Free Lights Out by Ruthie Robinson Page B

he thought, admonishing himself. Yeah, but it wouldn’t have been nearly as effective. Rachel and her night sky would not be calling him again, he thought.
    * * *
     
    “So are you ready for school?” Joe asked Shane as he stood inside the door of his room.
    “Been ready, stay ready, born ready,” Shane said, looking at his uncle and laughing. That was the line they shared with each other, a habit they started right after Shane had come to live with him. He loved this kid, couldn’t imagine loving his own flesh and blood more.
    Shane had been so shy, so unsure of himself when he came to live with Joe, and now he was not the same kid anymore. A stable home seemed to worked for him.
    At first Joe wasn’t sure what parenting an elementary-aged child required, but he’d known what unstable looked like, so he started out by doing exactly the opposite of the way he’d been raised. So far, so good. Between he and Reye, and the teachers and principal at school, they’d gotten him on track. Success at school had helped to build his confidence.
    Had he known Reye would have been what he was looking for, he’d have treated her differently in the beginning of their relationship. Not that she would have been interested. She loved Stephen.
    School started tomorrow. His mind moved away from its musing and moved on to his internal list of what Shane would need for the day.

Chapter 6
    First week of September
     
    It isn’t so bad here, Taylor thought, looking around the room at the kids sitting at the tables surrounding her in her homeroom at her new school. A Mr. Marshall would be her homeroom teacher. Homeroom was their first stop here at the beginning of each day. She also had Mr. Marshall for math.
    Piper had insisted on walking her to her class. Thankfully, her sister hadn’t been the lone parent. There were parents everywhere at this school. Most trailed behind their kids, but others stood talking to other parents in clumps in the hall before class and talking to teachers like they were old friends.
    In her old school parents hadn’t been allowed in. Kids were dropped off at the door. But this was a different kind of school, she could tell that already. There were different kinds of kids here, too. Maybe she would fit in.
    The kid next to her rocked back and forth a little, autistic, she believed someone had said. They didn’t tease him, a new concept for her, and the other children seemed to be used to him. That in itself was interesting. His name was Sebastian, and he spent a lot of time on the computer.
    The girls had also been a surprise. They were actually friendly to her. A few had come over and introduced themselves. Judith, Heather, and Sarah, she believed those were their names.
    No needless teasing about her baseball cap, her jeans, questions about her wanting to be a boy. No, she wasn’t a boy and didn’t want to be one. She just liked what the boys did, and she wasn’t interested in clothes—jeans, a shirt, and sneakers were all she needed.
    “Hey. You’re new here?”
    Taylor looked up into the face of a boy, blond hair falling to his shoulders, sporting a Brazilian soccer shirt.
    “Yes, I am.”
    “You’ll like this school,” he said, walking around the table and pulling out the chair next to her. “I’ve only been here two years,” he said, sitting down. “Most of the kids have been here since pre-school. I saw you talking to Heather, Judith, and Sarah. They’re nice, too. Most of the people here are nice.”
    He talks a lot, Taylor thought.
    “My name is Shane. Shane Sandborne. What’s yours?” he asked.
    “Taylor Knight.”
    “Where you from?” he asked.
    “San Antonio.”
    “I used to go to a different school before coming here, when I lived with my mom. Kids there were mean, plus I had a hard time learning things.”
    “Is it different here?” she asked.
    “Yeah,” he said, looking over at her. “I like the hat,” he added, pausing for a second. “I’m going to sit next to