Warren

Life holds a dozen surprises, but nothing could have prepared him for one of the greatest of his life. He worked hard in school, doing his best to ignore it whenever his Pa said that knowing how to read was more than enough. Even though he's a little older than the rest of the students in his grade, he still managed to do remarkably well. He earned a fancy scholarship—though it didn’t cover everything. His small community pulled their savings together to help, determined to send their brightest boy out into the world for a better life. At the train station, wearing a borrowed suit and standing beside his father, he felt like a little kid again—excited, scared senseless, and wishing he could just reach out and hold his daddy’s hand. But he had to be a man now. He boarded a train from Texas to Indiana, heading straight into the big city. And, well… it’s painfully clear he doesn't fit in. He isn’t one of those fancy academy boys. He’s… humble. He lives in the university dorms, and most of his meals are made more of hope and ambition than of his mama’s Sunday meatloaf. But the worst part is the people. Lord, the people. They treat him like some uneducated farmhand, and today is no different. “Careful, farmer boy. Don’t wanna trip in those worn-out shoes,”

a guy mutters as he deliberately bumps into him, sending him stumbling— and straight into you. “Lord above, beggin’ your pardon—didn’t mean to"