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“I don’t want to go to college,” he spits, calming down a bit as he leans back in his seat. “What’s the point of it?”
“We didn’t go to college.”
Both Gregory and I turn to look at Cassius, who’s silently joined us. He’s holding the guitar he was playing for the younger kids with one hand, his other automatically finding my shoulder. He glances down at me with a furrowed brow, and I know he’s silently trying to ask me if I’m okay, which I am. Like I said, these kids don’t intimidate me when they get a bit hostile, but Cassius is overprotective.
“Why not?” Gregory asks.
Cassius shrugs as he sits beside me, setting his guitar down on the floor. “Why would we need to? You can have a successful life and not go to college, even though sometimes school makes it seem like it’s the default.”
“I’m a bartender and he’s a DJ,” I explain, smiling brightly at Cassius as I take his hand. “We have a pretty good life, no college degree required.”
“So why bother with school?”
“Because most jobs will need you to have a high school diploma, or even a GED,” Cassius says. “But it’s not just that. When I graduated, I was damn proud of myself. Like…I did something, you know? It was hard as fuck, but I stuck through and accomplished something. You only have…what? Two years to go?”
Gregory nods, snorting humorlessly. “Maybe more if I keep getting into fights.”
“Then don’t get into fights.” Cassius makes it seem like it’s so easy, which I don’t think Gregory likes. But Cassius, being the amazing, beautiful human he is, senses that. “I was always angry too. You just have to find something to look forward to, or something that makes graduating worth it.”
“You get angry?” Gregory shakes his head. “You seem pretty chill.”
Cassius’s face grows hard for a split second, his jaw clenching and unclenching as he tightens his hold on me. “I wasn’t always.”
It’s not that Cassius was a bad kid growing up, but he definitely had some anger issues. He fought a lot in middle school and high school, but got his act together around Gregory’s age. I’m not too sure what flipped the switch for him, but a lot of his anger has faded over the years, leaving only the “pretty chill” guy in front of us.
Gregory hums, sucking on his front teeth before he shrugs. “Still not going back to school.”
Sighing, I glance down at my watch to see that Cassius and I have to head out soon. I look back up at Gregory and smile. “Will you be hanging around here for a bit?”
“Yeah, it’s nice,” Gregory mutters, grabbing his headphones and popping them back in his ears. “See you.”
“I think that means the conversation is over, sunshine,” Cassius whispers, taking my wrist as we stand. “We have to get to work anyways.”
I pout the entire time we’re signing out of the shelter, my heart heavy and worried for Gregory. “I couldn’t get through to him.”
Cassius finishes clocking our times and shrugs. “You know better than anyone it doesn’t happen in one day. We’ll see him next week if he’s still around. All we can do is try.”
“And you two try so hard,” Sadie, the shelter director, says as she appears behind the counter. “Thank you again for coming in today, and thank you for speaking with Gregory.”
“No problem,” I say happily, flushing after a second. “I just wish we could help more.”
Cassius leans against the counter and raises an eyebrow at her. “Spirits still low around here, huh?”
Sadie nods somberly. “It’s that time of year, you know? Graduation, college acceptances, all those hallmarks make it tough on the kids, even if they don’t want to admit it.”
I look back through the glass doors at the main hangout area. Some of these kids are runaways, others have been kicked out by their parents, and most of them come from unfortunate situations. It makes my heart hurt to think that any of them might have gone through what Cassius and I did growing up. It’s just all so horrible and?—
A hand on my wrist stops my scratching. Cassius leans in and kisses the top of my head softly. “Stop.”
Nodding, I shake out my hands as I try and think of something we can do. “Maybe let’s have a party? These kids need a little joy in their day, even if it’s something silly.”
“I think that’s a great idea,” Sadie says with a smile. “What are you thinking, Skylar?”
“You said graduation is coming up soon, so maybe a prom?” It sounds ridiculous after I say it, so I blush. “I mean, I know prom is stupid, and?—”
“Don’t discount your ideas,” Cassius says sharply. “They have value.”
“And that’s an excellent idea!” Sadie says, clapping her hands. “We can make it just for the older kids! They can bring their friends, and maybe it’ll help some of them reconnect with their families, too?”
