"Because you clearly didn't hear us the first several times." Goodnight lifted his eyebrows, but he sat back. "So take it as a lesson. Next time you're in over your head, you've got somewhere to go, people to help. And Billy will have quiet words with that sonnabitch and you won't have to skip his class just for peace of mind."

The time for that had passed, obviously, but that wasn't the point.

"You'll get through the summer, Neil. Failure is not the end of the road. Certainly not for you."