good thing, though. Maybe I could talk to mum about it, and she'd let me do it.
"I can have hope," whispers Katie. "Yes I can"
Thank you so much for all the support on this story! It makes me very excited! Thank you to all of you who commented on the first three chapters, all your comments were very supportive. Please remember that ableism is not okay. Make sure to tell someone you trust who is safe. If you enjoyed 4: The Stay-At-Home Cinema, please vote and leave a comment! I love feedback!