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book bag resembles a Dumpster. Everything is loose. Balled up. Or empty. Like the Skittles and M&M’s bags he sits on the table.
    â€œDo you like her legs?” Roberto is in a wheelchair also. A car accident took his legs away in fifth grade.
    I sneak a peek at her legs. Although the trees outside have frost on them, Raven’s long legs are bare. Roberto licks his lips. “Her blouse … is … uh … tight, huh?” Her top is orange, which is his favorite color, he says. I do not mention that the Skittles on the bag match the color of her top precisely.
    â€œDid you bring markers?” I ask him.
    â€œMarkers?”
    I always carry a pack with me. A ruler, paper clips, extra pencils — things like that. Roberto takes paperout of his book bag. Then he opens a warm can of cream soda. The signs overhead say we are not permitted to eat or drink in here. He digs his fingers in a bag of corn doodles, offering me a few.
    Roberto is like a lot of students, rules do not mean much to him. That is why I like working with younger students. You can influence them in positive ways. I’m warning him, I won’t be able to tutor him until he puts his snacks away. I’ve gotten special permission from Mrs. Carolyn: Instead of volunteering at the library this week, I will work with him on his research paper. But he must follow the rules.
    Holding the can up high, soda streaming into his mouth, splashing over his cheeks, he drinks every drop. He stuffs snacks in his mouth. He goes to the trash can, whistling.
    Raven walks upstairs, still smiling at me. I try to recall the exact words of the text I sent her the night we left the movies. I think I said, “You’re pretty. I’m busy. I will call you if I ever want to go out again.”
    It isn’t easy keeping excellent grades. Besides, I do not like people thinking they need to help me. All during the movie, she asked if I was okay. I had told her. I was fine. On her way from the girls’ room the secondtime, she brought me more damp tissues and wiped down parts of my chair that I wasn’t able to reach. I’d never want anyone to do that.
    Walking toward the biographies, weighed down with books, she keeps her green eyes on me. Her two girlfriends do the same.
    Roberto returns and hands me his assignment. He has only completed one page of a six-page report. It’s written in cursive, not on the computer, which his teacher instructed him to use.
    Some of his work is written in pencil, smeared. A few paragraphs are done in yellow ink. Words are crossed out. But his spelling is perfect. His grammar, excellent. “This is a draft, right?”
    He pulls his paper from my hands, slowly. Blinking. He did not understand the assignment, he points out. He was too afraid to ask his teacher to explain. And he doesn’t have a computer at home. I have an old laptop. Ruffling his hair, I say, “Maybe, if we keep working together, I’ll pass it along.”
    â€œFor real, Adonis?”
    I talk to him about proper study habits. “This can be an A paper, Roberto,” I point out. “Only you’ve got to promise me one thing.”
    Jaxxon walks into the library. Girls on the first floorstart to giggle, while they stand up tall and push themselves out.
    Roberto says he will promise me anything, if I’ll give him the laptop.
    I write myself a note, a reminder to bring it in. “Quit waiting until the last minute.” I pull out my index cards. “Only people like Autumn do that.” He smiles as if I said something positive about her.
    â€œIt’s wrong,” he says.
    I stare at his paper. “What’s wrong?”
    â€œYour watch. It stopped. It’s not four o’clock.”
    â€œLet’s … we have to … I’m here to help you, Roberto.”
    We work on his thesis statement. Raven and her friends take a seat on the floor between the stacks. Once Jaxxon walks up, they