A Request for Friendship {Annabelle/Jamie}

The little girl that Jamie had spoken to appeared to have a bit of a sense of humor. She commented that Jamie was older that her, which was true, but what she didn't know was that his autism made his maturity to be closer to her age, or perhaps the slightest bit older. He was a child at heart, and a child in personality, too. He smiled with a slight laugh when the girl asked if he was wanting her to do his math homework.

"Not at all," he said with a smile. He was actually rather good at math, so that would have been an odd request for him to make. "I'm just looking for a friend. A lot of the people my age don't seem to like me. They think I'm weird," he explained. It was quite true, too. Most people thought he was rather strange because of his quirks. Sure, he was fine with being strange. Jamie just hated when other people used it as an excuse not to talk to him.

"I'm Jamie, by the way," he said to the girl. He hoped this would go over well. If not, his parents would likely be disappointed, and he hated to disappoint those he cared about. Had they been his birth parents, he wouldn't have cared. Although, when it came to these kind folks that had taken him in and he now referred to as his parents, he respected them because they treated him well. He didn't want to bother or upset them at all.

The girl's voice was quiet as she spoke to Jamie, giving her reply. She explained that she also had trouble making friends, and the boy understood. The explanation she gave was that people thought she was annoying and stupid. His new acquaintance insisted that she wasn't, though, and introduced herself as Annabelle, asking if he wanted to be friends with her. Jamie smiled in response.

"Of course! I can tell that you're a good person," he said to her kindly. Her mood swing didn't catch him off guard at all, either, as he was often like that himself. He would sometimes be in a very good mood when something the slightest bit negative would change his attitude entirely. Luckily, it seemed like Annabelle would understand that if it happened. After all, it seemed that she may be similar in that regard.

"What do you do for fun?" he decided to inquire of her. He hoped it didn't seem odd, asking her questions about her life. He didn't want to be nosy, prying into her interests. Jamie did, however, want to make friends, and wasn't sure how else to do so.

Annabelle seemed to be a bit down on herself, as if she believed that what she found fun wasn't interesting enough to express to her new acquaintance. The boy understood that. His hobbies probably seemed boring or obscure to most people, which was why he often kept it to himself. He listened to what the girl had to say, though, without interrupted. She had stated a few things, and then questioned as to why she was telling all these things to someone she had just met. When she concluded, he spoke up.

"I understand. I have some strange things I like to do, too. Some people kind of avoid me when they find out that I like to collect plush toys at my age... I'm eighteen. I guess that's something people think is a little odd sometimes." He expressed this in the kindest way possible, hoping he didn't upset Annabelle. "I hope I don't annoy you," he told her. Jamie was hoping for the best. He didn't want more people who would think hew as weird. The boy just wanted genuine friends.