They sat there for a while, Sophie chatting about music class and her friends, Emily listening like it was a broadcast from another planet.
“Where do you live?” Sophie asked eventually.
Emily looked away. “Around. Different places. Depends on the night.”
“You mean… you don’t have a house?”
Before Emily could answer, heavy footsteps crunched on the gravel. A woman in a staff uniform rounded the corner, her face hardening when she saw Emily.
“Hey! You there! How did you get in?” The woman marched over. Emily scrambled to stand, ready to bolt, but Sophie grabbed her hand.
“She’s my friend, Ms. Peterson!” Sophie cried. “She was helping me with math.”
Ms. Peterson looked Emily up and down, noting the poverty etched into her skin. “This is a private campus. Students only,” she said, her voice stern. “Come with me to the principal’s office, young lady.”
Panic seized Emily’s chest. The principal meant authority, and authority meant police.
“Please, she was just helping!” Sophie pleaded.
“Is there a problem here?” A deep, calm voice interrupted them.
A tall man in a tailored dark suit approached. He had brown hair and the same blue eyes as Sophie.
“Mr. Miller,” Ms. Peterson said, straightening up. “I found this trespasser with Sophie. She entered without authorization.”
“Daddy!” Sophie released Emily’s hand to hug the man’s leg. “This is my new friend, Emily. She’s super smart. She taught me how to do the sums on my fingers!”
David Miller looked down at Emily. His gaze took in the matted hair, the dirt-streaked face, and the bare feet. But unlike most adults, his eyes didn’t hold disgust—only a profound, gentle curiosity.
“Is that so?” he asked, crouching down to eye level. “It’s wonderful that you found such a good tutor, Sophie.”
“Mr. Miller, protocol requires we call security and—”
“It’s fine, Ms. Peterson,” David said, standing up with a polite but firm smile. “I’ll handle it. I’ll take full responsibility.”
The woman hesitated, then nodded and walked away, casting a final suspicious glance at Emily. David turned back to the trembling girl. He extended a hand.
“So, you’re the famous Emily. I’m David, Sophie’s dad. Thank you for helping her.”
Emily stared at the hand, then shook it briefly. “It was nothing,” she mumbled.
“Daddy, can we take Emily for a snack?” Sophie asked. “Please? She helped me so much.”
David glanced at his watch, then at Emily. Her stomach chose that exact moment to emit a loud, undeniable growl.
“You know what? That’s a fantastic idea,” David smiled. “Sophie, is the homework done?”
“Yes! Emily taught me everything.”
“Then let’s go. I know a great diner nearby.”
Emily stood frozen. “I… I can leave. I don’t want to cause trouble.”
“What trouble?” David asked gently. “You helped my daughter. A snack is the least I can do. Come on.”
Sophie grabbed her hand again, and Emily found herself walking out through the main gate, past the confused security guard who opened it at David’s nod.
The diner was a burst of neon and chrome, smelling of frying grease and sugar. Emily’s eyes went wide. David ushered them into a red booth near the window. When the waitress arrived, Sophie ordered for them.
“Two burgers, fries, and chocolate milkshakes!”
“And for you?” the waitress asked Emily.
“The same,” David said softly. “Unless you want something else?”
Emily shook her head, overwhelmed. When the food arrived—a burger the size of her face and a milkshake towering with whipped cream—she hesitated.
“Go ahead,” David encouraged.
She took a bite. The flavor was an explosion of salt and savory meat. She made a small noise of pure delight.
“So, Emily,” David said as they ate. “Sophie says you learned math on your own. How?”
“I find books people throw away,” she said between bites. “I read them under the streetlights.”
“And your parents?”
Emily paused. “My mom died. Eight months ago.”
The table went quiet. “I’m so sorry,” David said, his voice thick with emotion. “And your father?”
“Never met him.”
“So… who takes care of you?”
“I do,” Emily said simply. “I live on the street.”…
