“As sure as you are of Grace.”
The look of disappointment and sadness in Noah’s expression was too much for Wes. His brother didn’t get it. He should be rejoicing for Wes.
* * *
Wes expected to find teaching the concepts easy. He knew he’d be able to break down the components of coding for the novice learner. He was prepared to ask questions and engage in conversation.
What he didn’t expect was how the enthusiasm of the students would transfer. For sixty minutes, he was immersed in language he loved: app development, pair programming, source codes. These kids knew a lot more than he’d assumed. A couple of them were complete novices but the more advanced learners were able to show what they knew by helping them out.
“Can we make an actual video game?” Dimitri asked.
Wes felt like he’d downed a Red Bull. “Absolutely. I think each of you should decide on a goal, whether you want to create an app, get better at the language, map out a game, whatever you want, and then we can do some whole-group learning at the beginning of each class and break off into smaller groups after.”
“Have you ever made any apps?” one of the older teens, Joelle, asked.
“Several, actually.” The income from those and some other software he’d developed had given him the financial padding to take a step away from his father.
“Can we look them up?”
He wrote some of them on the whiteboard, thinking about the one he’d created for Chris’s girlfriend. A misunderstanding had landed Everly in a radio-station-hosted, Bachelorette-style dating pool. Wes had created EverLove, an app to help her narrow down prospective suitors. In the end, it’d been a moot point since she and his brother had fallen for each other during that time.
The kids were great about shutting down and storing the computers. When they left, he wheeled the cart out to the front cart to leave it with Leo. The older teen was on the phone when he approached.
He saw Wes and held up a finger before turning to face the wall. “I need that shift. Yeah, I get it. Okay. If anyone else calls in sick, you can put me on the list.”
He hung up, shoulders slumped. When he turned back around, Wes saw him try to shake it off. “Everything go okay?”
“Absolutely. The kids were great. I’m looking forward to next week.”
“Cool. Here, I’ll grab those.” Coming around the counter, he grabbed the cart, wheeled it into the office Noah had come out of earlier.
“You work here a lot?” Wes asked, pulling his keys from his pocket.
“This isn’t my job. I volunteer one night a week here. Sometimes more if there are special events. It’s part of a program called Give Back. I get to drop in whenever I want without paying.”
Wes nodded, not sure how to broach the topic. “You go to school?”
The kid swiped a dark lock of hair out of his eyes, his gaze shifting. “Graduated last year. I’m working right now. I’m taking a year before I go to college.” Whatever he was thinking about made him frown deeper.
“What’s your other job?”
“What’s yours? Other than questioning me?”
Damn. He needed to learn. Biting back his smile, Wes held up his hands, the keys jingling. “Sorry. I overstepped. I do that. I try to step in and solve problems.”
The kid’s lips twitched. “Knowing you have an issue is said to be the first step.”
Wes nodded. “I’ve heard that too.” He turned to leave.
“Hey,” Leo called out.
Wes turned back.
“How would you solve my problem if, say, I wasn’t getting enough shifts at my current job?”
Wes shrugged, hoping he wasn’t about to risk the new friendship he was so happy with. Couldn’t hurt to ask, right? “I have a friend who’s looking for someone to do some deliveries. Maybe. She’s just starting her business and the hours aren’t static.”
The way he leaned forward a little, how his eyes came back to Wes suggested interest. “I have a car. It breaks down more than it runs but I’ve been fixing it up.”
He almost asked why his parents didn’t help him with that—two doctors? If Noah was right about that, why was this kid struggling with small things like a reliable vehicle? Noah’s words about prejudging, thinking he knew, came back to Wes. He didn’t know anyone else’s true story.
“Would it be okay if I mentioned you to her? I’m not sure what she’d be able to pay or what the hours would be like but it could be mutually beneficial.”