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Chapters (52)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Chapter One
  4. Chapter Two
  5. Chapter Three
  6. Chapter Four
  7. Chapter Five
  8. Chapter Six
  9. Chapter Seven
  10. Chapter Eight
  11. Chapter Nine
  12. Chapter Ten
  13. Chapter Eleven
  14. Chapter Twelve
  15. Chapter Thirteen
  16. Chapter Fourteen
  17. Chapter Fifteen
  18. Chapter Sixteen
  19. Chapter Seventeen
  20. Chapter Eighteen
  21. Chapter Nineteen
  22. Chapter Twenty
  23. Chapter Twenty-One
  24. Chapter Twenty-Two
  25. Chapter Twenty-Three
  26. Chapter Twenty-Four
  27. Chapter Twenty-Five
  28. Chapter Twenty-Six
  29. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  30. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  31. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  32. Chapter Thirty
  33. Chapter Thirty-One
  34. Chapter Thirty-Two
  35. Chapter Thirty-Three
  36. Chapter Thirty-Four
  37. Chapter Thirty-Five
  38. Chapter Thirty-Six
  39. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  40. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  41. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  42. Chapter Forty
  43. Chapter Forty-One
  44. Chapter Forty-Two
  45. Chapter Forty-Three
  46. Chapter Forty-Four
  47. Chapter Forty-Five
  48. Chapter Forty-Six
  49. Epilogue
  50. Acknowledgments
  51. About the Author
  52. About the Publisher

“He was doing it the whole time,” said Carlos, who had stood up. “And I know because . . . because I was right there with him.”

His head dropped down. “I’m sorry, too,” he added. “I didn’t want Mike to pick on me and my dad anymore, so I joined him.” Carlos’s voice broke on the last word. He looked back up at the stage. “Ms. Heath, Héctor isn’t lying. This has been going on as long as I’ve been here.”

Héctor’s eyes brimmed with tears. Carlos had finally thrown himself under the bus, rather than someone else.

Mr. Giles turned back to Héctor. “I can’t apologize enough for what happened to you. If what I heard was any sort of indication . . .” He shuddered. “That behavior is not tolerated here at Orangevale Middle School.”

He addressed his final words to Ms. Heath. “You will meet me after school,” he said. “We’re not finished either.”

Mr. Giles waved at Frank and Mike, who trudged off like wounded puppies. He picked up Carlos on the way, and Ms. Heath followed all of them. She did not look back at Héctor, though, and he couldn’t ignore his lingering disappointment. That’s it? he thought. Ms. Heath apparently had no other explanation for why she’d done what she did, and for some reason, that stung.

But there was no time to consider it. Héctor stood on stage alone, and there was a horribly awkward silence in the auditorium. The thrill of getting to expose Mike was wearing off and . . . well, who was he now?

He had no idea what to do next. He limped to the edge of the stage in that silence but froze when he heard the clapping.

It was slow at first, and when Héctor looked out into the crowd, he saw that Aishah was standing, pride on her face. Then Jackson rose quickly and did the same. It spread. The applause was scattered, then haphazard, then thunderous.

Mrs. Caroline drifted down one of the aisles until she was at the edge of the stage, and she reached an arm out. Her dress was particularly colorful that day, too. It looked as if flowers had bloomed all along her body, growing forth from her dark skin and illuminating her presence.

She smiled at Héctor.

“Take a bow, Héctor Muñoz,” she said over the applause. “You’ve earned it.”

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Chapter Forty-Six