jamesaldrin
Well-Known Member
Hey. Here is my story that I want to share to vent and stuff. When I introduce a new character, their name will be in bold. I only introduce three characters.
I go to a gym. At this gym, the guy who works at the front desk is social. Me and him have grown to be good friends and talk every day. Let's call him Front Desk Guy. A lot of other guys hang around the front desk too and talk with him and each other. There's like ten of us, although usually not all at once.
One of the other guys very obviously has a mental disorder. I know that a lot of people don't consider Autism to be a mental disorder, because it's a difference in brain structure, but I don't know what else to call it. I will call him Joshua.
I think that he has Autism because of his strange way of socializing - as if he doesn't know how to socialize but is trying his best - and his repetitive movement of touching his fingers together over and over (it looks like he plays an invisible accordion). He also moves and reacts slowly as if he's stoned. He's difficult to communicate with; if my sentences are too complex then it's like he doesn't process them.
He'd stay at the gym the whole day - not working out but just because it was the place that made him happy. He had Front Desk Guy to talk to and the janitor who we were all close to. I was happy for him that he found something that made him happy. Sometimes when I was going to leave the gym he would look disappointed.
I also have Autism but it's a lighter version that isn't obvious. I didn't tell Joshua or anybody. I only told Front Desk Guy because he was one of my closest friends.
Me and Joshua got along well along with the other front desk regulars, especially Front Desk Guy.
One day, a bunch of us guys were at the front desk chatting together. Me, Joshua, and Front Desk Guy were there. But there is one guy who always bullied me, who I'll call Bully Guy. Bully Guy could tell from the first time we met that I was the kind of guy who didn't have much of a social life. He'd, well, bully me about it in front of Front Desk Guy and the others.
On this day, Bully Guy was bullying me and Joshua, since we both stuck out as "nutty" or crazy. It was verbal bullying and I guess nobody really felt the need to step in. In fact a lot of them love picking on each other and stuff so this probably blended in. I was talking back to Bully Guy but Joshua was just being his usual oblivious self (not that it was his fault - it's how his brain is).
To my displeasure, Front Desk Guy laughed along to what Bully Guy would say. I was irritated that he was laughing along instead of respecting me and Joshua.
So, I said to Front Desk Guy (keeping in mind that he already knows about my Autism), that me and Joshua are just two people with different brains and there's nothing funny.
When I said this, Front Desk Guy couldn't keep his laughter in anymore. Everything was so funny to him.
When Front Desk Guy laughed, Joshua, who was with us in his permanent mental blur, assumed that I said that he has a different brain to make fun of him and to make Front Desk Guy laugh. He probably only heard "different brain" and Front Desk Guy's laughter and assumed that I was joining in with Bully Guy's bullying.
Joshua said to me "why you gotta say that?" and from that moment on he stubbornly hated me. He started telling Front Desk Guy about what he wants to do to me for revenge, and Front Desk Guy laughed along. I tried to show Joshua that I didn't mean any harm, and Front Desk Guy laughed at and made fun of my body language: I had shook my head with worried, raised eyebrows at Joshua but Front Desk Guy called me a robot running out of battery.
From that day on, whenever Joshua and I would be at the front desk, he would stare at me angrily, and if I tried to say something then he'd think I'm trying to bully him no matter what I said. Whenever I approached him to try and make things better, he'd look like he was about to cry and would try to stand up to me by telling me to leave him alone. He even stared at me when I was doing my own thing in the gym like running on a treadmill.
This went on for a while. I couldn't get my message across to him because his Autism or whatever it is just didn't let him process what I had to say. He only understand simple sentences. It was frustrating; I didn't do anything but he thought that I had made fun of him.
Eventually, for his mental health, I decided to just pretend that I did make fun of him so that I could apologize to him. I went up to him and he just stared at me. I say his name and he doesn't respond. I say it again, and after a delay, he yells "What!?" Then he tells me "Don't make me have another meltdown" and that he got kicked out of the gym last time because of me (because of a meltdown). I said to him that I'm sorry for making fun of him. How frustrating that I was on his side and was defending him that time!
I came back an hour later to the gym and a bunch of the guys were at the front desk including Front Desk Guy, Joshua, and the janitor. The janitor said that Joshua said he doesn't forgive me. I decided to leave just to give Joshua peace of mind. That was the last time I saw him; Front Desk Guy quit his job and a lot of people left that gym because it was going broke and had bad equipment, so I guess Joshua left because he had no one to talk to anymore.
Thank you for reading this.
I go to a gym. At this gym, the guy who works at the front desk is social. Me and him have grown to be good friends and talk every day. Let's call him Front Desk Guy. A lot of other guys hang around the front desk too and talk with him and each other. There's like ten of us, although usually not all at once.
One of the other guys very obviously has a mental disorder. I know that a lot of people don't consider Autism to be a mental disorder, because it's a difference in brain structure, but I don't know what else to call it. I will call him Joshua.
I think that he has Autism because of his strange way of socializing - as if he doesn't know how to socialize but is trying his best - and his repetitive movement of touching his fingers together over and over (it looks like he plays an invisible accordion). He also moves and reacts slowly as if he's stoned. He's difficult to communicate with; if my sentences are too complex then it's like he doesn't process them.
He'd stay at the gym the whole day - not working out but just because it was the place that made him happy. He had Front Desk Guy to talk to and the janitor who we were all close to. I was happy for him that he found something that made him happy. Sometimes when I was going to leave the gym he would look disappointed.
I also have Autism but it's a lighter version that isn't obvious. I didn't tell Joshua or anybody. I only told Front Desk Guy because he was one of my closest friends.
Me and Joshua got along well along with the other front desk regulars, especially Front Desk Guy.
One day, a bunch of us guys were at the front desk chatting together. Me, Joshua, and Front Desk Guy were there. But there is one guy who always bullied me, who I'll call Bully Guy. Bully Guy could tell from the first time we met that I was the kind of guy who didn't have much of a social life. He'd, well, bully me about it in front of Front Desk Guy and the others.
On this day, Bully Guy was bullying me and Joshua, since we both stuck out as "nutty" or crazy. It was verbal bullying and I guess nobody really felt the need to step in. In fact a lot of them love picking on each other and stuff so this probably blended in. I was talking back to Bully Guy but Joshua was just being his usual oblivious self (not that it was his fault - it's how his brain is).
To my displeasure, Front Desk Guy laughed along to what Bully Guy would say. I was irritated that he was laughing along instead of respecting me and Joshua.
So, I said to Front Desk Guy (keeping in mind that he already knows about my Autism), that me and Joshua are just two people with different brains and there's nothing funny.
When I said this, Front Desk Guy couldn't keep his laughter in anymore. Everything was so funny to him.
When Front Desk Guy laughed, Joshua, who was with us in his permanent mental blur, assumed that I said that he has a different brain to make fun of him and to make Front Desk Guy laugh. He probably only heard "different brain" and Front Desk Guy's laughter and assumed that I was joining in with Bully Guy's bullying.
Joshua said to me "why you gotta say that?" and from that moment on he stubbornly hated me. He started telling Front Desk Guy about what he wants to do to me for revenge, and Front Desk Guy laughed along. I tried to show Joshua that I didn't mean any harm, and Front Desk Guy laughed at and made fun of my body language: I had shook my head with worried, raised eyebrows at Joshua but Front Desk Guy called me a robot running out of battery.
From that day on, whenever Joshua and I would be at the front desk, he would stare at me angrily, and if I tried to say something then he'd think I'm trying to bully him no matter what I said. Whenever I approached him to try and make things better, he'd look like he was about to cry and would try to stand up to me by telling me to leave him alone. He even stared at me when I was doing my own thing in the gym like running on a treadmill.
This went on for a while. I couldn't get my message across to him because his Autism or whatever it is just didn't let him process what I had to say. He only understand simple sentences. It was frustrating; I didn't do anything but he thought that I had made fun of him.
Eventually, for his mental health, I decided to just pretend that I did make fun of him so that I could apologize to him. I went up to him and he just stared at me. I say his name and he doesn't respond. I say it again, and after a delay, he yells "What!?" Then he tells me "Don't make me have another meltdown" and that he got kicked out of the gym last time because of me (because of a meltdown). I said to him that I'm sorry for making fun of him. How frustrating that I was on his side and was defending him that time!
I came back an hour later to the gym and a bunch of the guys were at the front desk including Front Desk Guy, Joshua, and the janitor. The janitor said that Joshua said he doesn't forgive me. I decided to leave just to give Joshua peace of mind. That was the last time I saw him; Front Desk Guy quit his job and a lot of people left that gym because it was going broke and had bad equipment, so I guess Joshua left because he had no one to talk to anymore.
Thank you for reading this.
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