Free Burnout by Teresa Trent Page A

started feeling the countdown clock on my bladder just as I heard the door knob starting to turn. It was going to have to wait. He opened the door. He looked down at his shoes as he waited for me to enter. "Hold that thought. I'll be right back." I ran into the restroom and finished as quickly as I could.
    When I returned Zach was sitting on the end of his bed, his elbows propped on his knees with his head in his hands. "What's going on Zach?"
    His eyes were red, and his nose was running. "I don't know."
    "You have a failing grade in math because you haven't been doing your homework. Is that correct?" Zach nodded in acknowledgment. "And why haven't you been doing your homework? You always say you're up here doing school work. I just assumed that you were actually doing it."
    "You just don't understand." He muttered.
    "Are you so sure about that? Look Zach you're not the first kid who struggled in math, and you won't be the last. Math is hard and it doesn't come naturally to everybody. "
    "It does to Leo. It does to Tyler. I'm stupid, and Tyler is smart. I'm ugly, and Tyler is handsome. I'm the son of the hint lady who tells people how to unclog their toilets. Tyler is the son of a weatherman who saves people's lives from danger and gets to be on television."
    That last one really hurt. I never thought of comparing the Happy Hinter to Leo's job. "This is about a whole lot more than math, isn't it? Tyler might be good in math, but you're good in English. You might think Tyler is better looking than you are, but I think you're both insanely handsome.
    "How about the fact that everybody wants to be Tyler's friend, and nobody seems to want to be mine?"
    "Now, that's not true. Your friend Grace was just knocking on the door to check on you."
    "She doesn't count."
    "Why not?"
    "Because Grace is different. She's not the kind of friends Tyler has. His friends are...in everything. Everybody likes them."
    "It almost sounds like you're the new guy in school, not Tyler. Shouldn't it be the other way around? Weren't you the one who's been in class with these kids since kindergarten?"
    He pushed off the bed and walked to the window.  He looked out onto the street.  "Just like I said, you don't understand, Mom."
    "You're right I've made a mistake. I thought you were a better judge of what's important. Tyler may be getting all the things you want right now, but don't think for a minute that makes you any less of a person."
    "Right. Got it. Thanks."
    "Good, because it's true."
    "I wish I could believe that, but not only is he popular, but he's also good in sports." He sighed and leaned his head against the cold glass. "Life will just never be the same for me. I wish you had never met Mr. Leo, and I wish you had never married him." I was finding so much joy in my new life. I had no idea how miserable he was.
    I stood next to him and reached over to push a strand of hair out of his face as I had done so often when he was a small child. "I know it's tough. Just know that change is hard, but sometimes you find out things are better once you get used to it." He shrugged me away.
    Taking his cue, I headed for the door, but before leaving him alone in his misery, I turned back.  "I love you Zach, and I know you're going to come through this. We'll talk later about getting you a math tutor."
    He sighed and threw himself back on the bed. "I guess."

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
     
     
    After my little run to the bathroom, I realized I was about to have another round with the flu. The smell of cooking dinner was now out of the picture so when Leo came home we decided to eat at the diner. The cozy restaurant was usually filled with half the town, but tonight most of the red leather booths were empty.
    "What's going on?" Leo said.
    "I don't know." I answered.
    "Maybe the health department came through." Tyler said plopping into the booth with a thud.
    Birdie came up to us her hands in her apron pocket. "Glad to see you guys. I was beginning to think I was going