If another student forgot a pencil, he’d lend them one. If someone dropped their books, he’d stop and help pick them up.
For a long time, I thought the world would reward that kind of goodness.
Instead, school taught him a different lesson.
The other kids didn’t necessarily target him every day. Most of the time, they simply acted as if he didn’t belong. Birthday parties came and went without invitations.
Weekend plans were discussed in front of him as though he wasn’t there. When teachers assigned group projects, his face would fall ever so slightly as everyone else paired off before he had the chance.
No child should become familiar with that feeling.
Yet somehow, my son did.
But there was one exception: Mrs. Carter, the school’s guidance counselor.
She had a habit of noticing students that other people overlooked. More than once, Evan came home and mentioned a conversation he’d had with her.
Sometimes she’d check in after a difficult day, and other times she’d simply remind him that high school wasn’t forever.
