Page 44 of As You Walk On

Yeah, I deserve it. But does it have to be right now? In front of River? In front of... Luca?

Why am I so embarrassed thinking about howheperceives this interaction?

It doesn’t appear to bother him, though. “I tutored Aleah last year,” Luca explains casually, like it’s common knowledge.

How has this become a Six Degrees of Theodore Wright thing? Like,by the way, the cute, superior-taste-in-snacks guy standing next to you knows the girl you used to spend almost 24-7 with (and who currently looks like she wants to throw up at the sight of your face) because her uncle dated your dad, who is, well,your dad, and...

Wait, do I think Luca’s cute?

“I hate math,” groans River. It’s what finally snaps me out of wherever my brain was going with that tangent.

“Ugh. Me too,” Aleah says. She flops onto the carpet next to River. The bluish glow of her phone’s screen shines off her face. “Fuck. It’s barely eleven. I can’t call my unc—”

She stops abruptly, flinching.

I chew hard on my lower lip, waiting.

“Myridewill think I’m a total loser if I call him this early,” she recovers, her expression settling back into the detached one she wears so well.

“Great!”

Luca bounces onto the bed. I stare at him, then River, contemplating my options. But I already know what choice I’m going to make.

I’m not the kind of guy who’s going to abandon them. Not when they clearly don’t want to go back downstairs. Plus, seeing Aleah with those tearstained cheeks, hearing her broken sob behind a door... it tugs at a piece of me I know I haven’t left in the past.

A second later, I join Luca on the bed.

It’s decided—we’re all staying.

“I’m River Zhao,” say River, officially extending their hand to Aleah.

Aleah returns the gesture, shaking. “I’ve seen you around school. Loving this look, B-T-dub,” she comments. “Glasses, feathers, name tags, and cartoon character shirts.”

River’s still wearing the boa. Luca has Maddie’s sunglasses pushed up into his hair. The plastic crown sits between us. With Aleah here, I feel like less than a king.

“Anime,” River and Luca quickly say, pointing at River’s shirt.

Aleah shrugs, seemingly unfazed by the correction. “I neverknew your name. Or your pronouns? They/them. That’s dope.”

Pink blooms across River’s cheeks.

“I’m Aleah. She/her pronouns.”

“I have more, if you want?” River offers.

As they trade Sharpies and name badges, River relays a brief—albeit enthusiastic—history ofBoku no Hero Academia. Aleah diligently nods along. I turn to Luca.

“Hey.” I grin. “I didn’t know you tutored?”

He’s in the same STEM program as Jay, but I never put it together. I would’ve hit him up last semester when I was drowning in Mr.Montgomery’s obsession with radicals and square roots. If I could afford his rates, that is.

Another bonus of the Wright-Scott family connection: Jay’s assistance isfree.

A shy smile curls Luca’s lips. “Pays for new fits and shoes.” He gestures to his wardrobe. “You’d be surprised how much desperate-to-appease-their-demanding-but-stacked-parents kids will pay to pass an Algebra 1 class with a high C.”

“Whatever.” Aleah feigns annoyance at his comment before suggestively wiggling her eyebrows. “Is ‘polynomial’ your safe word?”

“Shut up!” Luca guffaws.

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