Friday, I didn't even need Advil, as the headache was weak enough that the positive effects of the Ritalin outweighed the issues caused by the headache. I wouldn't say I was a bundle of joy, but I didn't cry, and I did laugh twice. Once at one of Mr. Cook's jokes and once at one of Olivia's jokes in science class.

I think that the longer I am taking it, the fewer side effects I have.

Mindy was excited to bring Billy to the warehouse, as he had never been. I thought that. Is that true? It appears so.

I feel that this Friday was my best day at school so far. Not emotionally, but like, educationally. I drank my teacher's words, and I understood everything. I even laughed a few times with Olivia. Not that I would say that I was back to my old self, but my old self couldn't study this hard. Couldn't follow everything. I still had good grades, but I missed more than I should have. And in fact, more than I realized. It's like I didn't even know what I was missing. I had to study the material hard because I didn't get it the first time. Now, I've got it all.

I also felt a lot better than when I first took it.

And yet, as I write this, something doesn't add up.

My diagnosis was on a Tuesday. I described my first day with Ritalin as the day after the sleepover with Olivia, which was on Wednesday evening. That means that my first day on the pill was on Thursday, my second was on Friday, and my third, after which I went to see Olivia, was on Saturday. My Friday without the need for Avil was on Sunday.

It doesn't line up at all, and I see no way to reconcile that on my own.

That is, until I spoke to my dad.

This period of my life is fuzzy in part because of the side effects from the pill. My brain connects things together in the hazy, drug-induced fog. I am trying to fill in a coherent timeline in a period of my life when my brain wasn't even coherent with itself.

So, I'll fill you in on the truth and let my father clear the air.

I didn't get a prescription for Ritalin from Elaine. She isn't a doctor, and she didn't prescribe it. She recommended it. There was a delay before taking Ritalin because we needed to wait for my doctor's appointment, which was... the following Monday.

The evening I had a sleepover with Olivia was in the period between the two appointments, and things just flowed more slowly than my memory recalls. Notably, I met with teachers over my lunch period to organize my extra time, and many lunches occurred in which I was just preoccupied by my diagnosis and Mindy and Edith by their new or renewed romance.

Only Marge seemed constant to her usual self, not that she could easily change.

I considered returning to the previous chapters to fix them, but the reality is that I wouldn't know how. I floated during that week. It's like a lost week for me. That my grades kept up is a miracle of biblical proportion. Maybe my teachers took pity on me?

And so, that Friday, when I arrived at the warehouse soon after school, Edith and Mindy had been dating their boyfriend for about 10 days, my diagnosis was just as old, but I was only on my 4th day of Ritalin.

Edith stayed dressed, and Charlie too, but the rest of us, including Billy, undressed. His father wasn't there yet. He would join only later, but Peter was. Clara was working overtime.

Ellie and Richard joined us about an hour after the games began.

My parents had put a big box in the middle of the "courtyard" in front of the camper.

"Kids, we found something for a special event tonight. Shortly, I will ask Julie to open the box and distribute the content, but before you run along, we have a safety speech to give, and we have rules to set", said my father.

"First rule is to not run. I know you liked to play tag at the birthday party, and maybe we will have some tag with running, but not while playing this", said my mother.

"Wait, it's not time for the rules yet", he says

"Oh, sorry. Keep going", said my mom.

"So, this is Julie's parents' place, so she will be a team captain. But it's also Edith's parents place, so she will be a team captain. We only have 2 boys, so they can't be on the same team."

"Oh, I pick Marge", I said. I knew that Edith would pick Charlie, and I would get Billy, and I didn't want them on the same team. I would be the third wheel for sure.

"Oh, sure, let's do the teams. Edith?"

"Well, I pick Charlie, so that means I also get Mindy, and Julie gets Billy?", says Edith, who came to the same conclusion as I did.

The team forms, and I am invited to open the box. In it, I find... Nerf guns!

"Holy crap. A Nerf war?", I said, excited. It appears that this idea made it past the emotional blur from the pill.

My parents had found 10 Nerf guns, not all the same color, but roughly all the same type. I did bring a few of them to college and had fun with other students who brought them. Nerf guns are loved by kids and adults with a kid's heart.

The rest of the rules were about the guns. No point-blank shooting, wear the safety goggles at all times, that one shot means that you are dead, and so on. We also had to wear shoes so we wouldn't slip.

We distributed the guns, but the evening began with simply target practice. Taking turns, we all had to try to hit the restroom door handle.

Mindy laughed at her ineptitude, while Edith concentrated on trying to hit the target. Marge was serious and calculating while the two boys heckled each other.

At first, I sucked, but I saw the problem. You have to aim higher since the dart lowers with gravity.

My dad also tried and was clearly the best of us.

We had to pick between different games, and capture the flag ended up our first choice, pretty much unanimously.

Both teams wanted to make their base at the end of the warehouse, so we would take turns. We placed our flag behind the camper and made plans.

Billy and I would take the outside lanes, assuming they would attack from the center, while Marge would hide behind the hot tub.

I think that Billy was able to hide better than I did, because Charlie spotted me from the center aisle, and while I managed to shoot at him, he hit me with his 3rd shot. I was out of the round!

Billie shot his girlfriend, I know because I heard her complain that it hurt, but I also heard that Marge got Edith, who had somehow sneaked past us.

In the end, Billy got the flag from their now empty camp, and I heard Marge having a meltdown with her brother.

My father had to declare him to have been hit, even if he didn't feel it, but my mother calmed him down. That it was just a game.

In the end, he decided to apologize to Marge.

Edith had sneaked in and stolen our flag during the commotion, but we all decided that this was simply a practice run.

This next game, we would be at the back, and I had a plan. We wouldn't attack at all. We could just play defensive and stay grouped next to our flag.

Billy got Charlie, but I got Edith. Marge almost hit both and was actually proud of herself.

Mindy was playing defense, so we had to go at her. It's Marge who got her, only because I was hit by Mindy and Billie too!

With only Marge left in the game, she would easily grab the flag, but we just determined the round was over.

The next round caused another commotion with Charlie not feeling a dart.

My mother called a time-out.

To us, it made zero sense for him not to feel the dart. That second one hit his forearm, and he was wearing a t-shirt.

We made some tests, and he could feel all of them.

"But I swear, I didn't feel them"

I don't recall who proposed the idea. Not even if it was one of our parents or one of the kids, but someone suggested that he was just too much in the mood to feel it.

When he finally accepted it, we compromised. We would tell him when he was hit, and he would accept our verdict.

We played a few rounds, with most of us running a lot, despite us not being supposed to do so. Soon enough. Edith was down to her panties, with no explanations given or asked.

My father proposed another game mode. Escort mission. In short, my mother would slowly drive the forklift with an empty pallet on it from the camper to the end of the warehouse.

If one of her 3 allies were next to her, she would advance, provided there was no one in front of her. If anyone was in front, she would stop.

When anyone got hit, they would need to go touch their flag and return to the battle. This meant the attackers had an advantage at the start, when the forklift was close to the camper, and the defenders had it at the end.

To win, the attackers needed to make it to the end, but the defender just had to win time. The first round was for 5 minutes, but it was far too short. 10 minutes was used for the next ones.

It was fun. Anyone hitting my mom would be out of the game until they returned to their flag. When attacking, Marge decided to just sit on the pallet with extra darts. We would feed her any that we caught and starve the attackers of ammunition. When hit, Marge would just leave the darts there, even her gun, and walk as fast as she could to the camper.

When defending, we would just park in front of the pallet and try to hit them with our darts.

But the 4th round, it was clear that it was more of an ammunition game than one of precision. Since players could return, we had to salvage darts to be ready.

Honestly? We had a complete blast.

When my father proposed a tower defense mode, we just ignored him and kept going to the escort mission.

We were still on it when Ellie and Richard arrived, which prompted my mother to prefer to talk to Ellie for a few minutes, pausing the escort mission.

Dad didn't need to talk to Richard, and Richard wanted to help with the game, so we went to try his tower defense game.

As it turned out, it wasn't a bad idea at all.

The base was with the camper. He placed tape on the ground in a large square. This was the defense area. They were not allowed to leave it.

Behind them, he placed 3 empty boxes.

This is how the game progressed.

It would go on for up to 5 rounds. On the first round, the attacking team had to kick one of the 3 empty boxes for a goal. Just one. Never two. If they got hit, they need to return to the start. They can do so up to three times.

As for the defenders, when hit, they just need to count 5 Mississippis out loud.

We were defenders first and easily pushed them out for the first round. They had a total of 9 lives, and I hit 3 times, Marge 2 and Billy 4. If we count the hits, Marge did better, but if you hit someone a second time, it didn't count. They were already dead.

The second wave, however, needed two hits, just like the third one would need three. Marge did much better, hitting many second hits, while Billy concentrated on the first one and I hit the stragglers.

It's Mindy who proposed a new rule for the 3rd wave. That if an attacker chose not to hold a gun, they would have double the hit points. She wasn't able to fast walk, running wasn't allowed, and shoot at the same time.

With 6 hits, Mindy made it, but with only 1 hit left.

They changed their tactic for the 4th wave. Edith and Charlie would focus on hitting us from a distance, and when disabled, Mindy would rush the tower.

It was a brilliant plan! So much that my father decided not to increase the hits for the 5th wave, which they again won easily, winning them the game.

We would have our revenge...

We failed the first round. With only one life each, two for Marge, who volunteered to take Mindy's role. We were massacred.

Billy had ideas. The 5 seconds was far too short, and the shooters couldn't leave their square between rounds.

So, we would not use guns at all after that first round.

His idea was to not approach too much. Just let them waste their ammo, and once they are out of darts, gently walk next to them. It actually worked!

They were more prudent in the 3rd round, but I managed to make it to the second box with 2 hits left of my original 6.

They actually conceded the game, and my father admitted that it needed more refining.

That refining was Peter, Richard, and my dad joining in a dart picker role to resupply the defense team.

We played that 4th round and still won. Just the idea of wasting time reloading caused issues.

That's roughly when James arrived, with a few boxes of pizza. Not Domino's. They were plain white boxes from the cheap pizza place, but it still went down easy.

To my complete surprise, Charlie decided to undress for the meal. Completely nude. I had not seen it coming, but I should have.

Edith did say that being with nude people reassured her, and he was her boyfriend. His whole family was now often nude at home. Maybe he succumbed to peer pressure?

I have no idea.

I didn't talk to him about it, and neither Edith nor Marge said anything.

After supper, my father allowed us to pick our choice of game while the four amigos connected: Peter, Richard, James, and my dad.

We ended up playing hide-and-seek Nerf. In short, only the seeker has a Nerf gun, and he or she is trying to hit the hiders. But since the hiders don't have a gun, they are allowed to run. What my mother was afraid of was us falling and hitting ourselves with the gun we were holding.

The teams were disbanded, and since the first person caught became the next seeker, it created a meta.

The seeker would prefer Mindy or me to be hit first, since we were the weakest players for the next round. But Billy and James liked to seek, so they often tried to get hit first.

This time, it's me who resolved the problem by making the last person found the next seeker.

We had an absolute blast even if no adult set the rules for us. Perhaps because no adults set the rules for us.

While hiding, however, once, I found the four men. They were talking in a sort of annex at the end of the warehouse. I think it's supposed to be an office, but it's not closed off. There were a few chairs of different styles, and the four men were sitting there. Maybe it was where they were at my birthday party.

I know that Richard was crying and that both my Peter and my dad each had a hand on one of his shoulders. James seemed sad too. All four of them were.

I was found by Charlie soon after, and I lost my vantage point.

By the time I was in a position to return, the four men were with Ellie and my mom, who had entered the hot tub in the mean time.

Now, don't think they all decided to just leave us alone out of lack of care. I think that after the debacle from my father's pipe dream of a tower defense, they wanted to let us play a little on our own.

I might be only 13 and two weeks old, but everyone else was 14 already. You don't need to entertain a 14-year-old normally. They can do so on their own. Fine, Mindy was 13 too, but my point stands.

We had fun, and I admit, I had fun with Billy and Charlie too.

I might not see boys yet, but I could befriend them.

James and Billy had to leave first, but when Clara finished work, Mindy and Peter also left. I didn't even get to see Clara. They just knew she was done, and they wanted to be there for her.

I did have a weird thought. Now that my sister was dating Marge's brother, it's like the remaining people were family. As if Marge was almost like a sister, even if in a way she is like a rounding error in my current family tree.

I could hop from my branch onto Edith's grafted branch, switch over to Charlie, and hop from his branch to his sister's without touching the ground.

Society doesn't have a word for us, but in my heart, this made her more than a friend. In my heart, Marge was family, just without any paperwork for it.

Still, it's in that moment, when Edith and Charlie were "taking a walk" around the warehouse, that Marge shared with me what was happening to her father.

He saw a doctor, did the tests, and they discovered he was in an early andropause. He was lacking in testosterone. Recently, he had begun therapy with a gel he puts on his stomach every morning, and it was helping him be much better.

"So why was he crying?"

"Because of all the years he lost? He was barely there for his kids's puberty, leaving his wife to do everything in his place. He is better now, but it's making him realize everything he lost."

"But he didn't lose you or his wife"

"No, but it could have occurred. Just because of a sickness"

"That's rough"

But Marge put her head on my shoulder. "My mom had a boyfriend"

"What?" I say, almost jumping.

"She dated a teacher at the school. It was last year. It didn't last. She felt too guilty, but it almost broke my parents apart"

"Shit. I am sorry to hear that. Your father knows?"

"Oh, he knew then. I didn't. I learned this week. I am not sure that Charlie knows. In reality, I just I overheard them. They will go to therapy for it"

"I am relieved to hear that. Do you know who it is?"

"I do. But I don't want to say it. "

"Please, just tell me it's not Mr. Cook. I like him a lot. He might be my favorite teacher."

She pulls away.

"I can't tell you that"

"Because you don't want to confirm who it is?"

But she looks down.

"Oh shoot, it is Mr. Cook. "

"Don't tell anyone, please"

"I won't. He is a funny man. I heard a few girls have a crush on him"

"I don't get that", says Marge.

"Why?"

"He is too old for us."

"Did you have some crushes?"

"A few, but nothing serious. All our age. Well, roughly. But I am not sure, you know? With my autism, it's not easy to know how I feel"

"I get that. I still can't see guys. I can't wait. I see Edith and Mindy so happy"

"Mindy wasn't happy when they broke up", says Marge.

"I suppose so. You date hoping it goes well but get hurt when it ends. Just hope it feels better than the pain at the end"

"I think I'll avoid dating. I prefer missing out than feeling that pain", she says.

"I don't know yet what I want. I want to be a woman, I guess"

"That's a good start"

Eventually, we left. We didn't have plans to sleep in the camper, not that night. And even Edith had too much of Charlie. Nothing was wrong. She was just, well, overwhelmed.

"I didn't know love could feel this good.", she said in the car.

My mother reacted, even if she wasn't the person Edith was talking to.

"It always should. If Charlie doesn't respect you, tell an adult. Us, or Ellie, or Richard."

"I think he is more afraid of disrespecting me than I am of him doing so. He told me that he feels like he is living blindfolded. That he doesn't know how to navigate the world emotionally"

My mom continued.

"That took a lot of maturity from him to admit that. You are not there to fix him, you know?"

"I do. But at the same time, I feel like he is a blank disk. I can, like, show him how I want him to act toward me and find some agency in my life"

"Good. "

Edith wanted a sleepover, and we ended up in her bed. I didn't mind. I just made sure not to forget my woman-making pill, and decided that the next morning, I would take my concentration-making pill. If I could have that much fun after taking my pill, maybe I can toughen up.

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