[Was his sister practicing how she might thank everyone, once things got going? No… she was genuinely thanking him, which made the tips of his ears burn. Even if he could feel the conflict in him.

Did he have any right to be here?

The teen did appreciate the fact that his sister hadn’t tried scaring the stuffing out of him unprepared. He tapped his pen against the notebook page.

If… if he wasn’t supposed to focus too hard on his task, what was he doing here? A task made it easier to ignore where he was, the implications of this meeting, the fact that he might have to speak…

It gave him purpose. Without that, he felt a bit lost… which showed on his face.]