I wanted school to be a place where his everyday problems could stay everyday problems.

That night, he carried his old phone into the kitchen and asked if I would help him fix the spelling in one of his notes.

We sat together over the word “frightened.” He had spelled it with three extra letters.

“You still know what I mean, though,” he said.

“I sure do, buddy.”

“Even if I spell it the wrong way?”

“Even then, buddy.”