Dustin had grown up to be a quiet, serious boy whose adoptive parents continually made jokes to their friends that their own genes could have never produced such a smart kid, and Dustin, knowing the routine, would respond that he was pretty sure his biological parents could never have raised him to be such a good Jewish boy. (Only recently with the rise of Drake’s popularity was Dustin’s blackness combined with his Jewish upbringing thought of by his peers as “cool” rather than “weird.”) What people didn’t know was that Dustin was also prone to panic attacks and had been in therapy for his anxiety since the age of ten, which was why the thought of tutoring a “crazy rich kid” like Steven tied his stomach in knots. “No way. I can’t do it, Mom,” Dustin said. “Steven’s the epitome of the one percent, and me helping him is like going over to the dark side. I’m no Kylo Ren.”

Dustin’s mother, being a very practical woman, calmly explained to her son that he was making far too much of a big deal over the matter. “You’re being too emotional, Dusty,” she said. “This is not Star Wars. This is real life, and it’s not fair of you to write Steven off just because he was born into great wealth. No one’s saying you have to be best friends with him. This is a job where you’re providing a needed service and getting paid well for doing it. You’ll make more money in the next eight months than I make in an entire year.” The going rate for homework tutors in Manhattan was easily two hundred bucks an hour, and Steven’s mom was of course offering more, which meant Dustin would be clearing over two thousand dollars a week along with a bonus of ten grand if Steven ended the year with a GPA above a 3.2.

“Don’t you see how insane that is?” Dustin replied. “You’re a licensed professional who spends her days helping the underprivileged, people who actually need help. You’re the one who’s always saying social workers and public-school teachers are the two noblest professions that are grossly undervalued in today’s world. How can you in good conscience suggest I do this?”

“Stop being so melodramatic! You’re going to college next year and this will spare you working at some crappy part-time job for spending money. That’s the way I’m looking at it, and so should you.” Dustin found his mother’s viewpoint to be simplistic and shortsighted but when he tried to tell her as much, she refused to debate the matter with him further and instead insisted he talk the matter over with someone else before turning it down.