Page 19 of Christmas Criminal

Robbie shrugs. "As an objective third-party observer, I would say that a kid in Snow Falls who is definitely not me would probably egg his own house."

I crinkle my eyebrows. Noelle glances at me again. "Why?"

"Because his mom is an asshole who can't even show up to the principal's office when he was waiting for hours to go home and he had to call one of his friends to pick him up instead because by the time everyone realized she wasn't coming, the busses had already left."

I bite my lip.Yeah, she's an asshole.

"Wow, she reallyisan asshole."

"I agree with the sentiment," I say. "But can we watch the language?"

Noelle turns to me. "What the hell is the matter with you?"

"I'm a teacher. I literallyhaveto give a detention if I hear cursing on school grounds."

She shakes her head and glances over her shoulder. "We're not on school grounds anymore. And is 'asshole' even really a curse? I mean, it's not like he called her a fuck-face or something."

I run my hand over my face. "Noelle. Seriously?"

"What are you going to do, give me detention?"

The dare in her voice has a slew of unsavory thoughts running through my mind.

"So your mom is an asshole," Noelle says, turning back to Robbie. "I'm sorry to hear that."

He shrugs. "I'm used to it at this point. I'm just counting down the days until I graduate so I can get out of this stupid town."

She nods. "I hear you. That's what I did. My sister went to college in the city and I followed her. Got my GED and went right to college."

He blinks, quiet for a moment. "How do you get your GED?"

"It's just a test. I think you might be able to take it online now and you can get a diploma from the state."

Goddamnit, Noelle.

"But it's really not the same as getting a high school diploma," I say. "You should stick it out, Robbie."

He nods, seemingly absorbing this.

"I did fine," Noelle insists. "I was able to take classes at the community college and roll them into my degree when I started at Temple."

"That's a different situation," I say, trying desperately to find a middle ground here. "Stay in school, Robbie. You've only got a few months left. I know it sucks now, but it'll be worth it in the end, to graduate with your class and have that diploma that youdeserve."

He nods, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"There's nothing wrong with knowing your options," Noelle says, as we cross the street to the town square.

"Absolutely nothing wrong with knowing your options, but without a reason to leave high school early, I don't think it's the right way to go. If you have college or technical training for a job, that might be a different story. But don't leave just because you don't like school."

He shrugs noncommittally as we join the group of volunteers congregating by the pagoda. "I don't know what I'm going to do yet," he says.

An irrational discomfort sits in my gut.

Theonlything I want right now is for Robbie to say he'll stay in school.

At the front of the group are a few people dressed in neon orange shirts who are picking off small groups and leading them to different areas around the town square. There are a number of groups ahead of us, chatting casually as they wait their turn.

"Hey Robbie, do you mind checking us in when the volunteers get to us?" I ask.

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