on the way to the fountain

i passed a young man sitting on the couch in the hallway
he sat with his head in his hands -- bent over into his lap
sobbing
i got my water from the fountain, but couldn’t leave without a word
are you all right? I asked stupidly -- genuinely
He said yes in that way that says
Maybe. Maybe I am, but I don’t know. Maybe I don’t know anything.
i recognized it from years of practice.
need anything?
a tissue?
i held up the water and indicated
perhaps some tea?
he followed me back to the office
all sniffles and wet eyes
i gave him a handful of napkins from someone else’s desk drawer
and we sat together and sipped the results of hot water and dried leaves
talked
Trevor
a nice kid having an incredibly bad couple of days
i slipped him the number to the counseling office
as he was standing in the doorway
saying unnecessary thanks and apologies
afterward i felt like crying
then didn’t

he came back a few minutes later
he’d forgotten to ask me my name