is great. Never do they ever doubt you for even a second, but are always fascinated about your knowledge of ghost towns and decimal addition and corny jokes. Boys just waiting for something to happen, distracted by a word or a thought, pulled by the gleam of the black top to finish their work and line up neatly at the bell, a contained ball of energy bustling to burst.
G thanked me today for helping him with math. It had a certain sense of self-awareness to it, like he has acknowledged that yes, he does better when there are no judging eyes watching him. We worked through each slowly, me leading and he following grudgingly behind, working to focus. After each problem he made me promise that he could ask me a question about something, anything he wanted. I did, and it set a spark in him to hurry. We got through 10 problems in 25 minutes…
And next week shall be my last time ever seeing this young boy.