I touched his arm. “Are you okay?”
“Better than okay,” he said, toeing an uneven spot in the floor tile. “You know how I’ve been apprenticing with Major, right?”
“Of course. Looks like you enjoy it.”
“I do. Plumbing can be kinda gross, but it’s also satisfying to fix people’s problems.”
“That sounds like most things,” I replied, laughing.
“Well, before the semester began, do you remember how I was worried about not having a place to stay after I graduated?”
“Which was ridiculous, but yes.”
“Not really,” he said, leveling me with a look. “Lots of people age out of the system into homelessness.”
“I’m sorry. You’re right—I just mean that we’d never let you be homeless,” I said, touching his arm. “Go on.”
He sighed. “At the end of the last school year, my counselor said that I should have enough credits to graduate by the end of this semester, but I kinda ignored her because I figured I needed the extra time at Lupe…”
“…which you don’t now,” I said. After everything I’d gone through over the summer, I was extra cautious about showing any affection to students, but I couldn’t help but give him a big hug. “Oh my God, that’s amazing, Leo! Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Well, if I couldn’t pull off the grades, I didn’t want it to be a big deal. But I feel pretty good about my grades now.”
“Of course you’ll get the credits. You work hard, and it pays off. Seriously, I am so proud of you.” I stopped as the realization hit me. “So… that means I only have you in class for a few more weeks?”
“As a student, yeah. You know I’m happy to help whenever you need it. And I’ll still be volunteering with everyone.”
“Lost Boys forever,” I said.
“Lost Boys forever,” he replied, looking a little misty.
Something occurred to me. “Wait, you mentioned that Lovett was waiting for you to graduate—does this mean you two can officially start dating?”
Leo’s grin was almost as big as his head, and that was saying something. “Yep.”
“Well, I won’t lie. I’ll be awfully sad when I come back to school after the winter break and you aren’t here.”
“But you swear you’re not disappointed?”
“Oh my God. Leo, I couldneverbe disappointed in you. Maybe you don’t see it, but a lot of these kids really look up to you. They see the things you’ve been through, and yet here you are, graduating earlier than anticipated, building a career for yourself, and you’re only eighteen. You’re ahead of most people my age, buddy.”
“You’re not just saying that?”
“Absolutely not.”
“You should know that, aside from Mr. Paige, you’re my favorite teacher. I never had anybody help me understand math the way you did. And you make me feel like I’m smart enough to do anything I want to do—even if it turns out what I want to do is plumbing. So… I wanted to tell you, because not many people have my back that way.”
“Jesus, kid, you’re gonna make me cry,” I said, pulling him in for another hug. When we parted, we were both wiping away tears.
“Okay, Mr. Walker, I’ve got to get going. I want to get out to Johnson City before the sun goes down. Love doesn’t like it when I make the drive after dark.”
“Love, huh?” I asked, teasing him.
His smile said everything. “It’s the logical shortening of their name, that’s all.”
“Mm-hmm. You drive safe and say hi toLovefor me, then.”
“Will do, Mr. Walker.”
