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

Just beyond the door he stopped to pull out his class schedule. The piece of paper was folded tight in his pocket, untouched from when he had stuck it there. He smoothed the creases out against his notebook and looked over the schedule for the first time. English, math, science—the staples of education. Maybe most of it would be review, he prayed. They couldn’t just launch into a senior thesis or trigonometry the first day, right?


His first class was upstairs, Fundamentals of Grammar.Oh joy. The stairs were beside him, across from the cafeteria entrance, a few students already lingering on the steps. An excitement trilled through the air, an undercurrent of anticipation, a feeling that he didn’t understand because it never occurred to him that some people might actually enjoyschool. He felt like an outcast already, before any bells had rung or any words spoken, simply because he didn’t feel the same energy that surged through everyone else.


Chapter 29