Chapter 1: Her Angel

“Think of it: a disability is usually defined in terms of what is missing. … But autism … is as much about what is abundant as what is missing, an over-expression of the very traits that make our species unique.” 
― Paul Collins, Not Even Wrong: Adventures in Autism

Tiffany stirred, turning over in her bed and nestling into a more comfortable spot on her pillow. She sighed contentedly, trying to prolong the time she could stay in her half-slumber. However, she forced herself to pry open her eyes before sitting up and letting out a loud yawn. Groggily, her gaze absentmindedly travelled across her room and landed on her bedside clock.

07 00

“Oh my god.”

She rubbed her eyes and stared once again at the clock, praying that she was dreaming. The clock only stared sorrowfully back at her as its last digit flickered and changed to a 1.

"I'm late!"

She cursed and jumped out of bed, rushing into the bathroom. Stuffing a toothbrush in , she frantically tried to comb her hair with her fingers at the same time.

Why didn't the alarm clork ring? Argh!

Tiffany spat out the contents in and quickly washed with water. A minute later, she was racing down the stairs in an absolute  mess. She couldn’t care less, though. Her priority was to get to school as soon as possible. Bursting into the kitchen, she gasped a “Good morning” to her mother, who only shook her head and handed her a paper bag containing her breakfast.

“Seriously Tiffany, your class only starts at 10 today. I don’t get why you need to leave the house at 6.40 every da-.”

Her mother sighed as Tiffany paid no heed to her words and dashed out of the door, hurling the now empty paper bag behind her. By the time it touched the ground, Tiffany was racing full speed towards her school, swallowing the last piece of her breakfast.

Tiffany burst into school just as a bout of laughter echoed through the corridor.

I’m too late!

Tiffany's eyes widened as she noticed a crowd at a particular end of the corridor. Immediately, the usual anger welled up inside her as she stomped up to the onlookers and forcefully shoved her way through.

Indeed, there she was, backed up against the locker, shrieking in agony while two boys approached her threateningly. Tiffany cursed under her breath before hurtling towards the two boys and promptly grabbed both of them by the ears, making them yell in pain. The sudden explosion of noises caused the shivering girl to sink down against the lockers, covering her ears.

“YOU TWO BAS-“

Tiffany started to shriek as fury threatened to consume her. However, the little whimper of the girl behind her made her freeze and she immediately lowered her volume.

“I catch any of you bullying her again, and I WILL kill you. Mark my words.”

The two boys nodded frantically in fear, desperate to get away from the reincarnation of the devil. She released the both of them, but not forgetting to yank their ears down hard, causing them to yell and clutch their ears before scurrying off down the corridor. Tiffany then glared at all the on-lookers.

“What are you looking at? Get lost!”

Everyone scrambled to get out of Tiffany’s sight. For those new to the school, the sight of Tiffany at that point would have been hilarious. Her hair was in an abosolute mess and she had a striking resemblance to a puffed up, hissing and absolutely furious cat. However, they wisely followed the actions of their seniors and made a beeline in the opposite direction. Satisfied, Tiffany turned around and cautiously held out a hand to the whimpering girl.

“Are you okay?”

The girl just flinched back, sent a frantic look at Tiffany, before grabbing her books and speeding down the corridor, undoubtedly searching for her guardian angel.

Tiffany sighed.

Looks like today won’t be the day either…

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Flashback:

Tiffany and her friends sashayed down the corridors, completely absorbed in their little chatter. Being the Queenkas of the school, they attracted many admiring glances from guys and girls equally. Occasionally, a stray boy would approach them to profess his “undying love” for one of them, but would be quickly sent away by Jessica’s famous icy cold glare. Just thinking about it could make Tiffany shiver. She had once been a victim of that glare and she certainly did not want to feel the icy fingers running down her spine ever again.

“... Then suddenly, this humongous cucumber suddenly appeared in front of me! It was this big!”

Jes