“Explain,” I prompted.
“Used team card for stick tape and skate laces.”He underlined supplies.“Assets up, cash down.”
“Acceptable.Next.”
The pace settled: problem, explanation, micro-nod from me.Every correct entry shaved tension off his shoulders; each slip—rare and minor—added only seconds of recalibration before he tried again.The bruise under his shirt never quite sat still, but the peas kept inflammation honest.
Half an hour in, he capped the pencil.“Ledger balances.”
“Verify.”I traced columns with a fingertip.Totals matched like mirror images.“Ledger balances.”
Luke leaned back on both hands, careful not to jostle the pea bag.“First clean run all week.”
“You’re starting to get this.”
He looked at me, really looked, pupils dilated from effort or relief.“You might be a terrifying tutor.”
“Terrifying or effective?”
“Both.”He angled the pencil at me like a pointer stick.“Weirdly comforting.”
The radiator pinged—metal cooling.Heat cycle ended; silence grew dense enough to measure.
I reached toward the desk for the mint-green highlighter.“Time to lock the memory.”I flicked a neon band across each correct transaction.“Visual reinforcement.”
“Color coding,” he mused.“Thought you were anti-frills.”
“Highlighter isn’t a frill.It’s metadata.”I recapped the pen.“Next step: sample quiz.”
He blinked at the pad.“Tonight?It’s almost eleven.”
“Brain’s warm.Strike while the neurons fire.”
“Coach Harper would approve.”He squared his posture.“Hit me.”
I covered the pad with a spare sheet.“Journal entry: University bookstore buys six laptops on thirty-day credit.”
“Debit Equipment.”Quick scribble.“Credit accounts payable.”
“Follow-up: Record the payment ten days later.”
He grinned—cocky now.“Debit accounts payable, credit cash.”
“Attach dates.”
He did.Totals: fifteen grand each.
I lifted the overlay sheet.“Glove save.”
“No rebound,” he said.
Something in my chest twisted—not unpleasant, but unfamiliar.I shifted, cross-legged and tingling from circulation loss.
Luke set the pencil down, both pointer fingers tipped against the floor.“So utility expense?”
“Variable.If prepaid, asset; if due, liability.”
He opened his mouth, closed it, nodded—taking the concept like a puck to the chest protector, letting it absorb.
