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My AOL screename was the first obvious sign that I was on the autistic spectrum. My name sounds nothing like Vic, the numbers 9128 hold no special significance. I chose Vic9128 because I liked the way it sounded. I’d get stuck on verbal loops of repeating sounds and phrases, it’s called echolalia, and it carried itself over to AOL. When I told people I picked Vic9128 because it sounded nice, they looked at me funny. But it helped when me and my friends started going to chat rooms to talk to girls, it gave me an easy fake name.

I watched one of my friends type in his password once. I memorized it and logged into his account from my house. Posing as him, I asked several other people in my class if they liked me. Everyone figured out it was actually me soon enough. I didn’t get invited to trawl chatrooms with them after that.

On my own, I met a girl from Tennessee. I don’t remember her name, but I remember I didn’t lie to her as I often did in these chats and say I did street luge, my coolest lie. We just talked about our days. I remember brushing my hair before I’d log on, I wanted to look good for her.

David Grossman is a non-fiction writer who lives in Brooklyn.