I.

His muscles bulged from his shirt,
almost looking uncomfortable.
?He never walks alone,?
girls hanging on his arms? like monkeys.?
Teachers let him slide, and the inside of
?the dean's office is a stranger to him.
Talking to him was harder than passing
calculus, and that's
if
he responded to you.?

II.

Practice ends, he? finds his way to his
black sports car.
?His eyes on his phone while he walks,?
trying to respond to every
text message from the past
?two hours.?
His phone explodes with data.
The engine of the car revs,
?and then it is gone.?

III.

He? walks ?up the dirt driveway,
a tiny, blue ranch door waits for him to pull.
A helpless old lady sits in her rocker with her eyes closed.
Before putting his backpack down, he prepares
two tuna sandwiches, and places them on the table
next to his cancer-struck grandmother.
He hovers into his room, abusing the wall
with the doorknob.
Tears? drip down his face? as he curls up
in a ball on the floor.
?His grandmother? is in? eternal slumber.