The Permutation

Breakthrough (Part 12) Christopher

Friday, November 4th, 4 p.m.

Christopher knocked on the maroon door seven times every sixty-one seconds, and he'd still received no response. Kate didn't understand, all he wanted was to see Gracie for a few minutes. That would make everything better, if only for a brief moment.

    He thought going back to his routine and his classes would've sorted out the funk, but his condition had deteriorated at a consistent pace from the moment he'd woken up.
    The violet wave of light, his altered perceptions, and his interaction with Jessica made Christopher question whether or not he was perceiving events as they actually happened. Delusions were not common in his condition, but they weren't unheard of. Asperger's Syndrome can manifest with a myriad of different comorbidities that could explain the events of that morning. He felt lucid throughout the entire experience which worried him more than anything.

Does somebody who is losing their mind know they're losing it, or is their perception so skewed that they can't distinguish what is real and what is false?

      ◈

Throughout the rest of his classes, Christopher could not focus on anything besides his interaction with Jessica or the driving incident. As a result, his control over his class crumbled around him. The moment a teacher falters in their authority all hell breaks loose, and students run rampant over the classroom. Christopher retreated inside himself, counting the seconds until the day was over. He hoped his classroom survived the day without too much damage.

hen he finally got a moment's respite for lunch, the realization he'd forgotten to grab his lunch struck like a hammer. Christopher contemplated the merits of indulging in cafeteria food to satisfy the rumbling in his stomach, but he decided that hunger was better than the chaos presented by the cafeteria. Horror stories of the lunchroom and flying food, unidentifiable smells, and vomiting were enough to make anyone tread carefully.

    He spent his entire forty minutes of lunch staring at the papers that Jessica had submitted. The meticulous and thoughtful assignments were incongruous with her carelessness and general apathy towards school. Christopher had an admittedly scarce knowledge of why people behaved the way they did, but this went beyond that he felt. Logic had never led him astray, and logic couldn't explain what has happening around him.

    The ringing of his phone derailed Christopher from his negative train of thought. In his two months of teaching, he hadn't heard the phone ring a single time. On any other day, he would've answered it without hesitation, but today, anything out of the ordinary was almost too much for him to handle.

    Christopher knew that if his boss needed to speak with him, the man would more than likely come to Christopher's classroom to talk in person. That was an eventuality Christopher would have dreaded. He answered the phone.

    "Mr. Stroud's classroom," he said hoping that was an appropriate way to answer the phone.

    "Hey Christopher it's Raymond Kinghorn, your uncle-in-law."

    "This is unexpected. Did I do something wrong?"

    Mr. Kinghorn laughed on the other end of the phone. Christopher couldn't tell if he was making fun of him or not.

    "No son, nothing like that. The Missus and I were wondering if you wanted to come over for dinner tonight? There's a youngster I want you to meet."

    "Why?"

    "Well you're the resident mad scientist in town, and we've got a few science related questions for you."

    "On Fridays, I devote the evening to my research in Twin Falls."

    " Do you think you could take a break from your research for a night? I wouldn't be asking if it wasn't important."