His expression doesn’t change. “You’re a senior, Salazar. If you got lost, I’ll take you to B hall where the special needs classes are held. Is that where you want to go?”

“No.”

“That’s what I thought.” He gestures for me to follow him to the front office. I’m instructed to sit and wait until Principal Finnigan can be informed of my student delinquency. What a joke.

Officer Jim stands by the secretary’s desk with a puffed-up chest and an ego that matches the size of his beer belly.

“Victor Salazar, Dr. Finnigan will see you now,” the secretary says.

I walk into Finnigan’s office, and she looks up from her desk. She’s wearing a man’s suit and has her brown hair cut short. I think she’s trying too hard to be seen as a hardass. Or a dude. Or both.

“Mr. Salazar, sit down,” she orders. When I do, she tents her hands together and sighs. “You’re starting the year off on the wrong foot. Ditching class is unacceptable.”

“I wasn’t ditchin’ class, Doc.”

“You were in the hallway without a pass, Victor. During first period.” She leans forward as if she’s about to tell me something really important. “Let’s not beat around the bush. You have a history of ditching, young man. You’re more than aware that I don’t tolerate delinquency or tardiness. You’re a football player, Victor. And a senior. You need to start out the year on the right foot this time… or I will have Coach Dieter kick you off that team. Maybe that’ll be your wakeup call.”

No, way. I can’t let that happen. Football is everything to me. I’m used to coming up with excuses to get out of trouble. It’s like a game, one that I’d like to win more often than I lose.

“Listen, Doc,” I say. “I was helpin’ a lost freshman find her class and that’s why I was late. To be honest, I should be given one of those Good Citizen or Random Acts of Kindness awards instead of sittin’ here in trouble.”

I can tell she’s trying to hide a grin. “A Good Citizen award?”

I give her an innocent nod. “Do you really think I’d ditch class on the first day?”

“Don’t make me answer that question.” She leans back in her chair, her lecture obviously over. “Today I’ll be nice and give you a warning. And another thing, call me Dr. Finnigan or Principal Finnigan… not Doc.” She picks up the phone and tells the secretary to let Officer Jim back in her office. “Please escort Mr. Salazar to his first-period class,” she tells him. “And Victor… as much as I enjoy our conversations I’d rather they were focused on collegiate goals instead of school infractions.”

Collegiate goals? That’s a joke.

I don’t say anything. I figure I can let the doc live in la-la land for at least a few more days.

Chapter Four

MONIKA

When Mr. Miller, our sociology teacher, takes attendance, he calls out Victor Salazar’s name three times before marking him absent in his notebook.

“Has anyone seen Mr. Salazar this morning?”

A couple of people raise their hand. “I saw him by his locker,” one guy says.

Another girl says she heard he was in a fight in front of the school, and another says she saw him in the hallway right before class.

Cassidy Richards is sitting in the front row. When she hears Mr. Miller call out Vic’s name, she sneers and mumbles something about him being a jerk.

Mr. Miller starts going over the syllabus when the door opens and Vic walks in the room. Officer Jim, the guy who patrols the halls at Fremont, walks in behind Vic. The security guard briefly talks to Mr. Miller before leaving.

“Nice of you to join us, Mr. Salazar.”

“Thanks,” Vic mumbles, obviously hating that he’s the center of attention.

“Take a seat up front,” the teacher orders when Vic starts walking to the back of the room.

Vic turns around and glances at the empty seat next to Cassidy. “I get claustrophobic up front,” he says in a lazy drawl.

“Too bad.” Mr. Miller points to the empty seat in the front row. “Obviously I need to keep an eye on you.”

Vic reluctantly slides into the first seat up front, giving a compulsory nod to Cassidy as he sits next to her.

For the rest of class, Mr. Miller explains that sociology is the study of people in groups.

“How we react individually is drastically different than how we act with our peers and community. We conform to social norms whether we realize it or not,” he says. “And when we break social norms or go outside what is expected socially, what do you think happens?”