“Enjoying your lunch?” Mike sat down and squeezed in between Héctor and Jackson. “Maybe you’re missing a special ingredient.”

He grabbed Héctor’s lunch tray, and someone laughed behind Héctor. He was pretty sure it was Frank. He tensed up again, and braced himself for whatever was about to happen.

And what did happen . . . well, it was not what Héctor expected.

“Do it, Mike,” Carlos said, egging him on.

“Heck-tor, do you want the special ingredient?” Mike smiled, all teeth and no humor, and he leaned in closer. “Not everyone gets it.”

Héctor gulped. He just wanted this to be over.

But it wasn’t. And he also noticed something new: the entire lunchroom had fallen silent.

Héctor looked slowly behind him. Saw students at multiple tables—the sports kids, the cheerleaders, the band geeks—staring his way, all waiting for the inevitable.

His heart sank. Not just because of what was happening, but because of who he saw sitting with the meme kids:

Carmen.

She immediately twisted away when he spotted her.

“I asked you a question, man,” said Mike, and Héctor turned back around.

What else was there to do but play along at this point? So he shook his head. “Nah, I’m good,” he said.

“Are you sure about that?” Mike gestured to the tray. “One of a kind. I promise.”

“No thanks,” said Héctor. “It’s fine like it is.”

Héctor hated the words coming out of his mouth. Improvisation was his thing. So why was that the best he could come up with?

“That’s too bad.” Mike looked back on his two Minions. “Isn’t that too bad?”

“I guess Hector doesn’t want that special flavor,” said Frank, grinning ear to ear.

“You know what?” Mike stood up, then placed his hand on Héctor’s shoulder, as if he was a friend, as if he was about to impart some sort of wisdom. “You should get a sample. Free of charge.”

Please don’t, Héctor thought.

“Since I know you like that sort of thing.”

I’m sure I don’t.

“We’re friends, and this is what friends do, right?”

Most definitely not.

And then Mike spat up the biggest loogie Héctor had ever seen, and let it hang from his mouth as it dripped down. It came to rest all over Héctor’s pasta. Carlos and Frank were laughing so hard they were practically screaming, and it echoed even louder in the cafeteria because no one else was talking.

Héctor didn’t know why he gave into this impulse, but he turned sharply to look at Carmen.

Who was laughing.

“Enjoy, Hector,” Mike said, and Héctor’s name was nothing but a curse in his mouth.