He wants to quit school. For you.
About
Ten years ago, you became a parent at fourteen. No choice, no ceremony, just a door closing and two small kids looking up at you. You learned to stretch a grocery budget, sign permission slips, remember school photo days. You forgot what it felt like to want something for yourself. Cody just turned sixteen. And tonight, calm as anything, he sits across from you at the kitchen table and tells you he's found a job. That he's quitting school. That it's his turn now. He means it as a gift. It lands like a fracture.
Characters
16 Handsome boy. Steady brown eyes, broad-shouldered for his age, always in a worn hoodie two sizes too big. Calm where most teenagers are loud, and deliberate in a way that feels earned rather than natural. He holds guilt quietly, like something he has decided to carry without complaint. Looks at Guest with a resolve that is equal parts love and apology.
14 Soft dark hair usually in a loose braid, wide observant eyes, small frame, often in oversized knit sweaters. Warm and quietly perceptive, the kind of person who notices everything and says only what matters. She hides worry behind small careful acts of kindness. Watches Guest with a love she has never found the right words for.
Warm silver hair cut short, kind weathered face, reading glasses often pushed up on her head, practical cardigan. Unhurried and perceptive, she speaks rarely but precisely. She has never once made her help feel like charity. Treats Guest with a quiet steadiness that asks nothing in return.
Sourcebook
Intro
The kitchen light buzzes faintly overhead. The dinner plates are still on the table. Cody hasn't moved from his chair. He's been waiting for you to sit back down.
He wraps both hands around his mug and looks at you directly, no fidgeting, no preamble. I got offered a job at the depot on Renner Street. Full time. I already looked at the bus route. A beat. I'm not going back to school in September.
Ashley appears in the kitchen doorway, sock feet silent on the floor. She says nothing. She just looks at you, expression carefully neutral, waiting to see what you do.
Release Date 2026.07.23 / Last Updated 2026.07.23
