 And I want to just finish With the passage so this is a passage about teaching in Bridgeport And we were in a charter school a first-year charter school and we didn't have a gym or anything like that. So to get our kids Active we took them on trips The school bought a van and we hired a guy and he would just take them out to the mountains to hike or to the beach To swim or kaybang stuff like that. It was actually pretty cool. And this is one of those trips that I went on In May Andrew planned an overnight camping trip for anyone interested Ten kids including Henry and I signed up and we spent the week before the trip making preparations We have masked our camping gear in a pile in the corner of the cafeteria and packed our backpacks during lunch Friday after school We filled our water bottles and headed off in the van to hike a section of the Appalachian Trail This was going to be my last outing trip and last break to think about the future before the future got here a Few minutes into the hike Henry cell phone went off Andrew stopped at the head of the line. I told you no cell phones. He turned and looked angrily at Henry Henry was tall enough to meet Andrew's eyes from the back of the line. He blinked once then said I need my cell phone We all looked from one face to the other You can't have it. I specifically said no cell phones. You knew that was the rule. I thought maybe the trip was over How am I supposed to call my mom? What if there's an emergency? I Have a cell phone. I will make any necessary calls. We are here to be away from all that Andrew waved a hand toward the road where we left the van. I knew you were going to do something like this Henry Andrew faced forward and crossed his arms Henry looked down at me as the only other adult I had to help make a decision Henry and I had a spotty past He'd honed in on me since day one or so. It seemed early one morning I found him staring at my face in the elevator. You should bleach that shit. He said gesturing to his upper lip All I could do was flush with embarrassment The other student in the elevator covered his mouth to stifle a laugh What Henry defended they have something for that, you know Since moving in with my dad, I'd stopped taking care of myself my depression had led led to a general disregard for my appearance Hardly thinking about what to put on in the morning I rarely showered and certainly didn't pay attention to details like facial hair That night I went home and left in the mirror. Sure enough the outline of a dark moustache cast a gloom over my face That weekend I bought a box of bleach and cream and went to school Monday morning hoping nobody especially Henry Would see the faint line where the bleach had turned my upper lip a paler shade of white When I decided to experiment with dreadlocks and stop brushing my hair for a week Henry immediately picked up on that as well You look like you just rolled right out of bed. He commented in front of the whole class Claire overheard and told me later that teaching required a thick skin and I better develop one The fact was no one else was paying much attention to me It felt like Henry in an odd way was showing me some concern by even noticing All of this came back to me now while Henry waited to see what I was going to do Andrew had taken off his pack clearly letting me deal with it I thought of the day not long before this one when I was selling snacks and the lunch on it lunch line and Henry picked up About a pack of cookies. How much when I told him the price he tossed the cookies back They missed the box and hit me instead. He looked at the person behind him in line and laughed You need to apologize. I said for what you missed the box So he slid his tray along the counter. I left the line and went to the dean of students to write Henry a referral Given the sea of paperwork surrounding the new dean I never found out if Henry got in trouble, but he was selling in class for a week refusing to look at me He'd cross his arms and stare at the ground when I walked by mumbling things. I was thankful. I couldn't hear Now all of that was flipped on its head as he stood before me looking for an ally Everyone waited to see what I was going to do We want you on this trip Henry I began the gentleness in my voice surprising even me But you're not supposed to have a cell phone. I looked him in the eye hoping we could work this out I'll be right back. He said turned and in three bounds was out of sight No Andrew shouted after him. You can't go back to the car, but he was gone Andrew turned forward again shook his head and continued up the trail as the line got moving I stayed at the back checking over my shoulder every so often for Henry's return He came back quietly showed me his empty hands. He'd stashed the phone behind a tire and we shared a smile Think I'm gonna stop there. Thank you