On the verge of failing his senior year of high school, Armando is set up with a tutor to get his grades back up. His tutor, Brian, happens to be the quiet kid that he never knew existed until now. And as the two begin to form a deep connection with...
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Armando Dominguez
One of those annoying office aids came into class and handed me an office pass. Mr. Carver, my counselor who set me up with Brian, wanted to see me. I was actually enjoying learning about The Count of Monte Cristo.
My counselor’s secretary opened the door for me to get in.
“Welcome, Mr. Dominguez!” Mr. Carver said. I sat in one of the two seats in front of his desk.
“Am I in trouble?” I asked. Mr. Carver put on his glasses and let out a chuckle.
“No, absolutely not.” He replied. He clicked something on his computer and then the printer behind him turned on. We waited as the machine printed a sheet of paper. Then he handed me the warm paper in my hands.
“My report card.” I pointed out, looking at the newly printed paper.
“Indeed. And if you look, there are no F’s or D’s.” He said.
“I hope this means that I’ll be able to graduate…”
“Indeed you will.” He smirked. “I’m proud of you, Armando. You’ve really stepped up and have proved everyone wrong.”
“Is all thanks to Brian Hazelwood.” I said. “If you hadn’t paired me with him, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
Mr. Carver smiled at me in understanding. “He’s a good kid. And I hope you two are happy together.” He said. There was a grin on his face. Does he know?
“I… how did you-?”
“My secretary saw you and Brian on a date a few weeks ago. It’s perfectly fine, Armando. But I do want to give you something.” He opened a nearby folder and handed me a list. Some of the words on the list were highlights.
“Scholarships?” I asked, looking at the words printed.
“If you ever need some scholarships, just apply to these. The ones that I highlighted are ones best suited for you, based on your information. And many of these scholarships are rarely applied to, meaning it’ll be easy money.”
“Thank you, Mr. Carver.” I said. He blushed, since I usually never refer to him as ‘Mr. Carver.’ I looked down at the paper and saw a highlighted title was for LGBTQ seniors. Great…
“You can head off to class now, Don’t forget to buy your GradNite and prom tickets!” He reminded me.
Shit! I need to buy those things! But where am I going to get the money from? I can’t ask Javi. I have some money saved but I was waiting to use it during college. Maybe I can ask someone for a loan and pay back later. Either way, I want to be there for Brian.
I bumped into Ricardo on my way back to class. He was leaning against a brick wall and using a vape.
