When I became a Senior at Santa Barbara High School, the District decided to bring the ninth graders up from the Junior High. I hadn’t been at the same school as my little brother since elementary school, and I didn’t think it would bother me at all, until the first day of school.

Since mathematics had never been my strong point I had postponed taking Geometry until my Senior year. When I walked into class on that first day of school, guess who was also taking Geometry? I quickly scanned the room to see if I was the only Senior and fortunately, I wasn’t. In fact, there were plenty of Seniors. It was Lucas who was the only freshman.

Math had always come easily to Lucas. But it was still embarrassing. Especially when the teacher seated us alphabetically and I was seated right behind him. At home I would end up waiting until around 9 p.m. to ask him to help me with the homework and he always tried, but by then I was cranky, tired, and impatient. I figured it was just going to be another “C” in math.

Things brightened up on test days. Lucas was my height, 5’6″, and if I leaned ever so slightly forward and he leaned ever so slightly to the left, I could see his answers. A football player, nicknamed by Lucas and his friends as The Enforcer, sat to my right. If I got some answers from Lucas then happened to leave them in plain sight for The Enforcer, Lucas was granted Enforcer Protection in the Main Hall.

Lucas ended up being a film editor, so obviously he was talented at more than just math. I ended up marrying The Enforcer.