Almost as soon as they entered, the school Narc spotted them and made a beeline in their direction. He had bright blue eyes that were bird-like in the way they darted about unblinking. They held your attention because the rest of his face was just dirty teeth and a goatee. Sophia waited for him and folded her hands on top of her head like a runway strip awaiting her jet’s landing. Elle didn’t like him. She left to find a seat in the stands.

Sophia probably felt indebted to him because he let them off the hook last month when he had caught them cutting class. They had been out by the tree line bordering the school and goofing around. They dared each other to pee behind one of the eucalyptus trees. When they finally decided to squeeze through the chain link fence that officially meant you were “off campus,” somebody suddenly said, “Stop.” A blanket of leaves carpeted the ground and they didn’t even hear him approach. He could have been spying on them the entire time. They’d looked at each other freaked out. They said nothing until Sophia mouthed the word, “Shit.” But it was also Sophia who had the nerve to turn it on, who’d turned around and said in a super sweet voice, “We’re so sorry, pretty please, we promise not to do it again.”

He said, “Come with me,” and pulled out a set of keys from the front pocket of his baggy jeans. Elle had seen him lurking around before. He usually hung out by the lockers and often enough was checking out the freshman girls. He led them toward the parking lot and they followed him. It was the opposite direction from the principal’s office but Elle would have done anything to avoid getting written up. When they reached his black Impala, he popped the trunk and offered them beers. Elle wasn’t sure if it was a trick. She paused. Sophia on the other hand had jumped into the back seat looking utterly pleased. The Narc turned to Elle and said, “Riding shot gun?” He tried to look inviting but she could only see his sharp yellow incisor glinting in the sun.

Inside the car, Sophia leaned forward and whispered in Elle’s ear, “I can’t believe he didn’t write us up.” Sometimes, Sophia could be like a kid.

The Narc drove them off campus, up to a hillside where kids sometimes went to make out. It offered a view of the school and the city. They parked beneath an oak tree with a direct view of the school track. The Narc kept pitching the fallen oak balls against the trunk as if he was on a baseball mound. He said he almost made it pro. Then he made a noise by sucking air and spit through his molars. It was a sound filled with regret.