On the cusp of graduation, this eighth grade status brings some inescapable realities. Gabe, along with all of the other graduating students, must complete fifteen hours of community service. Thinking his talents would be best used in service to others academically, he picks tutoring. But when he finds out he will be working with a student who has a learning disability, things become a bit more complicated than expected.

At home, an envelope with an unfilled application to Carolina Science and Math High School is shoved in the bottom of his closet. With the deadline quickly approaching, Gabe is being pressured by his parents, grandma, and the memory of his dead grandpa to make a decision of whether or not to apply. He loves science, but is he willing to leave his friends behind to go there next year? Leave Maya? At least Gabe can still turn to St. Jude, the patron saint of lost causes, to help him along the way...