"Before I started working at Techtropolis," "I learned everything about it... the products they sell, the rules and procedures for employees, how not to tell customers they smell bad even if they do." "And I had a sit-down with Bob, the manager, who has hairy knuckles, but is nice." "Sam?" "Your shift ended 20 minutes ago." "Is everything okay?" "Yes, I'm fine, thank you." "I had curly fries for lunch, and I have a girlfriend now." "Okay." "Wow!" "Congratulations." "Tell me about her." "You know, what's the lucky lady's name?" "Which one?" "Your girlfriend." "Oh." "Her name is Paige, and she has blonde hair." "She's bossy and touches all of my stuff." "She was born in New Jersey in the same town as Queen Latifah, and she's coming over today after work." "Oh, yeah." "I get it." "I have a wife, so..." "You take all the time you need." "I don't always love new things, but that's just a smart survival instinct." "Do you think that a bearded seal would last very long if it said, "Well, I've never seen that animal before with the sharp teeth and beautiful white fur." "I'll walk over and meet him."" "No." "No, he wouldn't, because that's how you become a polar bear's dinner." "You nervous about tomorrow?" "No." "Oh, you're, like, freaking out." "Kind of." "Well, hey, just remember they recruited you." "So just, you know, keep your pants on and don't curse so much." "You'll be fine." "I have to keep my pants on at the interview, really?" "Yeah, call me old fashioned, but..." "I know that the athletic department wants me, but I still have the interview." "And then I need to prove that I'm not just a dum-dum who can run fast." "Hey, you're not just a dum-dum that can run fast." "You're also very hot." "It feels like a big deal." "Yeah, well, I mean, it is a big deal." "It is." "Be nervous, that's okay." "You'll be fine." "Door open!" "Jesus!" "It's like she has a nanny cam in here." "This is for the people Supermodels in one spot" "No, no, no." "You ain't gotta say a word" "I know what time it is" "Time to celebrate" "We..." "Are you insane?" "Where are you calling from?" "I can barely hear you." "The laundry room." "I'm running the dryer." "That's a loud dryer." "Listen, the last time we spoke," "I made it very, very clear that we are done." "Why are you doing inviting me to your birthday party?" "Shit." "Yeah, um, sorry about that." "You weren't supposed to get that." "I wasn't?" "No, I accidentally sent that out to my entire address book." "My dry cleaner just RSVPed." "I, uh, might have been a bit stoned when I sent it." "I just got it two minutes ago." "Yeah, I might be a little bit stoned now." "Okay." "Great, I'm gonna hang up now." "Um, Nick?" "Mm-hmm." "Um, I'm sorry... about the other night." "I shouldn't have called you a terrible person." "Yeah." "You hurt my feelings." "Come over and apologize." "Shut up." "I'm saying I shouldn't have blamed you for what happened between us." "It was my fault, too." "It's just made me realize how precious and fragile my family is, you know?" "It's like a wake-up call, because since then," "I feel like I've been more present and kind." "Hey, you know what?" "I'm actually at work right now, so I can't talk, but uh..." "See you at my birthday party?" "What?" "Elsa, I'm kidding." "Okay, goodbye." "I'm disappointed at myself." "This isn't me." "I'm better than this." "I'm not a snooping, paranoid girlfriend." "But I'm, like, 90% sure he's hiding something from me." "I spent all night Googling those car tracker thingys from Breaking Bad." "All of this for a strawberry." "A chocolate-covered strawberry." "That's a sexually charged fruit." "He's cheating on me." "As someone with a PhD in clinical psychology, my formal diagnosis for you is you're cray." "I am not!" "If you guys were in a good place, this strawberry would be something you'd laugh off." "But it's been five years, he still hasn't proposed, and it's making you, well, cray." "No, this isn't about him proposing." "This is about that damn strawberry." "Fine." "Your worst fears are confirmed." "He bought those strawberries for some other girl, and they're getting married." "You should probably live in a ditch." "Thank you." "That's all I wanted to hear." "Okay." "Hey, you two." "Paige, I didn't expect to see you today." "She waited for me at the bus stop, and she made me carry her Thermos, which is nickel-plated, so it was very cold." "She talked the whole way." "This is the first time she's not talking." "It's true." "You are spending a lot of time together." "Well, that's what couples do." "Couples. "That's what couples do." Sounds very official." "Oh." "Well, actually, I brought a snack." "But it's that dense, chewy kind, that maybe you can't eat the whole thing." "So, do you want to go halfsies?" "We could be like Arctic foxes sharing food with our den mates." "Card." "Thank you." "It's a system I developed so Sam doesn't annoy people with Antarctica facts." "I give him three cards at the beginning of every day, and when he talks about Antarctica, I take one away." "When he's out of cards, he can't talk about it anymore." "Right, Sam?" "I decorated it with puffy paint." "Sam, are you okay with this?" "I think it's dumb, but other people seem to be happy, mostly Paige." "Arctic foxes tend to form monogamous pairs... and their litters can contain as many as 25 kits." "Twenty-five!" "Wow!" "I'm actually not surprised that it's a little bit messy in here." "I've been doing research, and while some think that people on the spectrum are always neat, sometimes they're not." "Can you imagine sharing a space with 25 other foxes?" "Portland, Oregon." "I have a second cousin there." "It'd be chaos." "It's a blizzard!" "Spin." "Ooh, a compass." "You're right at north!" "Whoa, look at this!" "This is cool." "Blast from the past." "What kind of batteries does this take?" "Ooh, helicopters." "I like to call these choppers." "What's this cool sculpture?" "Is it a sculpture?" "How many of these would fit in..." "It could be a hat!" "Should we see?" "So many books." "You can store trinkets in here." "I use a highlighter for..." "This would look better by your bed." "Ooh, what's this blue thing?" "Your pencils..." "Right here." "I wouldn't like sharing my den." "Oh!" "Look at this little guy." "Somebody wants to snuggle." "No!" "Do not snuggle Edison." "Hey, buddy!" "Hey, Sam, what's going on?" "Hi, Mr. Gardner!" "Is there a lady in your closet?" "Yes." "Paige." "She was touching all of my stuff, so I locked her in there." "Hey, uh, can I get some pretzels in here?" "No." "Sam, move." "You don't lock girls in your closet." "Paige, I'm sorry." "Are you okay?" "Oh, yeah, I'm fine." "Are you sure?" "Yeah." "Sam, apologize to Paige right now, okay?" "Say you're sorry." "But I'm not." "I did what I needed to do." "Sam!" "It's okay." "I know from my research that sometimes people with ASD have outsized reactions to stuff." "I mean, let's be honest, I know that..." "I can be a handful, even for neurotypicals." "So, I figured I'd give Sam a break to recharge his batteries." "It was only ten minutes." "That's nothing." "Researchers at Antarctica's Halley VI Station live in 24-hour darkness for months." "Last one." "Card." "I should probably get home." "Oh, and Sam, I refolded all of your socks in a totally better way." "Bye." "Bye, Paige." "Sam, that... that's weird." "Hey, Dad, did Mom used to touch all of your stuff?" "How did you get her to stop?" "Um..." "I don't think I ever did." "Hmm." "Oh, my gosh." "Look at you." "You look so pretty." "Maybe different shoes." "Mom." "Honey, I want you to know that I am fully on board for you to attend Clayton Prep." "Oh, yeah?" "Does this have anything to do with the five-hour conversation that you and Dad had the other day?" "It took me some time, but I got there." "And the distance and the money and Sam, we'll figure it out." "Oh, that reminds me." "Sam?" "We have the Clayton tour, so I won't be in school to give you your lunch money." "But Evan's sister Beth will hold onto it and find you during fifth period." "Do you know who Beth is?" "Yes, she talks loud." "Why are you wearing a dress?" "Do they need to see how muscly your legs are to know if they want you on the team?" "Let's go." "You don't want to be late before you actually go to the school." "Look." "You're wearing the Clayton colors." "That is not on purpose." "You wear that shirt every day." "Still, he looks very nice." "We're a beautiful family." "Hey." "Why is she being so nice?" "I don't know, but don't jinx it." "You look good." "Let's go." "Thanks." "I heard the guide call this the Peace Garden." "It's so beautiful here." "Very nice." "It's very fancy." "I bet you these people eat cashews." "You know, cashews is the rich man's nut." "Yeah, they even had real towels in the girls' bathroom." "This place is classy." "We're classy." "Middle classy." "Honey, you've always been so mature and sophisticated." "You'll fit right in here." "Mom, I punched a girl in the face two weeks ago." "Honey, they don't know that, okay?" "Look." "Look at that girl." "In her little uniform, marching towards her future with that big backpack." "That's gonna be you next year." "Fresh start." "Hi, Sam." "That's my sweatshirt." "You're wearing my sweatshirt." "When I was locked in your closet, I got cold, so I put it on." "But it was so cute and cozy that I decided to steal it." "I love it." "It's like you're hugging me all day." "But that's my sweatshirt." "I had the best idea!" "Do you want to hear it?" "Sweatshirt." "You could drop your study hall and take French with me." "Sam, it would be so fun." "And it's the most romantic language in the world." "And who knows?" "Maybe one day, we could travel to Paris and kiss in front of the Eiffel Tower or something." "That's my sweatshirt." "There are three options for an animal in the wild when faced with a new dangerous situation." "They can run... they can attack... or they can hide." "Casey." "I'm Jayson." "Nice to meet you." "Hey." "You, too." "You look familiar." "I'm black, so they put me on the brochures." "Oh, yeah, that's it." "Come on." "Okay." "So we do peer interviews here." "It's supposed to make you feel more comfortable, and I must be crushing it because you seem comfortable, so..." "Oh, um..." "I'm..." "I swear I'm just like a little..." "Completely nervous." "It's just my other school is not this nice." "You guys don't have a yoga room or bio-sustainable duck pond?" "No." "No, we don't." "Look, I get it." "But this place is pretty cool once you get used to it." "Promise." "Um..." "You gonna turn that off or..." "Um..." "Hey, Beth, what's going on?" "I know I was supposed to give Sam his lunch money, but I can't find him." "I don't know where he is." "Okay, calm down." "Um..." "What about Paige, did you ask her?" "Yeah." "She hasn't seen him." "Now he'll miss lunch, the second-most important meal of the day." "Okay." "That's okay." "I'm gonna text him." "Thank you for trying, Beth." "Seriously?" "I knew you were nervous, but picking up a phone call during an interview, and now you're texting." "Are you trying to blow this?" "My brother's autistic." "Well, I'm a dick." "No, that's okay." "You didn't know." "I just have to answer my phone in case he's freaking out or he disappeared, which is what happened right now." "It's kind of my job as his sister." "That must be hard for you." "Yeah, it has its moments." "Okay." "Found him." "He is hiding from his girlfriend in the science lab." "Okay." "Seems like we're all good." "Wow." "Okay, so... you said that it has its moments." "Mm-hmm." "Tell me about 'em." "Okay." "Well..." "So when I was growing up, my mom and brother used to refer to people who weren't on the spectrum as neurotypicals..." ""NTs" for short." "But when I was little, I always thought that they were saying "empties,"" "which made sense because... sometimes it feels like" "Sam takes up so much space that everybody around him needs to be empty." "Sorry, I don't know why I told you that." "If you were to come here, what's it going to be like to leave your brother?" "I don't know." "I never did it before." "I don't want her to be cold," "I want her to be a comfortable temperature." "But it's my sweatshirt, and I need it." "Wh... when I'm anxious, especially, or overwhelmed, because that's why I have it in the first place." "Are you just gonna sit there staring, because it's super weird." "Be cool, babe." "Sam's got a real problem with his girlfriend." "Practice girlfriend." "See?" "It's weird." "You're weird." "Everybody's weird." "It's awesome." "Come on, Kayla, you're great at this stuff." "Help my boy out so we can get back to the cha-cha." "Arr." "Fine." "Look, I don't know this chick, but girls like to wear something that reminds them of their boyfriend when he's not around." "But I need my sweatshirt." "How do I get it back?" "I don't know, maybe give her something else to replace it." "That's extremely wise." "I told you, dude." "Kayla's a total genius." "Plus, she works at Claire's." "She can pierce whatever you want for half price, except scrotes." "I don't want her handling some other dude's dangle-downs, know what I'm saying?" "No." "Oh, my goodness, that was fun." "Casey, you need to write that nice boy that interviewed you a thank you e-mail." "No, that is super nerdy." "Yeah, well, nerdy's good." "Nerds get full scholarships." "You want to go there, right?" "Um..." "Yeah, you do." "I can tell." "Whatever." "Hey." "I had fun with you today." "Me, too." "It was nice to get away, right?" "Yeah." "Oh." "Who is this?" "Oh, it's Chuck." "Him and Donna are gonna be in the neighborhood and want a dinner recommendation." "Know any good places?" "Mm-hmm." "Here." "What, to eat?" "Yeah." "I'm making carnitas." "We can have a fiesta." "But we never have people over on a school night." "We never have people over anyway." "Let's do it." "Let's be those people that have friends over on a school night, on a Tuesday." "Let's get crazy." "Yeah." "Yeah, what's going on with you?" "What's going on with your phone?" "You know what, it's the autism support group." "I-I gotta call Luisa." "Okay." "It's Nick." "Leave a message." "Hi." "It's Elsa." "Listen, I am calling because every time someone RSVPs to your party," "I get an e-mail." "And while I am thrilled to know that you have a friend named Meatball who will be bringing special brownies," "I don't need to hear about it." "And what are you doing having a birthday party?" "You're a grown man." "Just have five or six of your friends out to dinner, you order a cake." "You don't sing, you don't split the bill, and you call it a day." "Okay?" "Goodbye." "Hey, Casey." "Uh, could we talk for a second?" "It's about your brother Sam." "I know who my brother is, Paige." "Yeah." "Um..." "It's just I think maybe he's avoiding me because we were talking yesterday, and..." "I don't know, maybe I upset him, because he sort of just disappeared after that." "I don't know, maybe it's nothing." "It's not nothing, because of you, he didn't eat lunch yesterday." "Which I know is an annoying thing to have to think about when you're dating an 18-year-old dude, but that's what you get with Sam." "Um..." "Okay." "Do you have any advice?" "Yeah." "Stop seeing my brother." "What?" "Why are you with him?" "What's in it for you?" "Are you desperate, or do you think you'll get extra credit for dating the weird kid?" "No." "No, Casey, I..." "I really like Sam." "Mm." "A lot." "He's honest." "And he's so cute." "And have you seen his notebook thing?" "It's amazing." "The way his brain works is so interesting." "Interesting?" "My brother's not a science experiment." "No, I know that." "What happens when he relies on you, then you leave?" "I'm not gonna..." "'Cause then he'll need you." "And that shit can really mess him up." "You know, you don't understand any of this." "You're just making everything worse." "Baby" "Don't go" "I'll stop" "Breathing coke" "No more bloody" "Look into the glare and pop it, brother Slick like 007, man" "You fly like Kim Jong rockets With your" "Paige returned my favorite sweatshirt." "That's nice." "When did that happen?" "When she broke up with me." "Oh." "Sorry, Sam." "Did she say why?" "Something about..." "Casey was afraid she was gonna hurt me, or she was afraid of Casey." "I don't know." "Sometimes when she talks, she uses so many words that I get a little lost." "How are you feeling?" "Fine." "Got my sweatshirt back." "Are you sure you're fine?" "Most people I meet don't even try to get me." "Paige tried, and that was nice." "That is nice." "The whole time she was my girlfriend, she bugged me." "But I think I was so focused on how annoying she is that I kind of forgot about the good parts." "That's a... great perspective, Sam." "Wise beyond your years." "She didn't even mind when I locked her in my closet." "That seems special and rare." "Wait, what?" "Hey, it's me." "I'm coming home, and we should talk." "I love you." "Apparently, I like Paige." "Apparently, I like it when you knock." "And now she's not my girlfriend because of you." "You drove her away." "Okay, well, all you do is complain about her." "And I get it; she's super-annoying." "Well, I like her, I think." "And you're my little sister, and I don't need you messing with my life." "Oh, my God!" "I was just trying to help." "I'm not always gonna be around to stick up for you." "Good." "Sam..." "No, you're just like Paige." "But instead of touching my books and my turtle, you're touching my girlfriend." "I'm glad you're going to that new school, because you will not be around to bother me." "You don't mean that." "Yes, I do." "I don't need you." "Well, good!" "That's what I wanted." "Well, good!" "Hello?" "Hey, Casey, it's Jayson... from Clayton Prep." "I just got your e-mail." "Oh." "Hi." "You guys are prompt." "Yeah, well..." "Look, I just wanted to call to say I think you're awesome." "But?" "But..." "I work at the admissions office, and I've been hearing some people talk." "You punched a girl?" "Oh." "Yeah." "But you don't know the whole story." "She was bullying somebody." "Okay, okay, okay, look." "Write a letter to the admissions office, and I'll do what I can." "But Clayton has a zero tolerance policy on violence." "I just don't want you to get your hopes up." "I have to go." "Hey, babe." "Miles?" "And that is our youngest granddaughter, Charlie, which is short for Charlotte." "Cute." "I don't know." "These names lately, right?" "Yeah, Casey, when she was in kindergarten, there was a child named Key." "Right." "Yeah." "A boy or a girl?" "We weren't sure for the first few months." "But she was a girl." "Cute girl, nice." "They were friends." "Nice girl." "Very sweet." "So how are your kids?" "Really good." "Yeah." "Casey is getting recruited by that school Clayton Prep." "Oh." "For a track scholarship." "Yeah, we went for a tour the other day, on the campus." "Scholarship." "Yeah." "It'd be great." "Exciting." "Yeah, it's nice to spend time with Casey, 'cause, you know, we're usually so focused on Sam and so..." "Why?" "What's going on with Sam?" "He's good." "You want more sangria?" "I'm okay." "He doesn't tell me anything anymore." "Right?" "I have become obsolete." "He's 18." "Oh." "You know, so..." "You know, it's like girls and dating." "Trouble, trouble." "Mm-hmm." "Mm-hmm." "Yeah." "Especially with Sam, everything's a bit more, you know..." "No, what?" "Mm, 'cause of his autism." "What?" "Sam's autistic?" "Yeah." "Um..." "You worked with Chuck for over five years." "The subject never came up?" "No, Chuck and I don't really talk about that stuff." "Uh-huh." "I get it." "You get what?" "It's like my friend Diego." "Do you remember Diego from when I worked with him at the salon?" "Yeah." "It took him over a year to tell me he was gay." "He still carries a lot of shame about his sexuality." "It's a big deal for him to be out at work." "Well, he works in a hair salon, and he's not comfortable being gay?" "It's the same with you." "You're not out at work because you're ashamed." "No, I'm not ashamed." "Elsa, I'm not ashamed of anything." "Okay?" "I just like to keep my work life and my personal life separate." "I'm not ashamed." "Mm-hmm." "It's just how I am." "It's a guy thing." "Yeah, I just could never be that way, not with someone I work with every day, someone I'm friends with." "It's a huge part of my identity." "Yeah, but maybe it shouldn't be." "What?" "Everything with you revolves around being a mom." "And maybe sometime you should just, you know, be like an individual person." "I am an individual person." "No, I don't think you are." "Everything is Sam this and autism that." "Maybe it's time to step back and have your own life." "It takes me a while to get used to new things." "But once I get used to something," "I come to rely on it." "Paige?" "Pardon, monsieur..." "Uh, Sam, que fais-tu ici?" "Merde." "Paige, I talked to my store manager and my therapist, and I realized that even though I hated it when you touched my stuff and stole my sweatshirt," "I hated it even more when you were gone." "Aw." "No "aw."" "And now I understand that sometimes girls like to wear something that reminds them of their boyfriends, even when they're not there." "So I got you this necklace." "Zahid's mean girlfriend got me a discount at Claire's." "Mademoiselle Hardaway!" "Happy birthday." "Steamrolled hair" "Look into the glare And pop it, brother" "Slick like 007, man" "You fly like Kim Jong rockets" "With your steamrolled hair" "Look into the glare And pop it, brother" "Slick like 007, man" "You fly like Kim Jong rockets" "With your steamrolled hair" "Look into the glare And pop it, brother" "Slick like 007, man" "You fly like Kim Jong rockets" "With your steamrolled hair" "Look into the glare And pop it, brother" "Slick like 007, man" "You fly like Kim Jong rockets" "With your steamrolled hair" "Look into the glare And pop it, brother" "Slick like 007, man" "You fly like Kim Jong rockets With your"