NATHAN
Monday afternoon clears out fast after the final bell. With senior year winding into its final stretch, people aren't sticking around after three unless they have practice or somewhere specific to be.
Instead of heading straight for the parking lot, I cut through the breezeway behind the science wing.
I'd overheard Avery talking about lumber deliveries in third-period chemistry. In the gravel courtyard between the biology lab and the greenhouse, four raised cedar planter boxes sit half-assembled in the afternoon sun.
Sophie is kneeling on a foam pad by the nearest box, wearing canvas work pants and a flannel shirt rolled to her elbows. A cordless drill rests on the timber beside her. Avery checks the square corners with a metal level, while River sits on an upturned five-gallon
