Talk To Kathy
Back in October 2019, I got a job at the school that I went to directly after being diagnosed with autism, Haugland Learning Center (HLC). I worked in the after-school program (Ace) with six college girls named Sydney, Caitlin, Kelly, Sam, Olivia, and Miranda, under our two bosses, Addison and Jason. I learned how to work well with all of them and became friends with each of them. Shortly after I started the job, I overheard that if I have two years of experience with kids on the spectrum, I could become a teacher's aide anywhere in the state. I didn't do any deep research on that, so I was unsure how that would pan out, but that was my rough plan.
After I got the job, I wanted to start writing about it for Rules For a Greattastic Life, but I didn't want to talk about any kids. So the compromise that I made with myself was to write about the relationships with my coworkers when we got the chance to do something outside of school.
As you may know, I also have worked at a Kroger grocery store for about three years (at the time of this installment posting, not at the events of this story). My shift at HLC was from 2:30-6:00 a few times a week, including Thursdays. The problem was that I had a 6:00 shift at Kroger on Thursdays. As a result, on Thursdays, I would take Lyft up to HLC at 2:10-ish, Lyft back home at 4:30, Eat dinner, and have Mom drive me to Kroger. On the 6th of February 2020, I went to Addison and Jason's office to put my walkie-talkie away before leaving for my Kroger shift.
"You leaving Mitch?" Addison asked from her desk.
"Yeah…" I sighed.
"You good?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied, "it's just definitely time for me to move on from Kroger… like it's a good job, but I think I've gotten everything I can out of it."
"I get that!" She said, "You know if you ever want to you could always just go full time in Ace and quit Kroger."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I was excited about the offer because It would be one step closer to what I wanted to do, but I told Addison I would have to think about it. The following week an email announced an event for HLC's staff. Staff members who wanted to go to the Blue Jackets game would receive a free ticket and would only have to pay for guests. Addison, her boyfriend, Sydney, Caitlin, Kelly, Sam, Olivia, her boyfriend, and I decided to meet at a bar before the game, bus down to the game, and then go bar-hopping after.
While the events of that night were really fun, something more important happened that night. I sat between Addison and Olivia during the game. At some point during the game, Olivia and her boyfriend decided to get some snacks. So with a two-seat gap between me and the others and the only other person who could hear me being Addison's boyfriend, I made my move.
"Hey Addison…"
"Hey Mitch, what's up?"
"So I definitely want to take you up on your offer, but I'm hoping to move out of my parents' house soon and right now I need both Kroger and Ace to make that happen."
We talked for a little bit longer, and I remembered what I had heard about becoming a teacher's aide. As soon as I mentioned that position, I saw the "light bulb" go off in Addison's head. "You should talk to Kathy about that." Addison said with a knowing smile.
Kathy is one of the directors at HLC (basically a principal). She has been with the school since I was a student and was a big part of why Addison hired me in the first place. I decided to take Addison's advice, and I planned to talk to Kathy after the upcoming spring break. But, unfortunately, none of us knew what that spring break 2020 would truly bring.
To be Continued...
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