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walked into my office like she owned it, wearing the only clothes I’d ever seen her in.
    “Hey, Claude,” I said with a smile.
    “Hey, Matt,” she replied.
    “No school today?”
    She gave me a non-committal shrug for an answer as she made herself a hot chocolate. I’d asked about their family once before and she’d shut down on me so I knew not to push that subject. I wanted her and her brother to feel comfortable here—to have a place they felt welcome.
    Instead of asking questions she didn’t want to answer, I picked up one end of the table and said, “Here, help me with this.”
    She put down the mug she’d claimed as hers and picked up the other end of the table. It wasn’t heavy by any means, and even though she was only tiny, I treated her like I would any of the kids.
    “Whatcha got on today?” she asked, walking back to collect her hot cocoa.
    “A bit of a meeting with the other guys when they get here,” I said. Looking at my watch and seeing it was almost nine, I amended, “In about five or ten minutes, then I’m meeting with a lady from Hillvue community college, and then this afternoon I have some sessions with you and the others.”
    Claude nodded. “Busy.”
    “I try to be,” I told her. “I try and meet with another community venue at least once a week. I take this place very seriously, and I want them to take it seriously as well.”
    “That’s pretty cool,” she said, before sipping her drink.
    “You like having somewhere to hang out?”
    “Yeah,” she said casually. “It’s cool here. I like it.”
    “What exactly do you like about it?” I asked. “I mean, some feedback would be good. We’re gonna have a meeting shortly about what we can do to improve this place, so any suggestions would be great.”
    “From me?”
    “Sure. You come here, you do some training, you and Ruby use the facilities. Why not you?”
    Claude’s face lit up. “Seriously?” She took another drink and thought for a long second. “Well, shit. I can’t think of anything.”
    I considered chipping her about her language, but thought better of it. “Well, have a think and let me know later. I gotta grab these boys before they start lessons.” I walked to the door, leaving the young girl alone in my office. Before I walked out, I turned back to her. “Hey, Claude?”
    “Yeah?”
    “If you’re gonna stick around, can you finish sorting out those pamphlets and brochures for me?”
    “Yeah, yeah.” She tried to act like it was no big deal, but there was a smile in her eyes that told me otherwise.
    I grabbed Arizona, telling him about the meeting, and Cody and Jamaal as they walked in too. “Hey, guys. We need a minute,” I said, nodding towards the office.
    “Sure, Matt,” Cody said. “Wassup?”
    “Boss wants to see us.”
    Jamaal groaned. “Well, this can’t be good.”
    “Come on, it’s not that bad.” I led the way to Boss’ office. He was at his desk, looking at the same spreadsheets. Chewing on his lip and with furrowed eyebrows, he looked worried and nervous.
    “Boys,” he said. “Come on in.”
    The four of us filed in to what used to be Tressler’s office, but now belonged to Boss. “We got the financial reports for the first six months, and it doesn’t look good. We need some money.”
    He had the tact of a wrecking ball.
    Arizona, Cody and Jamaal all paled and it was a very concerned looking Arizona who spoke first, “What? Are we gonna lose our jobs?”
    I stepped forward and put my hand up. “Whoa, stop. Jesus, Boss, you can’t say it like that.”
    “It’s the truth, ain’t it?” the old guy said gruffly.
    “Look, guys,” I said, facing my three workmates. “What Boss is saying is kind of true, but exaggerated. It’s not that bad. We’re doing okay, but we just need to tighten up where we can.” I looked at Arizona. “No one is losing their jobs, okay? We just need to think of some ways to increase the income for the club, that’s all.”
    Then I