Jason Alan Blake sat at his desk absorbed in the story he was reading, lost in the world the adventures of far-off places and amazing characters provided an escape from the predictability of his life. Living in Gatlinburg for eight years now given him an sense of stability.

At first he and his older twin sister, Jackie had stayed with their mom, Michelle and their grandparents in their old house in Missouri a cozy place with scents of his grandma's cooking and his granddad's tobacco.

Then Michelle met Jessica one thing led to another and they started dating. They then moved to an apartment not that far from his grandparent's place. It was quite small barely bigger than a car but it was filled with love and that was all what mattered.

Jason had his own corner where he could read books and model cars and Jackie had her own where could build her playing cards and her other structures. The apartment was cramped but they made it home Jessica and Michelle had made sure they had space where he and Jackie can pursue their hobbies and supported them in everything they did.

Later on, Michelle and Jessica married and the four moved to Gatlinburg for a fresh start and new life.

His gaze drifted from the book momentarily, drawn from a movement in his peripheral. He saw a girl the same age as him and Jackie she had long dark brown hair light brown eyes she and white and black shirt with black shorts and black and white tennis shoes. She was standing in the room across from his the next door, scanning the room with an curious expression. Jason noticed that she was pretty looking although new people did bring a bit of anxiety but he we also curious about her.

He observed her closely and cautiously, trying to read her body language. She seemed to be taking in her surroundings and he could relate to her about that feeling in being somewhere unfamiliar. His thoughts raced, Who is she? What is she doing here? Will she want to talk with me?

Suddenly their eyes met and Jason felt his heart skip a beat or two He could see her eyes more closer staring at him with curiosity. He quickly ducked his head down, pretending to read but his mind was else-where.

Should I wave? What if she thinks I'm weird? What if she wants to talk?

He glanced up again just in time for the girl to raise her hand in a tentative wave. His immediate instinct was to look away, but he forced himself to hold her gaze even just for a little bit. He tentatively raised his hand in response, managing a small shy smile.

The exchange was a brief one but it had a significant impact. As the girl turned away, Jason felt a whirlwind of emotions, His thoughts swirled around He wondered if she was friendly, if she might want to get to know him. The idea of making a new friend was both exciting and terrifying.

Jason put down his book his mind way too distracted to focus on the story he walked over to the window, looking out the window of his house seeing the neighborhood in the late afternoon sun always help calm his nerves. While doing so he imagined several scenarios on having a conversation with the girl.

Hi, I'm Jason. Welcome to Gatlinburg Do you like fantasy and sci-fi?

This always helped him with conversing with someone. He looked over at his phone that was charging, the clock on it It read: 6:40pm. It was almost time for his favorite game show. He always liked that show, Watching it always made feel joy and safety. A small pocket of routine in an otherwise unpredictable world.

He made his way downstairs taking care to not slip on them. The familiar creek of the step brought a sense of comfort. As he reached the bottom being prepared wafted from the kitchen. Jessica was there chopping vegetables, Michelle stirred a pot on the stove and Jackie sat on one of the chairs watching them.

"There you are Jay" His older twin sister by 10 minutes, Jackie said with a smile as he entered the room. Jackie was a fifteen year old girl who had long light curly brown hair that reached down her mid back area she had green eyes She was wearing an red shirt with black jean shorts and black socks she

Jessica looked over and saw her stepson she smiled and said "Hi Jason, your show is about to start."

She was a pretty woman who had curly black hair and brown eyes she wore a grey and white "Calvin Klein" Shirt black jogging pants and white socks.

Jason nodded and settled into his usual spot on the couch Jackie followed and sat next down next to him and picked up the remote and she navigated to the channel that aired his favorite game show, "The Life Game" It was a show produced by a Channel Three,  a production company The show is about where contestants would have to play life sized games to win.

Michelle walked into the living room, wiping her hands on a dish towel.she had light brown hair like her two children and green eyes she had a green sport like shirt ,jogging pants and some black and white socks. "How's the book? "She asked Jason sitting next to him on the couch.

"It's good." Jason said back to her turning to her The Hero and his team just had to fight back against the assassins trying to kill them in the night."

Jackie turned to him and said, "Damn at least they were safe." Her and their mom's attention shifting over to the Tv just as the game show announced the contestants. Jason appreciated that they cared about his interests.

Michelle's phone started buzzing incessantly with notifications. She sighed in annoyance knowing who was sending the barrage of texts. Her sister-in-law Maya : A picture of a prestigious looking university campus, followed by a text read, "Just think of all the opportunities Jaqueline and Jason could've had if you just finished your degree."

Michelle took a deep breath and counted to ten in her head, reminding herself that she made the beet decisions she could under difficult circumstances. She tried to go to community college three times. The first time, she had no choice to leave under both doctor and parent orders due to her passing out in class due to stress. The second time, she had gone into labor and the school didn't handle it well.

The third time Michelle tried attending community college. She wasn't even there for two weeks when the feds invaded the campus. The sudden arrival of fed agents armed with warrants, turned the quiet college into something that she seen in a crime drama.

Apparently the school she went to was under investigation. One of the teachers and a student were  actually undercover cops working to gather evidence. The school wasn't accredited which meant the diplomas earned were basically worthless. That alone would've caused an investigation but they uncovered several other pressing issues.

The school had violated several safety regulations which included inadequate fire safety measures, hazardous conditions. Classrooms were overcrowded  and the facilities were poorly maintained posing significant risks to the students and staff.

Also, the school had been embezzling funds. Tuition money was being siphoned off by the administration which caused whole lot of other problems like being unable to pay for basic education needs.

Lastly the school has been falsifying school records like attendance rates, altering Grade rates and transcripts to make it seem that the students failed at taking courses they never signed up for.

Despite not having a degree Michelle found a job that didn't require one. She worked in heating and air conditioner repair. Her knack for troubleshooting , mechanical skills and strong work ethic made her immensely invaluable to the team. She handled installations, maintenance and repairs making sure homes and businesses stayed comfortable year round. Her boss valued her dedication and she worked her way up to a position where she could provide for her family.

Michelle looked over at Jackie and Jason who were happily looking at the screen talking about the answers and commenting on the questions. She felt a surge of pride and a determination to protect them from Maya and her toxic judgements. Jackie and Jason were thriving despite all their challenges. They were both kind nice and Jackie and Jason had nice friends to hang out with and had an incredible depth of knowledge about their interests.

She decided to respond to Maya with a firm and polite message :"Maya, I appreciate your concern but Jason, Jackie and Me are doing just fine My job allows me to provide for  them and their both happy and healthy so please respect our own choices".

She hit send and put her phone down determined to not let Maya ruin their evening. She turned her attention back to Jessica and to Jackie and Jason who were both locked in their conversation.

Jessica noticed the look on Michelle's face and gave her a supportive smile. "Maya again?"

Michelle nodded, rolling her eyes "Yeah she wouldn't shut up about college if her life depended on it."

The family sat around the dinner table, enjoying some roast beef, tomato soup and fruit. The aroma of the food filled the kitchen, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere. Jess set the last dish down and took her seat, smiling at Jackie, Jason, and Michelle.

Michelle watched her children closely They were arranging the food in perfect sync to get the things they want.

Jess ladled the soup into bowls and served it. Jason's eyes widened with excitement at the sight of the steaming soup. He liked it so much that he often commented on the different spices and flavors. He took a sip and then looked at Michelle with a wide grin, "This soup tastes like that soup we had at that Italian restaurant last summer! Remember?"

Michelle smiled and nodded while Jackie said "Wow Jay I think you're like Siri but for food." They noticed how Jason had an extraordinary memory for flavors and details. He often connected memories to specific tastes, a trait they liked sincerely.

"So," Jess began, serving herself some roast beef, "I noticed we have new neighbors moving in next door. I thought we could go over tomorrow and say hi."

Michelle nodded taking a sip of her drink. "Sure thing Hon." Michelle personally didn't care for meeting new people but she went along with it for two reasons. One for Jess's sake. Two, because she didn't want Jason to worry about meeting them since she knows how skittish he can get sometimes.

Jason who was carefully cutting his roast beef into even pieces looked up from his plate. He shifted a bit while he would like to meet new people and welcome them social interactions weren't exactly the most easy.

Jess noticed his apprehension and smiled warmly "We don't have to stay long Jason. Just a quick hello and some cookies. Then back to the game show." Jackie also noticed his nervous expression and whispered to him, "You don't have to say much we can do what we always I can do most of the talking and you can say something when you're comfortable."

Jason nodded slowly, feeling a bit of resolve at the reassurance. He returned to his food arranging the fruit into color coded sections.

"Do you think they have any kids?" Michelle asked try to move the direction of the conversation to a more positive route.

"Not sure," Jess replied, shrugging . "I did see a girl that looked the same age as Jason and Jackie."

Jason's interest piqued for a bit "A girl?" He repeated, curious talking to a girl was always a challenge.

"Yeah, a girl, why? you wanna ask her out on a date Jay?" Jackie asked teasingly smirking at her brother . Jason blushed a bit as he stuttered out "N-No! I-I was just curious."

"Jackie, don't tease your brother." Jess said to her then she turned to Jason and said he gently, "But yes maybe you'll have someone new to talk to."

Jason nodded again his resolve increased he trusted his moms and sister when had they ever led him wrong?

After dinner Jason and Jackie did their routine They collected the dishes and put them into stacks from bottom to top: plates, bowls and utensils.

They carried their stacks into the kitchen their steps in perfect sync At the sink, he set up his dishwashing station: soap on the left sponge on the middle and drying rack that Jackie would place them. He took a deep breath prepared himself for the task at hand.

Jason started on the utensils doing them in spoons forks and knives he did them all meticulously and once done handed them to Jackie to put on the drying rack. The sound of dishes and water was a nice background sound.

Next was the bowls after he got done rinsing the soap out of the last fork and handing it to Jackie and moving on to the stack of bowls. He washed each one with the same attention, ensuring there were no missed spots.

As he moved on to the plates his thoughts turned back to the new neighbors they might be nice people to talk too after all Jackie always said "What could go wrong?"

After finishing the dishes, Jason and Jackie methodically dried his hands and put up the last of the clean utensils putting everything back in their places. They then made their way back upstairs The soothing him of the bathroom fan greeted Jason as he took a shower, the warm water providing a nice experience.

Once clean, Jason dressed in his favorite soft pajamas. He moved downstairs and found his usual spot the couch soon enough Jackie came down in her favorite red velvet night gown and she sat down in the spot next to him. He glanced at the clock it was time for Jackie to pick a show as it was her turn.

When she picked it the shows action and plot brought a sense of comfort for him. He enjoyed the familiar characters and storylines, finding solace in the consistency. As he and his sister watched engrossed in the entertainment and cheered on the heroes in their fight against danger but not to loudly he was mindful of the noise level.

While Jackie and Jason focused on the Tv their moms Michelle and Jess chatted quietly on the back porch he always liked conversing on the show with people he loved.

During a commercial break He looked over at his phone wallpaper that the showed the time and his background which showed Him and Jackie with their friends at the homecoming dance from last year Jason liked that photo it always brought him back to a very memorable night.

As Jason and Jackie watched their show, the familiar chime on Michelle's phone broke Jason out of watching the show. He glanced over and saw it she must've left it on the couch beside him. The screen lit up with an message from Aunt Maya.

Curiosity got the better of him. He picked up the phone and tapped the notification. The message opened revealing a lengthy and heated response from Maya to something Michelle sent earlier. He skimmed over the words and his heart sank as he read.

"Stop making excuses! Dropping out of three colleges is laziness! You know Jason and Jaqueline will never amount to anything and speaking of Jason He's not going to be worth anything He's just a lazy ass brat!

Jason looked at the message and frowned. He knew Aunt Maya had always been critical but seeing such harsh words from her directed towards him and his condition was deeply hurtful He felt a mixture and anger and sadness.

Jackie noticed he hadn't commented in a bit and she noticed Michelle's phone was still open and when she saw a message from her aunt to towards she felt absolute anger How her stepmom was related to her aunt was beyond her how dare she insult Her Mom and Jason It wasn't his fault he didn't ask to be born with Autism, She put aside her anger for now and wrapped her arms around her brother whispering to him "Hey it's ok she doesn't what the hell she's talking about don't listen to what she says ok."

Jason nodded hugging her back while he was touched by Jackie's words he didn't to think about what he read, but he couldn't help it. It was another reminder of the challenges he faced not from just his own struggles but from Prejudice from others.

That's when he remembered the new girl next door

His thoughts wandered back to when he seen her earlier and realized something odd: he hadn't seen a moving trucks outside. Usually new neighbors come here with a flurry of activity—boxes being unloaded, furniture being carried in and the general hustle and bustle of a move but there has been none of that. The absence of a moving truck struck him as odd, especially since it was usually a sign of the transition he knew so well.  Maybe they were still waiting for their belongings, or they were possibly traveling light? He'll just have to find out tomorrow.