He stood there for a long time. The answer key felt heavy in his hand. He thought about the shop, the grease under his fingernails, the way his mother fell asleep on the couch with her reading glasses on. He thought about Mr. Alonzo, who always called him “Mr. Reyes” instead of just “Leo,” who never once marked him late even when he came in ten minutes after the bell.
It was three weeks before finals. His own module was a mess of crossed-out equations and sticky notes that said things like “mitosis = cell split???” Mr. Alonzo’s class was a blur of PowerPoint slides and pop quizzes on the periodic table. Leo wasn’t stupid. He was just… tired. Tired of working nights at his uncle’s auto shop, tired of falling asleep in third period, tired of watching the smart kids raise their hands like they were born knowing the difference between speed and velocity. grade 10 science module answer key
Then he saw the sticky note attached to the back of the folder. It wasn’t addressed to him, but it might as well have been. He stood there for a long time
The next day, he stayed after class.