Crossthread

When Christopher Kollins is sent off to a school for exceptional children by his desperate father it sets Christopher's life on a path of both benign neglect and mind numbing medication from which he must escape to find his talents and eventually the love of his life.
Eight-year-old Christopher Kollins, who is dyslexic, has ADHD and stutters, is taken to St. Cyril's School for Exceptional Children for evaluation. He bites Dr. Wallace Sherman, the school psychiatrist. His father enrolls him and for the next two years Christopher is heavily drugged. Only when his meds are changed does Chris' housemother and his teacher realize that he is very intelligent and has a gift for understanding mechanical things. In spite of his disabilities Chris, nicknamed Cross, earns his high school diploma. He also studies karate and magic. Chris' world changes when he misses his meds and discovers his emotions. Desperately afraid of being drugged again he defeats the school's security system and escapes. At first he works at a car wash and later at a truck garage. Chris befriends Lori, an attractive young woman who is struggling to keep her troubled marriage together. They become friends, but the relationship is platonic. Lori helps Chris with his reading problems until Lori's husband, Jack, makes an ugly scene. Determined to get an education Chris becomes an engineering student at the State University. During his second semester he asks for a tutor to help him with Shakespeare and is reunited with Lori who has returned to college after divorcing Jack who became abusive. Chris defends Lori when Jack stalks her and comes to her aid when she has a auto accident. Chris and Lori become lovers, but there are secrets which are only explained on their wedding night.