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“Like a daycare?”
She gave me a look.
“I’m not against it,” I clarified. “I think it would be good for you and him to get a break from the house. But do they know how he is any time you ask him to do anything? Especially if you interrupt his sleep...”
“The idea came from Dr. Sanders, and Dad agreed in the office.”
“He won’t remember,” I said dejectedly, looking down at my cup. Crumbs floated in the milk.
“She did say there are options if he decides he doesn’t want us taking him. They could have someone come pick him up.”
I raised my eyebrows. “A stranger in the house, bossing him around?”
Mom’s shoulders sagged. “I know.”
Seeing her so defeated made my chest hurt. “We’ll figure it out, Mom.”
Her smile was sad as she looked up at me. “We always do.”
Eight
Diego
Xander walkedbeside me out of the school. The second we hit the parking lot, he dropped his skateboard on the asphalt and rode slowly beside me. “I can’t believe you chose CNA classes,” he said.
“It sounded better than the alternative,” I replied.
He raised his eyebrows, making them disappear behind his shaggy brown hair. He didn’t believe me. In fact, he thought he had it made by getting assigned to volunteer with the elementary gym class on Fridays. “You just added more homework to your plate, dude.”
“It got my parents off my back,” I said finally. Mostly because I wasn’t looking forward to it either. I lovedmis abuelos, but I’d never spent much time in hospitals or retirement homes. This wasn’t exactly the path to my dream job.
We reached my car and I stood by the door. “Have fun in gym class. I’ll see you at practice.”
Xander nodded and kicked his skateboard up to hold it. “See ya. Wouldn’t want to be ya.” If he wasn’t already walking to his truck, he would have seen me roll my eyes.
I got in my car and typed the address for Emerson Technical College into my phone. It was just a ten-minute drive, right by Marisol’s violin lessons, but I’d never been to the campus before.
Even though I didn’t admit it to Xander, I was happy to get away from the Academy for a couple hours. At school, expectations were everywhere. Birdie had already scheduled an advising appointment with me, just a month away. The first football game was coming up in a week. And now Kenzie wanted me to practice that stunt on the weekend. Not to mention the constant reminders from our teachers that college was quickly approaching.
As I drove away from the Academy, I could feel myself relaxing. And with a certification under my belt, maybe my parents would back off of the future talk, at least for a little while. I’d have a job to do at least while I figured things out.
“Destination is on your right,” my phone said. I almost missed the gray sign for Emerson Technical College and realized why I’d never noticed it before. The colors didn’t really stand out at all. But now, I took in a big auto-shop like garage, a parking lot full of cars, and a decent-sized building.
I looked at the email with directions on my phone and followed them to the main doors that led into a drab building. There were halls full of classrooms, and I stopped outside the one with a big yellow sign.
WELCOME CNA STUDENTS
Readjusting my backpack over my shoulders, I walked inside the room with four rows of long tables. There were a handful of people there, mostly women, but my eyes landed on one. April.
Her lips were parted, staring at me. But as soon as the shock wore off, her gaze narrowed. She didn’t want me here.
I’d been so distracted, I hadn’t even noticed the teacher sitting at her desk in the front corner of the room.
She studied me over the top of her dark-rimmed glasses. “Hi, can I help you find your class?”
“This is it,” I said. “CNA right?”
She nodded. “Take a seat. We just have a couple more people coming.”
