The dishwashing station faces a small window that looks out onto the parking lot. While he works, Darius watches people come and go. Families heading to school and work. Construction crews grabbing coffee before job sites. Business people in suits talking on phones. All of them moving through lives he can only imagine.<\/p>\n
At 7:15, his shift ends. Time for the real challenge: school.<\/p>\n
Roosevelt High School squats like a tired brick building on the east side of town. The building needs paint. The computers are ancient, and half the lockers don\u2019t work. But inside these walls, Darius transforms. Here, he\u2019s not the kid who washes dishes. He\u2019s the kid with straight A\u2019s who tutors other students during lunch.<\/p>\n
Mrs. Patterson, his English teacher, notices him first. \u201cDarius, you have a gift with words,\u201d she tells him one afternoon. \u201cHave you thought about college?\u201d<\/p>\n
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