“I’ll ask if you can take the final after school. In private. No one will know.”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea.” Trepidation contorts his features. “What if she says no? Or worse—what if she insists on holding me back another year so they can stick me in a special class. I can’t take that chance, Lennon. I have to get the fuck out of here.”
I know.
I place my hand on top of his. “Do you trust me?”
His throat works on a swallow and it feels like a century goes by before he answers. “Yes.”
“Good. Because I’ve got you.”
“Is everything okay, Lennon?” Mrs. Herman asks when I hang back after class.
“Actually, I was hoping you had a second.”
Placing her red marker down, she smiles. “For you, I have several.”
I return her smile. “I want to talk about Phoenix.”
Her forehead creases. “Oh, no. Is it not working out? I know he can be difficult—”
“No. Phoenix is great. He’s been working really hard.”
She nods. “That he is. The essay he turned in was excellent. I never even knew he was a musician.”
“He’s an amazing musician.” I wipe my damp palms on my jeans. “However, there’s an issue. It’s not his fault, but it’s definitely the reason behind his poor grades.”
Her expression pinches. “Are you referring to his homelife because I’ve tried setting up a meeting with his fath—”
“No. I’m talking about his dyslexia.”
She’s visibly confused by this. “I’m sorry, but you must be mistaken. Phoenix doesn’t have dyslexia.”
“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.”