Janey Thomas was not very nice. She may look pretty with her curly blonde hair and big brown eyes but she was mean. Not to him, never to him, but about other people and mother had always told him to watch out for the mean ones.

"It's not fair," she whined, waving her crayons in the air. "Miss Aston is making me work with Stupid Andrew. Just because Emily has a cold. I don't want to work with him. He's weird."

"He's got as- spe- spesperger-tism." Gillian wrinkled her nose unable to say it right. She picked up another purple crayon which was snatched by a scowling Janey.

"He's stupid," Janey declared. "He doesn't talk and he just stares at you. I don't like him. I want to work with you," she smiled sweetly at him. "Do you want to work with me, Ben?"

"It's Benjamin," he corrected automatically.

"But I can call you Ben, can't I?" Janey pouted. " I don't want to work with Andrew. It's the worst thing ever!"

But it really wasn't the worst thing ever. Not even close.

The worst thing ever was having your daddy look right through you like you weren't even there. It was standing right in front of him and knowing that he isn't thinking about you at all. That he can't really see you.

Mummy told him that it wasn't his fault. The daddy's brain was different to regular people.

One day when daddy had sat in the same place on the sofa for three hours without moving or answering him, Mummy had taken Benjamin into the kitchen, wiped off his tears and sat down with him.

"Benjamin," she'd said, "your daddy is special. He's clever, so very clever but all of that smart stuff fills up his brain, every little corner of it. When he's working on a case he needs to go inside his head to look for the answers to the things he's seen. Sometimes it takes a long time and he needs to concentrate. He's still there he's just... searching. When he finds it, he'll come out and be back with us again. He loves us both very much."

Benjamin had wiped his face with his sleeve. "Can he hear me?"

"Maybe," his mummy shrugged, "I don't know, sweetheart, his brain is very different to yours and mine. Like that boy in your class. He lives in his head too. Your daddy tells me that when he goes into his mind palace sometimes he feels lonely. So if you sit quietly with him, it might help. But don't be surprised if he doesn't answer you, okay?"

Benjamin had sat with his daddy for hours before he finally blinked, declared that he knew it all along and tackled Benjamin to the floor in an epic tickle match. He'd phoned Uncle Greg and then kissed Mummy in the kitchen until she giggled.

It had a nice ending but Benjamin knew that the feeling of being invisible was way worse than having to sit next to someone you didn't like. Even a five year old knew that.

Benjamin looked across the room to where Andrew sat on his own; nodding to something no one else could hear. He was stuck inside his head, like daddy.

And he was all alone.

"Did you hear me, Ben?" Janey Thomas touched his arm to get his attention.

Benjamin moved his arm and frowned. " I don't like being called Ben," he said, "and you are not a very nice girl, Janey."

He picked up his crayons and stalked across the classroom. He slid in the chair opposite to Andrew and put his drawing down.

The boy gave no indication that he even noticed Benjamin sitting down but he was used to that.

Benjamin took a deep breath. "I am Benjamin Holmes and I'm out here if you ever want to come out and play."

That said he lowered his head and continued with his picture.

Andrew blinked once and smiled.