My childhood best friend and high school crush, Mason, loved to put me down. He told me for the millionth time that I was too loud, too annoying, and not "girly" enough. He said no guy would ever actually like me. He told me to look at Chloe, the most popular girl in school. She was soft, elegant, and quiet. But little did he know, that same popular girl was currently staring at my mouth with deep contemplation. "I heard you talk so much you could make a mute person speak?" She offered me a grand to go harass her younger brother, who was on the autism spectrum, and get him to say just one sentence. Chloe was too naive. Unconventional problems require unconventional solutions. I walked to the very back of the classroom and lightly tapped on the quiet boy's desk. "Aren't you going to explain to everyone? What happened last night when you snuck into my room and licked my feet while I was sleeping?" His eyes flew open, and his icy facade shattered completely. "I did not." I turned around confidently and flashed a brilliant smile at the popular girl. "Pay up." 01 "Aren't you going to explain to everyone? What happened last night when you snuck into my room and licked my feet while I was sleeping?" The moment the words left my mouth, the entire classroom descended into a deathly silence. The gloomy boy, who was always looking down in the corner, slowly widened his eyes. The icy mask on his face cracked. "I did not." Chloe crossed the room in three quick strides. There was no disgust in her eyes, only utter, unadulterated admiration. I thought she was just joking around before, but she transferred the money to my CashApp without a second thought. As she sent the money, the famously aloof and beautiful popular girl's hands were actually trembling. She grabbed my arm like I was her last lifeline. "Master, please, save my brother." She told me her parents had taken Ezra to see every top psychologist in the state, and they all gave the same answer. "The best solution is to find someone his age to help him experience the joy of being a teenager." But Ezra despised anyone coming near him, except for his family. At our age, kids care too much about their pride. Nobody wanted to deal with a grumpy, silent guy who rejected everyone. "If you keep bothering him, I'll give you an extra thousand for every sentence you get him to say." Chloe held my hands, looking at me like I was her savior. I held her hands, looking at the thousand dollars, feeling like I was looking at a living, breathing ATM. It's just bothering someone, right? I was an expert at that. Since elementary school, in the eyes of every teacher, I was the reincarnation of a buzzing fly. In middle school, just to get me to shut up, my homeroom teacher made me sit next to a student who was hard of hearing. Eventually, I learned sign language and secretly chatted with my deskmate under the desk. My hands flew so fast it looked like I was casting ninja hand signs. It was terrifying. When my deskmate got excited, his fingers almost cramped up. The teacher called my mom and told her I could strike up a conversation with a stray dog on the street, suggesting she take me to see a doctor. This job was practically tailor-made for me. Plus, Ezra was gorgeous. I turned to look at Ezra. After saying those three words, he had already lowered his head again. He seemed annoyed with himself for instinctively speaking up, and was currently presenting me and his sister with the top of his dark hair. Mason, my childhood friend who had been completely ignored, stubbornly leaned over. Seeing me accept Chloe's money, he reached out to snatch my phone without a word. "Avery, we should be focusing on studying right now. Stop messing around with shady people." The popular girl, who he had just been calling a goddess a minute ago, turned around. Her eyes went cold, returning to her usual aloof demeanor. "Who are you calling shady?" Mason choked, suddenly at a loss for words, and I shook off his arm. I never realized before how much of a coward Mason was—only tough when he thought he had the upper hand. Mason wanted to say something else, but the bell rang, and I skipped back to my seat. That very day, Chloe used the power of money to get me seated right next to Ezra. "Mr. Davis, my brother's special needs mean the main reason he's here is to make friends. Avery is the perfect person to be his friend." "It's getting hotter, I really think the school should install some AC units." The teacher shut his mouth. When I moved next to Ezra, he was still sleeping with his head on the desk. Mason turned his head from the side to look at me, his glare so intense it felt like it could burn a hole through me. I stared at Ezra's neck for an entire period. He was clearly awake; he just wouldn't lift his head to avoid dealing with me as his deskmate. How interesting. 02 During the break after the second period, I leaned in close to his ear and muttered. "Ezra, did you know your neck is so pale? It looks like a peeled hard-boiled egg... I kind of want to take a bite..." Maybe I got too close. Ezra jolted and whipped his head up, looking at me in horror. I pulled out my phone, snapped a picture of his face, and sent it to his sister. How does this look like a kid with autism? Isn't this pretty entertaining? His little expressions were even more animated than mine. But over the next few periods, I learned just how difficult Ezra could be. No matter what I said, he sat there like a log, completely motionless. By the time the final bell rang, my mouth was dry, but I was thoroughly amused. Because no one had ever listened to me talk this much without calling me an annoying idiot. Even if I wasn't getting paid for this, I felt like I had found a soulmate. I watched Ezra slowly close his textbook with his pale, slender fingers and let out a scoff. "What were you pretending for during that English class?" Ezra's fingers stiffened. He glanced at me sideways and turned to walk out the door. I grabbed my backpack and hurried after him. His sister told me during the break that their family driver was taking me home today. Someone violently yanked my backpack. I was choked so hard my eyes rolled back. I turned around to see Mason standing behind me with a dark scowl. "Can't you see he doesn't want anything to do with you? Avery, have you no shame?" This was the second time. The second time today. Even though he was the guy I'd had a crush on for years, I couldn't tolerate him constantly insulting me. I swung my backpack up and smashed it hard into his face. Mason looked at me in shock, my chest heaving. "What is wrong with you? When I hung around you, you said I had no shame. When I hang around someone else, you still say I have no shame." "What did you say this morning? You said it's shameless for a girl to always make dirty jokes." I laughed bitterly. I didn't even want to bring this up with him. He was the one who used to laugh hysterically when I made dirty jokes on our walk home every day. I thought he liked that kind of humor. I stayed up all night studying pickup lines and dirty jokes just to get him to talk to me more. And I ended up becoming the biggest simp in school, known for my dirty mouth. He was so hard to please. He could go to hell for all I cared. I shook off his arm and, seeing Ezra about to disappear from view, quickly chased after him. "Ezra, why didn't you wait for me?" I tilted my head and asked him. Of course, Ezra didn't answer. I turned to look at a nearby convenience store and ordered him. "Stand here. Don't move." I was amazed to find that he actually stood right there. I walked up and circled him once. "Wait for me. I'm going to buy something. If you leave, I'll tell your sister you secretly kissed me." Ezra looked up at me. This time, he clearly wasn't as shocked as he was this morning, but his dark eyes still stared at me in confusion. When I came out of the convenience store with popsicles, I immediately spotted Ezra standing obediently by the trash can. Tsk. I narrowed my eyes. I always thought I liked the sunny, athletic type like Mason. How come a gloomy, obedient puppy like Ezra was so damn cute too? I thought about it while licking my popsicle. And finally came to a conclusion. It's not that I have a specific "type." I'm just purely shallow and like hot guys. 03 I shoved a popsicle into his hand. Ezra didn't grab it, and it fell to the ground with a splat. He kept walking forward, ignoring me. I picked up the popsicle, ran after him, and shoved it back into his hand. It fell to the ground again. I was getting annoyed. This brat. I caught up to him in three strides and yanked his collar open. Ezra finally lost his cool. He clutched his collar and took two steps back, looking at me in shock. I grinned mischievously and handed the popsicle back. He took it. We walked side-by-side, but Ezra just held the popsicle, not eating it. So I leaned in close and whispered to him. "Don't be shy. I won't tell anyone you like pink..." Ezra snapped the popsicle in half and shoved it into his mouth, speeding up his pace. See? When people are embarrassed, they always pretend to be busy. If they have water, they drink; if they have a popsicle, they suck on it. I watched Ezra slowly licking the popsicle and giggled. "Ezra, did you know that popsicles can be used to cool down? When it's hot, you just shove it up a cow's..." Ezra stopped eating. He lowered the popsicle, his lips flushed red from the cold, and just stared at me quietly. Looks like he was out of options against me. I felt a little awkward; maybe that topic was a bit too gross. I was about to change the subject when Ezra spoke his second sentence of the day. "Pig." I froze, then was overcome with ecstatic joy. "Right! It's a pig's behind! I remembered it wrong!" "Ezra!! We have so much in common! You watch those trashy low-budget videos too!" I thought the autistic kid Ezra didn't use the internet, but it turns out he was a seasoned netizen. I cheered happily. I had truly found my soulmate. Getting out of the luxury car, I waved goodbye enthusiastically to the popular girl. When I turned around, I almost had a heart attack. Mason was standing at the entrance to my apartment building, his eyes icy. "Does your mom know? That you're hanging out with a guy who's sick in the head." I pushed past him. "Are you sick in the head?" Mason's expression relaxed slightly. He reached out as if to grab my arm, but still didn't stop lecturing me. "A guy like Ezra clearly has mental issues. You think everyone has a temper as good as mine? You've been noisy since we were kids, and if you keep annoying him..." I squeezed the melted popsicle in my hand hard, squirting the sticky juice right into his face. He let out a yell and stumbled backward, triggering the motion-sensor lights in the stairwell. Mason glared at me, the sweet, sticky juice dripping down his face. "Are you crazy?!" I pulled out a tissue, wiped my fingers, and walked past him. "You call other people sick, but I think you're the sickest one of all." Mason turned his head. I had already turned and was walking up the stairs. The next day, during a break, I asked for Ezra's Snapchat. He actually responded to me. "No." I picked up my phone to take a picture of him. He frowned and swatted it away. I reached out to snatch his phone from his pocket. Ezra reacted with horror, as if I was trying to grab his crotch, and instantly took two steps back. While we were messing around, Mason knocked on my desk. "Avery, I won't hold yesterday against you. My mom made sweet and sour ribs tonight. Let's walk home together after school." I stopped tormenting Ezra and gave Mason a side-eye. Is he crazy? Did he not understand what I said yesterday? I couldn't be bothered to deal with him. I turned my head and saw that Ezra had already stood up and walked out the classroom door. I took a deep breath, turned, and chased after him. Ezra was standing outside the classroom, stiff as a board like an idiot. I guessed he wanted to avoid me, but didn't know where to go, so his brain short-circuited. I found it amusing and reached out to poke him. "Hey, you really won't add me?" He didn't speak, just stood there stiffly until the bell rang. "Hey, the teacher's here." I tugged his sleeve, but Ezra didn't move an inch. "You two, what are you doing standing out here?" The music teacher frowned. I looked at Ezra standing there like a block of wood, then looked at the music teacher. "Mr. Smith, Ezra has a... stomachache." 04 Ezra's pupils trembled slightly, surprised by my casual lie. The teacher waved his hand, telling me to take him to the nurse's office. I'm tone-deaf. My ability to escape music class relied entirely on Ezra being a good student in the teacher's eyes. He let me drag him forward like a rock. Passing by the window, I saw Mason looking out with a dark expression. "Ezra, you've never skipped class before, have you?" I pried his hand open. The boy's palm was warm. A flutter went through my heart, and I shamelessly shoved my own hand into his. He didn't shake me off. I pulled him through the small alleyway across from the school gates and found my favorite diner. The owner cheerfully brought over a bowl of noodles. "Brought a friend, huh? Isn't it class time right now?" I smiled brightly. "Yeah, we skipped class to come here." Ezra's breathing stopped. He raised his hand to cover my mouth, looking horrified, wishing he could force the words back down my throat. I was giggling uncontrollably. Ezra was so expressive, so cute. He totally hit all my weak spots. I brought over two small bowls. "Half for you, half for me, besties forever we'll be." Ezra frowned at the bowl of noodles and didn't say anything. I thought he was grossed out by me, but he surprisingly handed his phone over. I understood what he meant. He was saying he had money and could buy two bowls. But the truth was, I just couldn't finish it all. I had eaten breakfast, how could I possibly eat a whole bowl of noodles? I took the opportunity to grab his phone and added my own Snapchat. Ezra's hand paused, but he didn't stop me. Ezra ate very quietly. Even the most ordinary bowl of noodles looked elegant when he ate it. When we finished, I wiped my mouth, grabbed his hand, and ran. Ezra was confused. He stumbled after me until we were out of the alley, and I turned around. The boy's eyes were terrifyingly bright. It seemed he had never done anything so rebellious before. His heart was beating fast; even standing face-to-face, I could hear it. He grabbed me and tried to walk back, his eyes determined. I shook off his hand. "We already dined and dashed. Going back now would be so embarrassing." Ezra pursed his lips, looking at me silently. He wasn't angry; his eyes were full of helpless indulgence, but also a firm sense of bottom-line principles. I grinned at him. "If you go back, you have to tell the owner, 'I'm sorry, boss... we came to pay,' and then I'll go back." Ezra stood at the entrance of the alley. He agonized for a full five minutes before finally resigning himself to his fate, grabbing my hand and walking back. The owner was wiping tables. Seeing us standing at the door like statues, she froze. I nudged him. "Speak." Ezra's palms were sweating profusely, gripping my hand so hard it turned red. The tips of his ears were startlingly red too. I thought he was going to give up. But the next second, I heard Ezra's clear, cold voice, stuttering slightly. "I'm sorry, ma'am... we're here to pay." 05 The owner was stunned. She took the rag and wiped her hands, looking at me in confusion: "What?" I finally couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing, bending over. I had the owner on Venmo, and I always paid her directly through the app. Including the homeroom teacher, I had also texted him to excuse Ezra. But he was so gullible, he believed whatever I said. Ezra looked a bit unhappy. His lips moved, and without another word, he turned and walked away. I chased after him, chattering non-stop: "Oh my god, I'm sorry! I just wanted to get you to say a few more words!" "Ezra, your voice is really nice, you should talk more." "Ezra, repeat after me: Avery is so pretty, I like Avery." Ezra's ears turned even redder. He stopped abruptly. I crashed into his back, caught off guard. He turned his head, looked at me for two seconds, and spat out two words: "Shameless." I burst out laughing. "Ezra, you sound so cute when you talk." He clearly wanted to scold me for being shameless like Mason did, but he phrased it so politely. Even though he said that, I was still laughing happily. He had probably never met a girl as thick-skinned as me in his life. Ezra simply ignored me and kept walking forward with a huff. That evening, the popular girl transferred $10,000 to me. "Ezra spoke at home today! He asked me: 'Why do Dad's shoes smell so bad?'" "Master, you are the lucky star of our whole family!" I fell back on my bed laughing, imagining Ezra's frowning face. It was almost too cute. I pulled out my phone to text Ezra. But my ringtone went off. I hung up in annoyance—it was Mason again. After I blocked his number and Snapchat, he started calling me from his mom's phone. I lived across from Mason, and his mom was really nice to me. She and my mom were good friends. No matter how rebellious I was, I couldn't bring myself to block an elder. I rubbed my temples in frustration and tossed the phone aside. What is wrong with this guy? Since we were kids, I chased after him, and he never called me once. I was always the one bothering him. I swiped open my chat history with Mason. It was almost entirely my one-sided output, while he would only reply with a "yeah" or "oh" after hundreds of messages. As I backed out, I noticed a message from Ezra. I thought he would be as cold online as he was in person, but ever since we added each other on Snapchat, he replied to every message I sent. Even if it was just a simple one or two words, I felt unprecedented emotional validation. He even started stealing my emojis to reply to me. Though he stopped after I sent him a particularly inappropriate one. But it turns out the autistic kid Ezra was just quiet in person; he was quite enthusiastic on the internet. ... "Good morning, Ezra!" I greeted him with a bright smile. The aloof boy didn't speak, just glanced up at me. I felt a bit strange. Was he being a bit too quiet today? The next second, I saw the breakfast on my desk: "You brought this for me?" I asked in surprise. Ezra nodded, then shook his head: "My sister." He still spoke very little, but I understood. "Well, thank your sister for me! The soup dumplings from this place are super hard to get." I was eating, my mouth greasy, and Ezra handed me a tissue. Mason walked over, glaring at me with annoyance: "How long are you going to keep this up? You don't answer my calls, you don't reply to my texts." "We live so close, but you act like a rabbit, I can't even catch a glimpse of you." I put away the dumplings on my desk: "Since you know I'm avoiding you, then stop showing up in front of me." Mason's chest heaved with anger: "Do you really think a rich kid like him would ever actually fall for you?" I paused mid-chew. Ezra also stopped pulling out a tissue. He looked up at Mason blankly. I slammed my hand on the desk and stood up. "Mason! We're all students. Your mind is way too dirty!" "All you think about is romance and dating. Is that what a high school student should be like? As a classmate, not only do you not help others, you actually try to stir up drama!" Mason opened his mouth, but I immediately shut him down. "Or maybe, you're the one who's dating, which is why your head is full of these thoughts?" Mason was fuming: "Avery! I'm only saying this because I consider you a good friend! A guy from Ezra's background can have any girl he wants—" Before he could finish, the homeroom teacher's icy voice rang out behind him. "Mason, come to my office right now!" I was dying of laughter. But when I turned my head, I saw Ezra staring intently at me, his eyes dark and unreadable. Before I could speak, he pursed his lips and turned his head away. I rubbed my forehead. Great, the little prince is mad again. "You really don't need my help. I misspoke. I'm the one—I need your help! Could you let me copy your homework?" Ezra ignored me, so I tugged on his sleeve and shook it. "That abstract meme video you shared with me yesterday, I can't find it. Could you send it to me again?" He still ignored me. I sighed and resignedly laid my head on the desk. Not two minutes later, my phone vibrated. I pulled it out of my desk cubby and saw a Venmo transfer from Ezra. [Keep helping me. I have money. Don't talk to him, I hate him.] A direct, sweet puppy like this, who also uses the power of money, who wouldn't fall for that? I clutched my heart and accepted the money without a second thought. The popular girl said she wanted to treat me to dinner, saying her parents wanted to thank me in person. Ezra had been talking more and more at home recently. Although it was just brief sentences, it gave them hope. I waved my hand: "No problem at all."
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