He helped kids with homework.
Held doors.
Stayed late when teachers needed volunteers.
But most days, he still ate alone.
“One day I watched him help two guys study for a test,” Celeste told me. “They thanked him, packed their stuff, and went to sit with their friends. Tobin just stayed there by himself.”
For illustration purposes only
My throat tightened.
“I wanted to go sit with him then,” she continued, “but I didn’t. And I kept thinking about it.”
A few weeks before prom, Celeste heard someone ask Tobin whether he was going.
He’d laughed and said dances weren’t really his thing.
But she saw his face afterward.
Celeste understood.
So she asked him.
Not because she felt sorry for him.
Not because she needed a good deed to tell people about.
