I’m Done Warmng Your Cold Heart

On the day the school district posted the disciplinary notices for the AP exams, my mildly autistic younger sister, Chloe, took a three-hour bus ride to my house.

She stood outside my study door for a long time, clutching the notification stamped with "Cheating Investigation Pending" in red ink, before she finally found the courage to walk in.

"Julian... I was the only one in that testing room. I swear I didn’t cheat."

Her voice was barely a whisper, as if she was terrified of bothering anyone.