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“Yep. ”
“What type?”
“A mutt. ”
“And you named it. . . ?”
“Iwin. ”
Mrs. Collins brushes her fingers over her mouth. “That’s a strange name for a puppy. ”
“Yeah. But I like the words coming out of my mouth—I win. ” Because I have.
Courtney clears her throat. “Your foster parents bought you a puppy?”
“Don’t worry about me screwing it up,” I say without looking at her. “It ran away. ”
“Oh, Isaiah. ” She places a hand over her heart. “I’m so sorry. ”
Christ, I hate people that obsess over animals. The world that bleeds for a malnourished dog is more than happy to fuck over people like me. “Things leave. It’s the way of the world. ”
Mr. Holden walks in, twirling his safety glasses in his hand. “Mrs. Collins,” he says as a hello. He nods at me. I nod back. Wearing his typical blue mechanic’s coveralls, my favorite instructor regards Courtney as if she were a hybrid in the presence of gas guzzlers.
“Mr. Holden,” says Mrs. Collins. “This is Isaiah’s social worker, Courtney Blevins. ”
Courtney moves as if she’s going to extend her hand, but withdraws it when Mr. Holden gives her a curt nod. “I’m between classes, Mrs. Collins. ”
She flips open a laptop and scrolls down the screen. “I appreciate you joining us, Mr. Holden. Give me a second while I access Isaiah’s file. ”
Mr. Holden chuckles. “How’s going paperless?”
“Tedious, but I like password protection. Finally. . . Mr. Walker. Currently living with. . . ”
“Shirley and Dale Easum. ” I finish for her.
“Yes, that’s what it says. ” She glances up from her computer. “Mr. Holden, were you able to work out what we discussed last night?”
“Never had a problem,” he answers. “Isaiah’s talent made it easy. ”
My head whirls in his direction. He’s not a man to give praise lightly.
“I talked to the owner of Pro Performance. ” Mr. Holden speaks directly to me now. “He’ll give you a shot at a full-time job when you graduate. ”
Mr. Holden and I have talked over this possibility several times. Pro Performance deals with high-end cars and suped-up dragsters. It’s my dream job, but the business has one request that I can’t grant. “What about the internship?”
To earn the full-time job, I’d have to intern with them this semester. Being an intern means no cash, and I need money.
“You can work at Pro Performance on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons
when you’d typically be taking my classes. You can keep your job at Tom’s shop in the evenings and complete the internship during the day. The guy at Pro Performance will give us a grade on the work you do there. Mrs. Collins is calling it an outside classroom experience. ”
My mind goes blank. There’s no way this is happening to me. I can make money and I have a shot at my dream: working on cars that go fast—very fast. “Are you fucking with me?”
“No. The only other requirement is to become ASE certified by graduation, which should be a breeze for you. ”
The ASE—the Automotive Service Excellence certification. I’ve been studying for that exam and earning hours in the garage toward the certification for over two years.
Mrs. Collins raises her hand in the air. “Actually, there’s another requirement. The business in question called me to verify Isaiah’s credits and grades. They mentioned something about needing three letters of recommendation. ”
