My name is Leo, and I\u2019m seventeen. Right now, I\u2019m standing in the freezing garage of my own house, clutching a trash bag stuffed with my clothes.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re eighteen in six months anyway,\u201d Brenda, my stepmother, sneered an hour ago, tossing my laptop onto the hard concrete floor. \u201cTyler needs a gaming room. Your father agrees. Plus, we\u2019re cutting your college fund. High school is a waste of time for someone like you. Drop out, get a shift at the downtown diner, and start paying rent, or get out of my house.\u201d<\/p>\n
I didn’t say a word. I couldn’t. My dad just stood behind her, staring at the floor, a silent ghost in his own home. I\u2019ve spent the last two years swallowing down the venom Brenda spews, shrinking myself to keep the peace. I moved my mattress to this drafty garage, biting my tongue when Tyler paraded my stolen acoustic guitar around. I endured the humiliation, the empty stomach, the canceled tuition checks for my senior year. I was just trying to survive until graduation day.<\/p>\n
But then, the doorbell rang.<\/p>\n
It wasn’t a delivery driver. Through the dusty garage window, I saw the sleek black sedan parked in the driveway. My blood ran cold. It was Mr. Harrison, my AP Physics teacher and homeroom advisor. He never did home visits. Ever.<\/p>\n
Brenda yanked the front door open, her fake, sugary smile instantly plastered on. I crept toward the connecting door, pressing my ear against the cold wood to listen.<\/p>\n
“Mrs. Vance? I’m here about Leo,” Mr. Harrison\u2019s voice was uncharacteristically tight, echoing loudly in the hallway.<\/p>\n
“Oh, Leo is… indisposed. He’s been so rebellious lately, skipping classes, you know how difficult teenagers are,” Brenda lied effortlessly.<\/p>\n
“That’s interesting,” Mr. Harrison interrupted, his tone dropping dangerously low. “Because I just got a frantic call from the district office. Someone submitted a heavily forged withdrawal form bearing your signature, aiming to unenroll him entirely. But that’s not why I’m here. I’m here because of what I found hidden in his locker this afternoon.”<\/p>\n
My heart slammed against my ribs. The locker. I had completely forgotten about the envelope.<\/p>\n
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Brenda’s voice wavered.<\/p>\n
“I think you do,” he stepped inside, the front door clicking shut behind him.<\/p>\n
I stood in the dark, my pulse deafening. Should I burst in and confront them, or wait to see what she does?<\/p>\n
I couldn’t just stand there while she lied to my teacher, but what he found in my locker was never meant to be seen. The secret I was hiding could destroy everything. I had to make a choice. The rest of the story is below \ud83d\udc47<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
My name is Leo, and I\u2019m seventeen. Right now, I\u2019m standing in the freezing garage of my own house, clutching a trash bag stuffed with my clothes. \u201cYou\u2019re eighteen in six months anyway,\u201d Brenda, my stepmother, sneered an hour ago, tossing my laptop onto the hard concrete floor. \u201cTyler needs a gaming room. Your father […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70594","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-purpose"],"yoast_head":"\n