By the time Bruno reached a subway platform where announcements kept cutting out, the day had already gone wrong in three small, fixable ways. Luis kept searching for a folded receipt, cheeks flushing. "I thought you’d understand," Bruno said. A folded receipt mattered: a community vote on closing the library. Between them, were competing for the same starting spot; they weren’t trusted each other in the middle of chaos anymore. Bruno had found a folded receipt earlier—wedged behind a chair—and could have said so right away. Pride stiffened their voice in Bruno's chest. Bruno almost pocketed a folded receipt to avoid attention, then changed course and put it on the table. Bruno felt their family’s expectations like hands at their shoulders, steering them. For the first time in weeks, Luis met Bruno’s eyes without flinching.