MEL “I accept your rejection,” Delilah whispered. She dropped her head, and her shoulders started to shake. Lucas awkwardly squeezed her shoulder like it would comfort her and then walked out of the room, leaving Delilah to cry alone. He hadn’t noticed me slip quietly into the room while working on his project. I swallowed the lump in my throat from my spot in the closet. I was grabbing some new paints to refill the ones at my station when I heard Lucas speak. I peeked out of the crack in the door and saw the whole thing. I stood frozen in the doorway to the supply closet, clutching paint to my chest. Thanks to Dad declaring it needed more time to heal, my arm was still in the sling, so I awkwardly held the bottles in one arm. The bell would ring in the next few minutes to signal every