It made me feel that I wasn’t as stupid as I thought I was. The trick was simple. I wanted to pass so I studied. I studied hard, despite all the other upheaval and distractions in my life. I wanted it that bad. Everything in my life had changed. I had changed. I would own my own house and I’d have my own car. So I worked at it. I studied. Maybe if I had applied those skills to school, I would have done better all along and never been left back. When I came home and told my mom, she hugged me. “I guess you really are growing up now, aren’t you?” It seemed like a silly thing to say but I knew what she meant. “Dad still mad about the car I bought?” “A little. Are you still angry at us for wanting to move?” “A little. But I think it’s my time to be on my own. I’ll stay in the apartment until you’re all packed and gone and then move back here.” “Why don’t you stay here with us until the move?”
