“Dream away,” Lazy-Eye Matthew says to Claire Naidoo. “He’d rather unzip my pants than pull down your panties! You’ve got the wrong equipment.”

There are boys who prefer boys, but the idea that Gordon Number One is one of them shocks me. What a waste. And it’s wrong. The Bible says so.

“Sour grapes,” Lottie snorts at Matthew. “When Gordon Number One jumps out the window at night, it’s not you he goes to see.”

I suck in a breath. How does Lottie know where Gordon Number One goes after lights-out? She snuck out of our room to buy the slime medicine for my shoulder, but maybe she did other things at the same time. Delia raises an eyebrow and throws me a smug look that says, I told you that Lottie was a rough-necked slut like her mother, and you didn’t believe me!

I blush for Lottie, who doesn’t understand the right way to behave. Mother taught me the proper rules to follow. Keep yourself tidy, and if you can’t keep yourself tidy, keep what you do secret. Don’t talk about creeping around after dark in front of a whole class of boys . . . That’s the same as giving out invitations. The rules are different for boys, but still, Lottie has to learn to be more careful with her words.

Miss December stops at the head of the line, and Gordon Number One takes her books into the classroom. Darnell strides after Gordon, still caught up in his copycat game. Lottie grabs Darnell by the shoulders and spins him around to face a classroom on the opposite side of the lawn.

“You have Health and Hygiene with Mrs. Brown, remember?” she says. “If you’re late, there’ll be trouble, so go quick.”

Darnell hesitates, and for a moment I’m scared that he’ll scream, No, no, no, the way he did outside of chapel. Not that I’d blame him for screaming. Mrs. Brown, the white American missionary who teaches Health and Hygiene, smells of talcum powder and sweat, and ends each lesson with the same piece of advice: Don’t forget to wash down there, boys and girls.

Lottie gives Darnell a soft push in the right direction.

“Okay, Lo-Lo.” Darnell throws her a sullen look and drags his feet toward Health and Hygiene. Lo-Lo. He has a pet name for Lottie? It makes sense when I realize that Lottie is the only person I know who treats him like a normal person instead of a bad-luck charm.

Darnell gets close to the classroom, and then he turns and sprints into the trees. He doesn’t look back. Not once.

“Oh well.” Lottie laughs. “He almost made it.”