The boy’s eyes flicked to him, then away. “Didn’t really have a choice.”
“Are you hungry?” Reese asked. “We have pizza and soda.”
Cody shrugged. “Yeah, I could eat.”
While Reese led him over to the food table, a girl arrived. She was small and blonde, her hair pulled back in a tight ponytail. So tight it made Roan wonder if it hurt her head. She wore jeans and a pale blue sweater. Her fingernails were painted a pale pink.
“This is Emma Pritchard,” Mrs. Chen said.
“Nice to meet you,” Reese said.
“Hi,” Emma said, her voice small. “My mom’s waiting outside. She needs to know what time to pick me up.”
“We’ll be done at seven-thirty,” Reese said.
“Okay. Thank you.” Emma gave them a polite smile. “I’ll just go tell her.”
Mrs. Chen watched her exit, a sad expression on her kind face.
Marcus Jenkins arrived next, dressed in a hoodie that engulfed his small frame and carrying a backpack. His dark eyes seemed too big in his gaunt face. His gaze went immediately to the pizza.
Mrs. Chen once again made introductions.
“Thanks for coming,” Reese said.
“Thanks for having me,” Marcus said.
“Help yourself to some food,” Roan said. “Then take a seat.”
“Thanks,” Marcus mumbled, heading toward the pizza.
The last to arrive was Julia Smith. Seventeen and five months pregnant, she wore black leggings and an oversized gray sweatshirt.
“Julia, meet everyone,” Mrs. Chen said.
“Hey,” Julia said, her chin lifted slightly.
“I’ll be back at seven-thirty to give rides to whoever needs them,” Mrs. Chen said.
Roan thanked her, wishing suddenly she would stay. But it was up to him and Reese to get these kids talking. At the moment, no one seemed to know what to do or say. Including him.
Cody slumped into a chair, ripping apart his slice of pizza with his teeth as if he were mad at it. Emma sat with perfect posture, hands folded in her lap like she was waiting to be called in to the principal’s office. Marcus stood near the wall, backpack still on his shoulders, gobbling down a slice of pizza. Julia claimed a chair on the opposite side of the circle from everyone else, her expression sullen.
However, Reese seemed undeterred. “Okay, everyone grab more pizza and a drink and then we’ll sit in a circle and play a game.”
“What kind of game?” Cody asked, wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his sweatshirt.
“‘Would-you-rather’ questions,” Roan said. “You pick an answer, we talk about it for a minute, then move on. No pressure. It’s just a way for us to get to know one another better.”
Julia and Emma each took a piece of pizza and a drink from the cooler and returned to the circle. Roan sat between Marcus and Julia. Reese sat between Emma and Cody.
“All right,” Reese said, pulling out her phone where she’d saved the list of questions. She picked up one of the paddles from under her chair, demonstrating. “Here’s how this works. I’ll read a question with two options—A or B. You hold up your paddle showing whichever letter you pick.” She flipped the paddle from blue to green. “Then we can talk about why we picked what we picked. Make sense?”
“Like a game show.” Marcus picked up his paddle and examined it. “Cool.”
“Exactly like a game show,” Roan said. “Except nobody wins or loses. We’re just seeing who thinks what.”
“What if we don’t want to answer?” Julia asked, her tone challenging.
