The room instantly fell silent, and she pointed behind her without bothering to look. Dean ducked his head and clicked a few keys. The projector lit up with the first slide.

HERPES: Do you have it? One in four sexually active teens does.

I cringed at the picture that accompanied the headline. I understood her need to shock the room into attention—especially with the school year just starting, none of us actually wanted to be here—but the pictures were a little much. I glanced around the room, and it was clear she’d scarred half the audience while the other was ignoring her scare tactics by discreetly checking their cells.

Sinking back into the chair, I demanded the blueberry scone I’d had for breakfast to sit tight. A hard feat as slide after slide of the diseases that can occur with unprotected sex flashed across the screen. Not that Ms. Conner or Principal Tanner’s presentation taught us about protected sex.

“It’s not just intercourse, either,” Ms. Conner continued after the fifth slide on HPV popped up. “Most of these diseases can be contracted from oral sex as well.” She let out a deep breath, her arms behind her back. “The safest way to protect against this stuff?” she asked, scanning the faces that still paid her any attention.

Prophylactics.

Safe sex.

Communication.

I thought about raising my hand, but I didn’t want to steal her thunder. Especially if she was about to finally show a slide worth something—like how to get and properly use birth control.

“Condoms,” Chase, from the JV soccer team, mumbled from the center of the room. His buddies chuckled around him.

“No.” Ms. Conner fiddled with her note cards, her cheeks flushing. “The only surefire way to keep yourself healthy is to not have sex. That’s why here at Wilmont Academy we practice and preach abstinence.”

A few students groaned, and I rolled my eyes.

Sure, I wasn’t having sex, but almost all my friends were. And it didn’t mean that I wouldn’t do it someday if the perfect opportunity presented itself. Ms. Conner and the principal telling us not to have sex was about as helpful as saying don’t speed, don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t swear, don’t, don’t, don’t.

It didn’t matter that not everyone chose to do every item on the don’t list. There were people who did.

“Whoa,” Hannah said, gripping my elbow. “Are you all right?”

“What?” I whispered.

“You’re all red and glaring.”

I relaxed my tense muscles as Ms. Conner motioned for the next slide. Another wave of Dean’s magic fingers, and it came up.

“It’s just so dumb, you know? Acting like this will make everyone stop having sex.”

“Totally.”