The same students who had laughed earlier now approached her with hesitant expressions.
One girl admitted that she had started recording because she thought the cardboard boy was part of a prank.
“I didn’t know about your brother,” she said.
Emma looked at her.
“I understand.”
“I’m really sorry.”
“Thank you.”
Another student remembered Felix helping him with algebra during their first year.
“He explained everything like a comedian,” the boy said. “I never knew whether I was learning math or watching a show.”
Emma laughed.
“That sounds exactly like him.”
Soon, people were telling stories.
Someone remembered Felix’s drawings. Someone else recalled the time he convinced a teacher that his missing homework had been stolen by a highly organized squirrel.
“He actually made the teacher check the classroom windows,” Daniel said.
Emma laughed so hard she had to hold the cardboard figure steady.
For several minutes, the gym was filled with memories of Felix that had nothing to do with his illness or his death.
