Chapter 122

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My mom and dad were staying in the same hotel. I told myself, as I stood outside their room, I needed family time, but as Devon and I headed out for ice cream, I had ulterior motives. “So, what do you want to be when you grow up?”

“I am grown up.”

“Mostly. Yeah, but after you graduate.”

“I want to build stuff. Like Cal. Except big buildings. Like the hotel we’re staying in.”

“Really?”

“Yup.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m good at it. Dad said so. Cal too.”

Again with Cal.

“I can solder and nail, and I paint way better than you and Mathias.”

“True that.”

“I painted the downstairs bathroom all by myself. And Dad’s going to teach me electrical. He said a guy can make a lot of money if he knows how to fix stuff.”

“True that too.”

“I already know how to do plumbing and carpentry. I went to work with Cal a whole bunch of times last summer, and I fixed the furnace once this winter. Did you know that?”