Mr. Marsh’s desk was buried in paper when Matt stepped into his office. He managed to get the surprised look off his face pretty quickly.

“Hi, Matt. It’s nice to see you again. Have a seat.”

“Thanks.”

Matt sat in the chair but didn’t say anything. Mr. Marsh collected the papers on his desk, paper-clipping them into neater piles and stacking them up on the shelves beside his desk. “Graduation,” he said, rolling his eyes. “I know it’s supposed to be the best time of the year—and it is, don’t get me wrong—but the paperwork’s a beast.”

He worked for a few more minutes, then rested his chin in his hand and looked at Matt. “I tried to get ahold of you, you know. After you disappeared. I called every number we had on file for you. I even drove to the address we had listed. I met a lady there said she was your grandmother, but she hadn’t seen you in years.”

“I’m sorry you wasted your time.”

“That’s all right. I just wanted you to know you’re not alone out there.”

“Thanks. I know.”

Mr. Marsh gave Matt another quiet minute. “So…is there anything I can do for you?”

Matt thought about the question, started to say something, stopped. Finally, he said, “I don’t know.”

“Well, is there something you need?”

“I don’t really know that, either.” Matt almost smiled. “That must sound pretty stupid, huh?”

Mr. Marsh smiled for him. “Not at all, Matt. I’m fifty-two years old and I think the exact same thing. All the time.”

“Well…okay, I haven’t really planned this out or anything. But I guess there might be one thing. I know it’s a long shot, but do you think I could get another one of those applications from you? Do you think Tech would still take a look at it?”

Mr. Marsh winced. “Oh, Matt, I don’t know about that one. Not without a high school diploma. They’re pretty firm on that one. I don’t think the letters of recommendation would bail you out.”

“That’s what I thought. But I needed to at least check, you know? I needed to try.” He stood up and turned toward the door.

“Not so fast, there, Matt. What are you doing this summer?”

Matt sat back down. “No big plans.”

Mr. Marsh riffled through a file, took out a sheaf of papers. “The weeks you’ve missed put you out of reach for graduation. There’s no chance you can walk across that stage next week.”

“I know.”

Marsh looked at Matt’s file. “But you were passing all your classes at midterm. If I can talk to those teachers, get them to give you an incomplete instead of a straight F, you could make up the lost time in summer school. It’s six weeks, and you’d need to be there every day and work your tail off.” Mr. Marsh studied Matt, who made a keep-going gesture. “But you’d have a diploma by the end of the summer. And maybe we could get those letters to Tech and tell them the diploma is pending.”

“Thanks, Mr. Marsh.”

Marsh pointed at Matt. “I’m going to give it to you straight, here. If I do all this, I’m putting myself on the line for you. There are people who trust me at Tech. If you drop the ball, it’s going to reflect on me, understand? I need to know you’re into this. Really into this.”

“I want to finish high school.”

Mr. Marsh smiled again. “Well, now I know you mean business.”

“Why’s that?”

“It’s the first time I’ve ever heard you start a sentence with I want.” Mr. Marsh stuck out his hand. Matt shook it. “It’s a start.”

Matt headed for the door, then turned around. “Hey. I guess I want something else.”

Mr. Marsh raised one eyebrow. “Really? This must be a big day, Matt. What else do you want?”

“The address of a student. Can you help me find it?”

“Well, now, Matt, you know I can’t disclose something like that.”

“I get it. Just thought I’d check.”

He turned to leave, but Mr. Marsh stood up and turned his laptop around so it was facing Matt.

“But I suppose I can tell you that in my experience whitepages.com takes care of anyone not in the Federal Witness Protection Program.” Mr. Marsh grinned widely. “Good luck, Matt.”