Life as an Autistic (transcript)

"Life as an Autistic" is the first episode of the series "My School Life."
==Description==
In the very first episode of this series, 16-year-old Maraya explains the viewers her life of being autistic and how it's like to have autism in school.
==Transcript==
(The episode starts by taking place at Maraya's new house at 6 AM. It zooms into Maraya's bedroom window and all of a sudden, Maraya hears her alarm ring as she stops it from ringing. After that, she yawns out a big yawn)
Maraya (looks at camera): Oh. Good morning. I'm so glad you're here. And today, I'm going to tell you my life of how my days go for an autistic girl.
(A movie countdown effect appears on the screen, then it changes back to the beginning as Maraya begins to narrate her life)
Maraya (as narrator): Hi, my name is Maraya Adams. I am 16 years old and I go to Northgate High School. And because I'm autistic, I follow the same old routine, every single day. 
(Maraya arrives in the kitchen)
Maraya (as narrator): So, this is how my routine goes. First, I make myself breakfast and I eat it in the kitchen. Then I brush my teeth. And then I get dressed. And oh. I like to get my outfit ready the night before so I won't have to rush to find something.
(She gets her outfit she had gotten ready the night before and puts it on)
Maraya (as narrator): Today, I am wearing my favorite pink shirt with a pair of black pants. And every day, I wear the same socks and shoes again and again, because, you know. I like it. And also, I wear my light blue collar shirt like a jacket, because I like it this way.
Maraya: There. I'm all dressed. Now it's time for me to pack my lunch and brush my hair.
Maraya (as narrator): After I dress myself, I pack my own lunch, and then I do my hair. And when it comes to doing my hair, I don't style it. I just leave it down, because that's how I have it every day. And then, after I am all ready, I have free time until it's time for me to wait for Ms. Carolyn.
(The scene changes to where it is finally 7:08 AM)
Maraya: Oh, it's 7:08. (looking at camera) That means that it's time for me to wait for Ms. Carolyn. (she gets up) Come on, let's go!
(She turns off the lamp and walks away from her bedroom. Then the setting changes to outside as Maraya goes outside and sits on one of the red chairs)
Maraya (as narrator): At 7:08, I go outside to wait for Ms. Carolyn to come.
(She looks out to see if Ms. Carolyn came. There was no sign of her yet)
Maraya (not seen): Nope. No sign of Ms. Carolyn yet.
(Then she looks down at her smartphone)
Maraya (as narrator): I like to look at my smartphone while I'm waiting for Ms. Carolyn. It just makes me, you know, patient.
(Suddenly, she hears Ms. Carolyn's bus come as she looks up and gasps)
Maraya (gasps): There she is! Whoo!
(She runs to her bus stop as fast as she can)
Maraya: Here I come, Ms. Carolyn! Yes! I made it to the bus stop with an amount of 20 seconds. Now all I have to do is to wait for her to come back around. (she starts to get excited as she jumps up and down) Whoo! (singing) 🎵 I'm going to see Ms. Carolyn, I'm going to see Ms. Carolyn!🎵 Whoo!
Maraya (as narrator): I love Ms. Carolyn. She's the best bus driver in the world. And plus, she was always a lot of fun!
(She hears Ms. Carolyn's ​bus come to her as she gets​ surprised. Then she sees Ms. Carolyn open up the student doors as she waves to her)
Maraya (as narrator): Why is Ms. Carolyn wearing a tank top and shorts in the cold weather? Because she is a weirdo? But still, I show my friendly look and smile as I get on Ms. Carolyn's bus.
(She holds onto the handrail while she gets on her bus. Then Ms. Carolyn says good morning to her)
Ms. Carolyn: Good morning, Maraya.
Maraya: Good morning, Ms. Carolyn.
(Then Ms. Carolyn closes the student doors as she continues driving. In the meantime, Maraya puts on her seatbelt)
Maraya (as narrator): Now that I said good morning to Ms. Carolyn, what I do now is that I put my seatbelt on so I'll be able to enjoy the rest of the ride.
(The scene changes to where Ms. Carolyn gets to Anie's house)
Maraya (as narrator): After Ms. Carolyn picks me up, then she picks up Anie.
(While Anie gets on the bus, Ms. Carolyn says good morning to him)
Ms. Carolyn: Good morning, Anie.
(But he didn't say it back as Ms. Carolyn turns and looks at the camera, shocked for a second. Then she continues on her driving)
Maraya (as narrator): I don't know why Anie didn't say good morning back to Ms. Carolyn. I guess maybe he's not a morning person. (she looks at Ms. Carolyn) But look at Ms. Carolyn. She's a morning person and she likes to say good morning to people, because, you know, she's a bus driver, and all bus drivers are morning people, right?
(The scene changes to where Ms. Carolyn reaches to Clayton's house)
Maraya (as narrator): After Anie gets picked up, then Clayton goes next.
(While Clayton gets on the bus, Ms. Carolyn says good morning to him)
Ms. Carolyn: Good morning, Clayton.
Clayton: Morning.
Maraya (as narrator): Well, at least Clayton said good morning back to her. But I still wished Anie said good morning to her. That would be even better.
(The scene changes again to where Ms. Carolyn reaches to Dylan's house)
Maraya (as narrator): After Clayton is picked up, then Ms. Carolyn picks up Dylan. Then Connor. Then John. Then once we have everyone, then we go to school.
(The setting changes to the bus loading zone outside of Northgate High School where Ms. Ryan is waiting for 158M to come)
Maraya (as narrator): It is usually 8:00 by the time we arrive at school. And when we get there, I like to say goodbye to Ms. Carolyn and give her a big hug before I get off her bus.
Maraya: Goodbye, Ms. Carolyn. See you later.
Ms. Carolyn: Bye bye, Maraya. See you this afternoon.
(As Maraya was getting off the bus, Ms. Ryan said good morning to her)
Ms. Ryan: Good morning, Maraya Sunshine.
Maraya: Good morning.
(The setting changes to the inside the school as Maraya continues narrating her story of her life)
Maraya (as narrator): After I say good morning to Ms. Ryan, I sit down to wait for my 3 friends, Erin, Novalee, and Miranda.
(A circular reveal effect appears on the screen as the scene changes to where her three friends are here)
Ms. Ryan (not seen): Come on, Maraya. Let's go.
Maraya (as narrator): Then at 8:30, we leave to go get Miranda's breakfast in room 209. After that, we go straight to room 741, where our teacher, Ms. Sherrit, is waiting.
(The setting changes again to the inside of room 741 as Erin opens up the door and Miranda closes it on the way in)
Maraya (as narrator): After the four of us arrive to put our stuff up in our cubbies, we go to room 209 to do our morning jobs. But first, we have to ask Ms. Sherrit if we can do them, because, you know, we're treated like kindergartners.
Carmen: Can I do my morning job?
Ms. Sherrit: Yes.
Ashley: Can I do my morning job?
Ms. Sherrit: Yes.
Maraya: Can I do my morning job?
Ms. Sherrit: Yes.
Maraya (as narrator): Then, we go to room 209 to do our morning jobs. My job is unloading the dishwasher with my best friend, Ashley, who is the same age and has the same disorder as me. Then, when we're done, we go back to room 741.
(The scene changes again to where Maraya and her class are having speech therapy)
Maraya (as narrator): At 9:15 on Mondays, I have speech therapy with Ms. Smith, and on Wednesdays at 1:00, I have occupational therapy and vision with Ms. Holbrook.
(Maraya raises her hand so Ms. Smith would know that she wants to talk about her weekend next)
Ms. Smith: Okay, Maraya. What did you do over the weekend?
Maraya: This weekend, I talked to my precious friends, Carmen and Anie.
Ms. Smith: Is that all you did?
Maraya: Yep.
Ms. Smith: Wow, you didn't do so much over the weekend. Novalee, what did you do over the weekend?
Maraya (as narrator): And then we do this until 10:30. And 10:30 is when our speech therapy session is over.
Ms. Smith: Bye, my friends! See you next Monday.
All: Bye, Ms. Smith! Goodbye!
(The setting changes to the main cafeteria 60 minutes later)
Maraya (as narrator): At 11:30, we go to the main cafeteria to eat together. But one thing that I don't like about eating with my class is that all my teachers are watching me like if they're really serious. And another thing that I don't like about eating with my class is that I don't get to eat a really good lunch. Instead, I get to eat this bland food. 
(The bubble pops away as Maraya continues narrating her story of her life)
Maraya (as narrator): The cafeteria can be a very overwhelming place, especially for a girl with autism. And when it gets too noisy, I cover my ears, which is known to be a symptom for sensory overload. But when I look at my other friends, they're not covering their ears. Even Casey isn't covering her ears because she can deal with it. But wait, I know how to calm myself down in this situation.
(A bubble pops up as Maraya starts thinking)
Maraya (as narrator): I can use my imagination. Maybe it'll help, because as Ms. Carolyn says, "Anything is possible!"
(The scene zooms into the bubble as Maraya starts using her imagination)
Maraya (as narrator): I imagine that instead of eating lunch at the noisy cafeteria with my class, I would go eat lunch at a quiet place with Ms. Carolyn. That way, I would not have to cover my ears so much. Plus, I would have more fun with her because she's the only one who's watching me. And because of my autism, I think of this: the more people watching me, the more scared I get. And if Ms. Carolyn is watching me at a quiet place, then I would feel fine. But now, we're going to talk about the problem. If the quiet place gets noisy, then Ms. Carolyn is going to ask me what is the matter with me.
Ms. Carolyn: What's the matter, Maraya?
Maraya: This place is too noisy. I want to get out of here.
Ms. Carolyn: But, Maraya. You chose this place. Why do you want to get out of here already?
Maraya: Because it's too noisy.
Ms. Carolyn: There must be a way for you to still eat here without even covering your ears one tiny bit. But what could be the idea?
Maraya: Ms. Carolyn, hurry! It's getting worse!
Ms. Carolyn: I'm trying, Maraya. Just let me have a second.
(When Maraya looks around, she gets so shocked that she tells Ms. Carolyn to hurry again)
Maraya (yelling): Hurry, Ms. Carolyn! Hurry!
Ms. Carolyn: Maraya, calm down. I'm almost done.
(The scene frequently switches to the big crowd and then Ms. Carolyn thinking. Then it does it for a second time. And when it does it for a third time, Ms. Carolyn gets an idea)
Ms. Carolyn: I got an idea.
Maraya: Finally. What is it, Ms. Carolyn?
Ms. Carolyn: You can wear these while you're eating.
Maraya: What are these? Are these headphones?
Ms. Carolyn (not seen): Mm-hmm.
Maraya: Wow! These are great. Thanks, Ms. Carolyn!
Ms. Carolyn (not seen): You're welcome.
Maraya: (laughs)
Maraya (as narrator): And so, that's a way how I can block that noise, thanks to my special sound blocking headphones! (the bubble pops away) And that's the end of this story full of imagination. And now, back to our story.
Ms. Sherrit (not seen): Come on, Maraya. Let's go.
Maraya: Okay. (looks at camera) Come on, viewers. Let's continue our story.
Maraya (as narrator): Then after lunch, I go to room 209 to do my first afternoon job. My first job is doing the laundry with my younger best friend, Novalee. She is 14 years old and is from the country of Canada.
Novalee: Okay, Maraya. Let's begin our afternoon job.
(They do their afternoon job together until they get to the end nearly​)
Novalee: Okay, Maraya. Now you start the dryer.
(Maraya starts the dryer. After that, she and Novalee give each other a high five)
Novalee: Great job, Maraya.
Maraya: Thanks.
Maraya (as narrator): Then after that, we go back to take our restroom break, watch the student news, and most importantly, our second afternoon job. (laughs) My second afternoon job is straightening the books from the shelves. And when it is 1:50, I go to Ms. Gibson's Earth systems class and I stay in there until 3:10. Later at 3:10, I leave to go to Ms. Carolyn's bus.
Ms. Gibson (not seen): Are you leaving, Maraya?
Maraya: Yes.
Ms. Gibson: Okay, then. Goodbye.
Maraya: Bye!
Maraya (as narrator): Leaving my Earth systems class to go to Ms. Carolyn's bus is my favorite part of the day, because that means I'll be able to see her again. (the scene changes) A few minutes later, I'm on Ms. Carolyn's bus once again.
Ms. Carolyn: Hey, Maraya.
Maraya: Hello, Ms. Carolyn.
Maraya (as narrator): I am so glad that Monday is over, because that means 4 more days to go. Later at 3:20, we get out of the bus loading zone to rock and roll.
Ms. Carolyn: Here we go, my students. It's about time to rock and roll!
Maraya (as narrator): Then we leave to take everyone home, but first, we take Jonathan home. (the scene changes again) When we reach to Jonathan's house, Ms. Carolyn would usually help him put his backpack on before he actually gets off the bus.
Ms. Carolyn: Okay, Jonathan. I got your backpack right here. Now, you have a great evening and I'll see you in the morning.
Jonathan: Okay.
Jonathan's Mom (not seen): Come on, Jonathan.
Jonathan: Bye, Ms. Carolyn.
Ms. Carolyn: Bye bye! See you in the morning.
Jonathan (not seen): Okay.
(When Jonathan gets off her bus, she closes the student doors and continues driving)
Maraya (as narrator): After Ms. Carolyn drops Jonathan off, she drops Connor off. Then John. Then Dylan. Then Cody. And I'm going to stop this story for a while so you can see what's it like with Cody in the afternoons.
Ms. Carolyn: Hello, Mrs. Alewaine.
Cody's Mom: Hello, Ms. Carolyn. Where's Cody?
Ms. Carolyn: Cody's right here on my bus. Come on, Cody!
Cody: I'm coming, Ms. Carolyn. (to his mom) Hey, mama.
Cody's Mom: Hey, Cody. Did you have a great day at school?
Cody: Yeah.
Cody's Mom: That's good.
Cody: Bye, Ms. Carolyn.
Ms. Carolyn: Bye. You two have a great night.
Both: You too.
(She closes the student doors and continues driving)
Maraya (as narrator): After we drop Cody off, Blake is dropped off next.
Ms. Carolyn: Bye, Blake.
Blake: Bye, Ms. Carolyn.
(As Ms. Carolyn continues driving again, Maraya narrates more about her life)
Maraya (as narrator): This is it. I'm finally next. Boy, I can't believe this has gone by.
(The scene changes to where Ms. Carolyn reaches to Maraya's house)
Ms. Carolyn: Bye, Maraya.
Maraya: Bye, Ms. Carolyn.
Ms. Carolyn: You have a great night.
Maraya (not seen): You too.
(As Maraya was walking to her house, she turns away and says goodbye to her bus)
Maraya (not seen): Goodbye, 158M. See you tomorrow.
(After she says goodbye to it, she continues walking to her house. The setting changes to the inside of her house)
Maraya (as narrator): Every day when I get home from school, I eat, do my homework, and relax. Then later around 7:00, I eat dinner and lastly at 9:00, I go to sleep in my nice, comfy bed.
(The story of her life finally ends)
Maraya (looking at camera): Aaah, was that story nice? I can't believe all of that just happened today. And oh. Now that it's 9:00, I should get to sleep. (yawns) Goodnight.
(Then as she starts sleeping, the scene​ zooms out and it fades out, which causes it to come to a complete end)
==Characters==
*Maraya
*Anie (non-speaking)
*Clayton
*Blake
*Dylan (non-speaking)
*Jonathan
*Cody
*Connor (non-speaking)
*John (non-speaking)
*Ms. Carolyn
*Ms. Ryan
*Erin (non-speaking)
*Miranda (non-speaking)
*Novalee
*Ashley
*Carmen
*Casey (non-speaking)
*Ms. Sherrit
*Ms. Smith
*Ms. Holbrook (mentioned)
*Ms. Gibson (not seen)
*Mrs. Lang (not seen)
*Mrs. Alewaine
==Errors==
*When Ms. Carolyn was going to hug Maraya, her seatbelt was off.
==Trivia==
*This is the first appearance of Maraya and all of the people she sees during this episode.
*Ms. Gibson, who was Maraya's biology teacher back in series 10, used to be called Ms. Hargrove.
*Mrs. Lang (Jonathan's mom) and Ms. Gibson were unseen characters during this episode.
*Ms. Holbrook, Maraya's occupational therapist and vision teacher, was not in the episode, but she was mentioned by Maraya.
*Ms. Brenda, Maraya's bus monitor, was probably in the episode, but she was never heard or seen.
*The characters Anie, Dylan, John, Connor, Erin and Miranda never spoke in this episode.
*The characters Mrs. Alewaine, Ms. Smith, Ashley, Carmen, Ms. Sherrit, Ms. Gibson, Clayton, Blake, Jonathan, Novalee, and Ms. Ryan didn't speak very much in this episode.
*Most of the footage from where Maraya gets up to run to the bus stop to wait for her bus to come back around and where she hugged Ms. Carolyn before getting off to go to school is also used for the series' theme song.
*The characters who mostly spoke in this episode were Maraya and Ms. Carolyn.
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Category:My School Life (Season 1)
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