Benji waved a hand. “Jake, maybe rather than cause a scene, you could try to get along with people for once.”

He watched Laura for her reaction, as if her approval of his statement mattered, and then dropped his gaze sadly as she fell into Chad’s arms.

Over the weekend it was hard to do anything, but I also couldn’t sleep. I deserved a nap after cleaning our entire house. Mom didn’t notice a thing had changed when she returned.

Normally, I try to stay awake at school, except in psych, which is a great place to doze off. Mr. Morrison plays documentaries every day to get out of teaching, so I take a snooze.

My head is fully in the notebook, my eyes almost closed, when a voice jolts me awake.

“S’cuse me.”

I suck in my drool and yank my head off my desk. The cold flash from the documentary blinks on me and frames the outline of the person who’s spoken. He’s standing in the aisle in a patient way. It’s not Mr. Morrison—it’s a student.

“Just . . . try’na get by.”

“Oh.” I take my book bag from the aisle and put it under my desk.

It’s still dark, but I could swear it’s another Black boy who’s taking the seat behind me.

Another one of us at St. Clair?

“Thanks,” he whispers into my shoulder.

I can’t tell from his voice, and it would be awkward to turn around. Part of me wants to look back and shake his hand. Another part of me is on the defense . . . What if he’s one of those Black kids who hates other Black kids and is an asshole to me? That’s the last thing I need in my life right now.

Grady ambushes me in the bathroom after class when I’m taking a piss.

“Dude, what the hell happened?” He’s angry for some reason, and one of his elbows is resting on the flush valve of the next urinal.

“Grady . . . please. That’s so unsanitary.”

“I texted you so much, and you just ghosted me, man! Why?”

“Sorry, I was asleep.” And dealing with more pressing matters than that stupid party.

“Asleep? We agreed to do the party. And you fell asleep?” His face is tomato red as he glares at me, and it looks like tears might spill out of his beady eyes—some weird combination of anger and sadness. “So I got a ride all the way out there and just had to go home thirty minutes later because your brother doesn’t fucking know me?”

“I never agreed to anything, Grady—”

“That’s not fair, bro! This was my chance!”

“Your chance for what? To be friends with my brother?” I zip up my pants and walk around him to the sinks. “I fell asleep. I got tired from that alcohol you gave me. Sorry.”