Page 19 of For Your Own Good

Then, a whisper in his ear.

“Wake up, Loser.”

His eyes fly open. Courtney is standing over him, smiling.

He’s in the library, after school, and he’d fallen asleep on top ofBleak House. He was up almost all night reading and still isn’t done.

“Hey, Nerd,” he says, lifting his head. “I nodded off.”

“I see that.” She sits down, her backpack hitting the floor with a thump. The tables around them are all empty. Zach checks his phone. It’s almost five o’clock.

“What are you doing here?” he says.

“Avoiding home.”

He nods. Gets it. “Your mom?”

“Always.”

“What now?” he asks, rubbing his eyes.

“She’s all bent about early admission. I swear, every day she finds a new way to torture me.” Courtney shakes her head as she checks her phone. “She’s sent seven texts since school got out. Three include the word ‘Yale.’ ”

Again, he nods. Courtney’s mom has been talking about Yale for years. As if her whole life is built around her daughter going to that school.

“You two look like you’re up to something.”

Mr.Maxwell, their math teacher, walks up to their table and smiles down at them. He looks more like a personal trainer than a teacher, the way he’s always flexing his muscles. Like now.

Zach points to his book. “Just studying.”

“Totally,” Courtney says.

Mr.Maxwell nods, and he keeps smiling. When no one else says anything, he finally walks away.

“That was weird,” Zach whispers.

“He can be creepy,” Courtney says. “I mean, notcreepylike a pervert, but like he just assumes you’re doing something wrong.”

“So judgy.”

“Yeah. I bet he was a bad kid and thinks we’re the same.”

Zach sighs and stretches his arms. “So much baggage. Teachers have no idea how hard they are to deal with.”

“Right?”

12

ZACH IS LATE.He was supposed to be at the memorial subcommittee meeting at 7p.m., but he got stuck in an argument with his dad about where he was going.

Yes, it’s school-related.

Yes, he swears it’s school-related. He’s one of the student representatives on the memorial committee, remember?

No, he won’t be late for curfew. Probably. Unless maybe if the meeting runs late or he decides to escape this life and drive up to Canada or something.

Finally, Dad let him go. By the time Zach arrives at the meeting, everyone else is there.