John, Part IV

I was starting to think that I wouldn't be hearing from John for a long time, but then he called me tonight. He said he had just put minutes on his phone. I asked him how he was doing, and he said alright. He said that he missed a few--well, all--of last week because he was with social services. He said that he has to do 12 days there because of his arrest.

I said I was surprised that they would have him use all of this time to miss school to do this.

He said it was because the charges were serious.

What were they?

He said something about gang assault.

Oh, you didn't tell me that.

You never asked.

That's right. He said he's going to go to school this whole week. He told me that he brought a note to school today to explain his absence. School was good because the teachers didn't ask too many questions.

Better than social services?

Way better.

What about homework?

He hasn't figured out if he has homework assignments yet. He said that the school is very independent, so he can't really figure out how students get their assignments. He said tomorrow he'll ask.

I said I'd ask Mr. M to help him with that.

He's coming over on Sunday. At least, that's the plan.

I'm feeling some hope again. I can hear in his voice that he wants to do well, and I know that he doesn't want to go to jail. I appreciate his loyalty. I can tell that he doesn't want to let me down.