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“Here we go,” Mr. Finnegan said, consulting a list. “Mindy and Anthony, your article on the lack of access to clean water and how that holds women back impressed me deeply. I hope the student body gets as much out of it as I did.”

Anthony high-fived Mindy while grinning. When he looked over his shoulder, Omar gave him a long-distance elbow bump, which was eagerly returned, even though they were both just swinging their arms in the air.

“Interesting,” Mr. Finnegan said, before consulting his list again. “Theresa and Ghalen, your coverage of the LA Riots and the indictment of the police officers who assaulted Rodney King will make a fine addition to the paper and help keep the importance of this issue at the forefront. Excellent work. And finally, Ricky and Anthony, I’m impressed with how you broadened an article on NASA’s latest shuttle to include the civil frontiers that are simultaneously being explored. Well done, both of you.”

Anthony turned in his seat in time to see Omar rubbing Ricky’s mop of hair affectionately. The glasses were askew on Ricky’s head by the time he met Anthony’s gaze. They grinned at each other before facing the front again.

“Truth be told,” Mr. Finnegan was saying, “I would have gladly included all of your submissions, if we had enough room. Don’t get discouraged though. We have another seven issues yet to be published and will need many more articles. Which of course you’ll be writing plenty of. On that note, this month wewill focus on…” He stood and walked to the chalkboard, writing two words before reading them aloud, “the interview.”

The other students made happy noises. Probably for the same reason Anthony turned to Mindy and said, “Easy!”

“Very,” she replied.

“It’s more than just chatting with someone,” Mr. Finnegan said. “The key is asking therightquestions. We’ll begin with the shortest type of interview. One of the most enjoyable beats you can get on a paper is hitting the streets to find out what the average citizen thinks of a particular issue. I’m assigning each of you a partner. Together you’ll decide on a single question to ask your fellow students. Once you’ve decided on one, let me know and I’ll come around to approve it. Okay! Mindy, please switch places with Whitney.”

“She’s fun,” Mindy said while gathering her things. “You’ll like her.”

That was doubtful. Anthony just wanted to be paired up with his best friend. Especially now that they saw less of each other. Whitney came and sat next to him. She had perfectly straight blond hair, like a curtain that only her ears poked out of. Her mouth was always slightly ajar, giving the impression that she was perpetually in awe of the world around her.

“I haveno ideawhat we should ask,” she said before laughing.

“I’m sure we’ll figure it out,” Anthony said. He watched as everyone else was assigned a partner. Omar ended up with a gorgeous senior with great big boobs that Anthony never would have noticed if his best friend hadn’t mentioned them previously. Is that all it took to make a straight guy like you? It was enough to make him wish for a pair of his own. Adding credence to this theory, Omar flashed a shit-eating grin before turning to focus on his partner.

Anthony did the same. “Let’s ask people what they hate most about high school,” he grumbled.

“Oh my god, that would be so funny,” Whitney said before laughing. “Let’s do it!”

Yeah… why not? He felt less confident when Mr. Finnegan approached their desk. Especially when Whitney voiced his suggestion without any finesse.

“We wanna know what people hate about this place!” she said with a guffaw.

“Okay,” Mr. Finnegan said. “This is where phrasing your question becomes important. Do you mean the building itself?”

“The entire experience,” Anthony said. “Everyone says they hate high school. We want to give them the chance to articulate why.”

Whitney looked betrayed, like he’d completely ruined the joke.

“Excellent,” Mr. Finnegan said. “Try writing the question in as many variations as you can think of. For instance, you might ask what their least favorite aspect of school is, or what they would change if given the opportunity. Subtle nuances in phrasing can lead to big differences in the answers. Narrow it down to your five favorite versions, and we’ll talk about it when I make my next round.”

“I’ve got one,” Whitney said after he left. “What do you hate about high school so much that it literally makes you barf all over yourself?”

Anthony dutifully wrote this down. As far as he was concerned, they had a winner. Mr. Finnegan wasn’t quite as enthusiastic when they saw him again, but they got it figured out.

“Did you see who I was paired up with?” Omar asked after the bell had rung. “Or should I say, thepairI got paired up with?”

“You have a girlfriend,” Anthony replied, even though he despised the words.

“Sure, but I can still look.” Omar’s expression became concerned. “Can’t I?”

“You should ask Silvia about that and let me know how it goes. She’ll love it.” Anthony noticed that Mr. Finnegan was still at his desk and hesitated. “I’m kidding,” he added hurriedly. “Don’t say any of that to her. I’ll catch up with you later, okay?”

Omar nodded and disappeared out the classroom door. Anthony approached the teacher’s desk.

“Mr. Finnegan?”

“Yes! What can I do for you?”

Anthony swallowed. “Do you have to include my name with the articles that are getting published?”