“Yes, he does.” I lick my dry lips. “It’s why he’s been struggling so much. He said the words get all jumbled. The first night we studied, he couldn’t even read the first page of an essay.”
Her mouth opens and closes in shock before she speaks. “He never…how come I didn’t know about this? I would have made sure to get him help—”
“Phoenix didn’t want anyone to know. He’s…embarrassed.”
She rubs her forehead. “He’s turned in assignments before that were rather good. I don’t understand how that happened.” Her eyes narrow. “Unless he’s not the one who did the work.”
“No,” I say quickly. “He gets audio versions of the books we read in class from the library. He also uses an app on his phone that reads aloud to him so he can do the homework. As far as tests…he tries his best to guess the answers.”
“I can’t believe I didn’t know this. Whenever I asked him to stay after so I could help, he looked like he was concentrating, yet he never seemed to know the answers. I thought he just wasn’t processing it. Not that he had trouble reading.” She steeples her fingers. “I’ll set up a meeting with the principal. If we hold him back another year, I can ensure he gets the help—”
“I know a much better way you can help him.”
Her nose scrunches. “What do you mean?”
I can’t expect her to tailor the final for him or anything.
I just want her to give him a fighting chance.
“I got him a reading pen. Basically, it scans a sentence and reads it aloud. I’m hoping you’ll let him use it for the final…and let him take it after school so no one else knows about it.”
Her eyes widen. “Oh…that is.” She shakes her head. “I mean, if he had an IEP, I’d have no problem accommodating his needs but—”
I pull out the big guns. “You once told me that Phoenix not graduating would do him more harm than good…and you were right. I know this is a lot to ask, and it means you’ll have to stay after, which will require even more of your time, but I know in my gut he’ll pass. Please, don’t let something that’s not his fault hold him back.”
I can see her mulling this over before she speaks. “All right. I’ll allow it. But the reading pen only. No phones, no tablets…no other devices. And he is not to leave this classroom once he starts the final. Are we clear?”
“Absolutely.”
I breathe a sigh of relief as I scramble toward the door.
“Lennon?” she calls out before I leave.
“Yes?” I ask, hoping she won’t change her mind.
“I’m glad I paired you two up. It seems you’ve done a lot of good for him. I hope he knows how fortunate he is.”
My chest contracts. Because I feel like I’m the lucky one.
I didn’t see Phoenix in the hallways after I spoke to Mrs. Herman, so I decide to wait by his car after school. This way I can tell him the good news in person.
Wanting to pass the time until he arrives, I pull my journal and a pen out of my bag.
Most of the lyrics I scribble down in here aren’t very good and I’d never share them with anyone.
Especially my dad because they’re nowhere near as great as his are.
I’d be afraid of getting his hopes up about his daughter sharing his gift…only to end up disappointing him once he heard them.
Not that he’d ever tell me that.
All that aside…writing songs is cathartic.
A way for me to purge some of the pain away.
Channel my emotions and feelings into something that heals me.
It’s like my own secret form of therapy.
I’m so into the one I’m working on, I don’t realize Phoenix has walked out of the building until he’s halfway to his car.
However, he’s not alone.
Sasha Williams is beside him. And just like her friend Sabrina—she’s beautiful and thin.
Unlike me, she looks like she belongs with him.
Someone he wouldn’t mind being seen with in public…and touching in private.
Feeling stupid, I head over to the bike rack so I can pedal my ass home and sulk over a tub of ice cream, but Phoenix spots me.
“Lennon.” His strides pick up until he’s in front of me. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah.”
Sasha sidles up beside him then, and it’s clear my presence annoys her because she looks like she smelled something rotten.
I put in the combination for my bike lock. “I have some good news…but I can tell you another time.”
“Change of plans,” he says. “I’m busy tonight.”
Of course, he’d ditch me for Sasha.
“Okay—” I start to say, but then I realize he’s not talking to me.
He’s talking to her.
The look on Sasha’s face makes it clear she’s equally shocked by this. “Wait…are you for real?”
He doesn’t even look at her when he speaks. “Yes.”
Outrage spreads over her pretty features. “This is…you’re an asshole.” Tossing her auburn hair over her shoulder, she murmurs, “Have fun hanging out with butterball.”
“Points for creativity on that one,” I say to her retreating back. “Most people just call me fat ass.”
“Most people are dicks,” Phoenix mutters under his breath. “Anyway, fuck that bitch. What’s up?”
“I spoke to Mrs. Herman.” I can’t contain my smile. “She not only agreed to let you take the final while using the pen…she agreed to let you take it after class.”
His jaw drops. “What? Are you serious?”
I nod so hard I get dizzy.
And that dizziness only grows when Phoenix wraps his arms around me.
Oh. My. God.
Phoenix Walker is hugging me.
I swear my feet almost lift off the ground as I fill my nostrils with the earthy scent of him before he breaks contact.
“Thank you. So fucking much.” He gestures to my bike. “Let’s stick that thing in my trunk.”
“I don’t think it will fit.” I shake my head, feeling all sorts of perplexed. “And why?”
He looks at me like I sprouted another head. “So we can grab some food and head over to Storm’s. Unless you’d rather leave it here…just don’t blame me if it gets stolen.”
Grabbing the handlebars, I walk my bike to his car. “You sure you want to start studying this early?”
It’s still daylight out.
“Fuck no.” Opening the back door of his Toyota, he takes out a few bungee cords. “I’ve been doing enough of that lately. I want to hang out.”
Yup. This day just keeps getting weirder and weirder.
In the absolute best way.
“Oh.”
Taking my bike from me, he places it in his trunk and secures it with the bungees. “What? You got something better to do?”
“No.” I hike my purse up my shoulder. “I’m totally down to hang out.”
I have to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling as I get into his car.
We really are friends.