BOCA RATON, Fla. -- The smoke jolted him awake, the unmistakable smell wafting into the room where he slept with his two younger brothers and a niece.
Azeez Al-Shaair found flames engulfing the kitchen. The stove, left on accidentally, had started the blaze at his grandmother's house in Tampa, Florida. He ran back to get his brothers and his niece, and they watched the entire house burn down.
A 15-year-old high school sophomore with no future and no plan, Al-Shaair paid no mind to his heroic act. Instead, the constant misfortunes that beset his family played like a film reel stuck in place.