The next day Ricky was in study hall on time. Dave smiled as he saw him walking down the rows of tables.
“I made it.”
“Yeah you did. Let’s get started.”
Over the next few sessions, it became apparent to Dave that Ricky did have a disability. He had trouble with the simplest math processes, and story problems were completely beyond his comprehension. Dave was patient and supportive, but even his steady encouragement didn't seem to affect Ricky’s feeling of inferiority. The thing that irritated Dave the most wasn’t that Ricky had trouble with the math, but that he got so down on himself because of it.
On the other hand, during their breaks Ricky was clever, funny and had a wonderful grasp of people and their feelings. Dave liked this guy more and more everyday. Sometimes he would just si
