At 16, Stacy Evans dropped out of high school in the hopes of moving on with his life. But four years later, he's stuck in an abusive relationship with Lamar, a "friend with benefits," and works long hours at a dead-end job just to get by.<br><br>Then his mother enrolls him in a program to earn his GED. There he meets Darian, a woodshop teacher who is everything Stacy's friends are not -- smart, successful ... and who seems to take a personal interest in helping Stacy turn his life around. The two develop a rapport that keeps Stacy after school just to spend extra time with him. In intimate moments alone, they grow closer than just student and teacher.<br><br>On the right track for once, Stacy has a chance to choose between his troublesome past and a promising future with Darian. But his jealous friends won't let him go so easily.

Stepping Up to the Plate

“Here we go.” Jodi shoved a piece of paper in front of him. It was a computer printout that resembled the student form—all the information she had typed up on him was there and in the center of the page, a schedule of classes for the week. He saw the words course 236, woodshop, drucker in bold print blocking out his entire afternoon. Too late to change his mind. She held a pen out to him, prodding his hand when he didn’t take it immediately. “Sign and date the bottom, would you? We’re almost through.”


Stacy scrawled his name across the last line of the form, then scribbled the date at the end the way some people wrote Jror III. Glancing at the darkened kitchen and the lights from the senior side beyond, he asked, “What’s going on over there?” Everyone who left the counselors’ tables headed in that direction. What had Darian said? Stop by when you’re done.And he almost was. Couldn’t he leave already?


Chapter 21