“Make that three waters, please,” Thorne said to the teenager on the other side of the counter.
The kid gave him his total, and after he’d paid they handed him the water then asked him to move to the next window so they could take the next order. Thorne handed Tommy his water and stepped to the other window with him.
“There’s this girl in my class. All the boys think she’s really pretty, she’s got this shiny smooth hair that reminds me of the feathers on those black birds. But she’s not nice. She tells everyone what to do and is mean if they don’t do it. Is that what you mean by ugly on the inside?”
“That’s a good example, yes.” Somehow, that Tommy understood sent a beam of pride through Thorne. He had no right to be proud of the boy, but for some reason he was.
Over the loud speaker t
