Jen’s father took the stack of papers as if he autographed other people’s documents all the time.

Probably he did.

Luke watched Mr. Talbot flip through the papers, scrawling his name here, crossing out a word or a phrase or a whole paragraph there. Luke was sure Jen’s father was going too fast to actually read any of it.

And that was when the homesickness hit Luke for the first time. He could just picture his own father peering cautiously at important papers, reading them over and over before he even picked up a pen. Luke could see his father’s rheumy eyes squinted in concentration, his brow furrowed with anxiety.

He was always so afraid of being tricked.

Maybe Jen’s father didn’t care.

Luke had to swallow hard then. He made a gulping noise, and the woman looked at him. Luke couldn’t read her expression. Curiosity? Contempt? Indifference?

He didn’t think it was sympathy.

Jen’s father finished then, handing the papers back to the woman with a flourish.

“I’ll call a boy to show you your room,” the woman said to Luke.

Luke nodded. The woman leaned over a box on her desk and said, “Mr. Dirk, could you send Rolly Sturgeon to the office?”

Luke heard a roar along with the man’s reply, “Yes, Ms. Hawkins,” as if all the boys in the school were laughing and cheering and hissing at once. Luke felt his legs go weak with fear. When this Rolly Sturgeon showed up, Luke wasn’t sure he’d be able to walk.

“Well, I’ll be off,” Jen’s father said. “Duty calls.”

He stuck out his hand and after a moment Luke realized he was supposed to shake it. But he’d never shaken hands with anyone before, so he put out the wrong hand first Jen’s father frowned, moving his head violently side to side, and glaring pointedly at the woman behind the desk. Fortunately, she wasn’t watching. Luke recovered. He clumsily touched his hand to Jen’s father’s.