The bell that signaled the end of lunch rang, and everyone gathered up their trays. Aishah’s food sat uneaten, though. “Not hungry?” he asked.

“Nah,” she said. “I’m too nervous. What if Mrs. Caroline doesn’t think this is good enough?”

“Oh, I really don’t think you have to worry about that,” he said. “Trust me. You’re fine.”

The two said goodbye to Taylor and Jackson, and as they walked to Mrs. Caroline’s class, Aishah told Héctor what she wanted to do with her art: draw comics.

“But not like superhero stuff,” she explained. “I have this idea of this older hijabi who lives in the forest and has for a long, long time, and she’s made friends with all the creatures who live there. And I just wanna draw, like . . . stories. Of how she survives.”

“Wow,” he said. “I would read that.”

“Really?” she said, raising a brow at him. “I never thought anyone else would find it interesting.”

“Well, I disagree—”

He didn’t get to finish. The door swung open so fast in front of them that Héctor actually yelped in fright.

There stood Mike, thankfully by himself, and the first thing he did was twist his face and imitate the sound Héctor had made.

Ugh, Héctor thought. I can’t even escape him in Mrs. Caroline’s class?

“What are you two doing here?” Mike sneered.

Aishah rolled her eyes. “Going to class.”

Suddenly, Mrs. Caroline appeared behind Mike. “Ah, welcome, Aishah, Héctor!” she said, and she seemed genuinely thrilled. “So lovely to see you, and I am so excited for what you will share with me today.”

Then she looked from Héctor to Mike. “Oh, Héctor! Have you met Mike? Mike is in my second period, but sometimes, he joins me at lunch to work on his technique.”

Héctor did his best not to let his face betray how he felt.

“He’s really turning out to be a talented artist,” she continued, oblivious to the rage pulsing through Héctor. “Maybe you two could learn something from one another?”

A mean, petty thought filled his head: Who CARES if Mike does art?

But he was smart enough not to say that aloud. He smiled at Mrs. Caroline and nodded. “Yeah, we’ve met.”

Mike brushed by Héctor, barely grazing his shoulder. “See you around, Heck-tor,” he said, and Héctor swore he could hear the tiniest bit of malice in Mike’s voice.

His heart was still thumping as he and Aishah took their seats. She tapped him on the shoulder while other kids came into the room. “You okay?” she asked.

“I’ll be fine,” he said. “He’s gone.”

“I can’t believe she asked you that!” Aishah whispered. “Like, she has no idea, but still.”