Chapter 23Two weeks before his new job started, Devante woke one Tuesday morning to the smell of frying bacon and a low rumble of what sounded like many voices coming from the kitchen.
Confused and bleary-eyed, he threw a hoodie on over his undershirt and sweatpants over his boxers, and stumbled downstairs to see what all the commotion was. He found Carl, frying the bacon on their griddle while two pancakes cooked on the stove, what sounded, closer up, like NPR coming from his phone. “Morning,” Devante said over the hosts’ smooth, careful voices.
Carl tapped one blunt finger on his phone until the voices stopped. “Morning,” he said. “Blueberry or chocolate chip?”
“Chocolate chip,” Devante said. Carl nodded and moved to the pantry to grab the little yellow Nestle bag. “What were you list
