Page 12 of The Silence Between

I glanced across the room at Leo, who sat slightly apart from the rest of the team, his expression unreadable. He remained separate somehow—present but not really included. I'd noticed how conversations stopped when he approached, how no one ever saved him a seat.

Around me, I caught the subtle reactions of my teammates. Marcus raised an eyebrow. Jessica frowned slightly. Small signals that communicated a shared thought: Sucks for you, having to work with the East Riverton kid.

When practice ended, I approached him as he packed up his notes.

“Hey,” I said. “Looks like we're partners for regionals.”

He looked up, his dark eyes assessing me for a moment before he nodded. “Looks like it.”

“We should probably schedule some prep sessions. When are you free?”

A muscle in his jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. “I work weeknights at the high school as a janitor. Mornings I help at the diner. I could do Saturday morning at the public library.”

The constraints of his schedule hit me like a physical force. I'd been prepared to suggest multiple sessions, evening meetings at my house with dinner included, maybe even a weekend prep retreat like I'd done with previous partners.

“Saturday morning works,” I said, adjusting quickly. “Nine o'clock?”

“Eight would be better. I need to be done by eleven.”

Of course he did. I nodded. “Eight it is.”

As I watched him walk away, I realized how little I actually knew about Leo despite sharing classes and the debate team with him for nearly a year. I'd compiled mental notes but they amounted to observations, not understanding.

“Tough break on the partner assignment,” Marcus said, appearing beside me. “But hey, at least Reyes knows his stuff, even if he is kind of a loner.”

“He works two jobs,” I heard myself saying. “Probably doesn't leave much time for socializing.”

Marcus looked surprised, both at the information and my defensive tone. I was a little surprised myself.

* * *

The public libraryopened its doors at eight o'clock sharp on Saturday morning. I arrived fifteen minutes early, waiting on the stone steps with two coffees from the café down the street. One black, one with cream and sugar, since I didn't know Leo's preference.

The morning air carried the crisp bite of early fall, leaves beginning to turn on the trees lining the avenue. It was quieter here than in my neighborhood; West Riverton would already be alive with lawn services and luxury cars heading to weekend brunches.

Leo arrived precisely at eight, but he wasn't alone. A young girl walked beside him with the same dark eyes as Leo but a more guarded expression. She carried a backpack that looked too heavy for her slender frame.

“This is my sister, Mari,” Leo said when they reached the steps. “Mom's working. Dad's...unavailable.”

The way he hesitated on the last word carried volumes of unspoken explanation.

“Nice to meet you, Mari,” I said, trying to hide my surprise. “I'm Ethan.”

“I know who you are,” she replied, studying me with a directness that reminded me of her brother. “Leo talks about debate team sometimes.”

Leo shot her a look I couldn't interpret before turning to me. “I hope it's okay. She has homework, and she'll sit at a different table. She won't disturb us.”

“Of course it's okay,” I said quickly. I held out the coffee cups. “I wasn't sure how you take your coffee, so I got both.”

He looked genuinely surprised by the gesture. “Black is good. Thanks.”

Inside, we found a quiet corner with two tables. Mari set up at one with her homework, while Leo and I took the other. As we spread out our debate materials, I couldn't help noticing the dark circles under his eyes, the careful way he kept glancing over at Mari while trying to focus on our work.

It struck me then that Leo carried responsibilities I couldn't imagine. While I worried about SAT scores and college applications, he worried about his sister having a safe place to do homework on a Saturday morning.

* * *

“The counterargument isthat increased funding doesn't guarantee better outcomes,” I said, reviewing our strategy. “We need to anticipate that.”

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