Someone Like You Read Online Free

hasn’t spoken to me in a week.”
    The counselor’s eyes flared with anger. So did Coach Corelli’s when Matt talked to him about The Mayor. Matt hadn’t told them this, but seeing the two other adults’ anger at his father’s behavior made the sick feeling in his gut ease.
    “Did you try to talk to him about how he treats you? Like we discussed.”
    Shaking his head Matt averted his gaze.
    “Matt, it’s all right. You don’t have to be ashamed. We just have to work harder to get you comfortable enough to confront him.”
    Suddenly his eyes stung. Tears fell down his cheeks.
    “Why are you crying?”
    He couldn’t answer.
    “Matt, tell me.”
    “W-why are you and Coach so nice to me and he isn’t?”
    Rich threw down his pen, came to the edge of his seat and touched Matt’s arm. “Because you deserve it. Coach Corelli and I know that. And we care about you.”
    “You…you care about me. Honest?”
    “Yeah, Matt. Honest. This is your father’s problem, not yours. A lot of other people would care about you too, if you let them in.”
    He nodded, thinking of Mrs. Gorman. Maybe she could care about him.
    Okay, he told himself. He could get through one more day.
     

 
    Chapter 3
    The following Tuesday, Brie sat in her room before class began with Ian Lancaster, the Service Learning Coordinator for the school district. She liked the outgoing guy who’d been appointed to help the Dynamics of Citizenship classes, or DOC as the kids called them, meet their service-to-the-community requirements in order to graduate. “Thanks for coming in to today to get these projects going, Ian. I appreciate it.”
    “You’re welcome. I wish everybody in the school valued the program like you do. If it wasn’t for the state mandate, we wouldn’t be doing community outreach with the kids. To this degree, anyway.”
    Brie had heard the grumbling in the teachers’ lounge about the do-good activities that interfered with their real studies .
    “Have the kids chosen their area of interest?” he asked.
    “Most of them. They run the gamut of working in clothes closets to MADD’s DUI intervention to abstinence and hunting safety.” She thought about Matt Keller. “One boy chose domestic violence. He wants to work in the playroom at a shelter in Rochester.”
    “That’s terrific. The kids housed there need male role models.” 
    When the students filed in and got settled, Brie introduced Ian.
    His smile was genuine as he stood before the class. “Thanks for having me. And thanks for choosing your areas of interest so fast.”
    One girl, Betty, who Brie particularly liked, said, “As if we had a choice. Ms. G’s a tough taskmaster.”
    The class laughed.
    “Let’s go over the requirements.” Ian tapped his computer and an outline came up on the screen in the front of the room. “As I said, you’ve already done the first two—picking your area of interest and determining what help is needed.”
    There was good-natured grumbling all around.
    “Yeah, Ms. Gorman made us.”
    “We can’t slack off at all in here.”
    Ian continued, “Today and tomorrow each of you will meet with me individually while you formalize the bibliography for your research. I’ll be helping you put together a plan of action for implementing your volunteer work while Mrs. Gorman does the latter.
    “Next there’s reflection. I understand your teacher has journal assignments ready for you.”
    “Of course she does,” Betty commented again.
    Ian chuckled. “You’ll include how you felt volunteering, what you learned, how you helped the people at the specific place you worked.
     “And finally--this one is fun, guys--Celebration and Demonstration. Your other classmates and the school as a whole need to recognize how you’ve made a difference in the lives of others. You’ll be presenting your results to each other, the faculty and board members.”
    “Can we have a party when we’re done?” a boy asked.
    Brie smiled. “I think