What I didn’t know was how bad her chair had become.
Ethan started explaining quickly.
“The wheels keep sticking.”
He looked upset just talking about it.
“And one of the armrests is loose.”
“Ethan…”
“The seams are coming apart too.”
He continued before I could stop him.
“Last week she missed lunch twice because it took so long to get from class to the cafeteria.”
That hit me.
“She told you that?”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“I saw it.”
Then his voice got smaller.
“Some kids were laughing at her.”
My stomach tightened.
“What did Sophie do?”
“Pretended she didn’t care.”
He stared at the floor.
“But she did.”
Then:
“Her parents can’t afford a new chair right now.”
I sat on the edge of his bed.
“And you thought the answer was selling your guitar?”
He nodded.
HE HAD ALREADY DONE EVERYTHING
“How did you even sell it?”
