Charles Benoit

Math. It__ your favorite subject. Which surprises you. Last year your teacher tried to convince you that you had a real __ptitude_ for math, but all you got in the end was a B minus. The truth is you weren__ even trying. But then you got low Cs and Ds in all your other classes and you weren__ trying there, either, so maybe you are good at math after all. You like it because either you__e right or you__e wrong. Not like social studies and definitely not like English, where you always have to explain your answers and support your opinions. With math it__ right or it__ wrong and you__e done with it. But even that__ changing, my teacher said now you have to explain how you solved the problem and support your answer, saying that having the right answer isn__ as important as explaining how you got it and bam, just like that, you hate math.

The teachers complain that the students today are all lazy, ignorant, and stupid. But the truth is that you're smarter than they are. You're not even old enough to drive and you already know that none of this matters.

Here are the Top Ten things that your parents say to you:-Is that all you're going to do all day, sit in front of the computer?-When I was your age I had two jobs.-Why don't you wear some clothes that fir for a change?-Turn it down. I can hear it all the way over here.-You're not eating that for dinner.-Did you do your homework?-Stop mumbling and speak up.-Now what did you do?-Because I said so.-No.

When did swearing become so easy? You still would never swear in front of your parents or most adults, but when you're with your friends it's like every fifth word. Why couldn't learning Spanish be that easy?

There's always a but. It's a magical word. You can say anything you want, go on for as long as you want, and then all you have to do is add the magic word and instantly everything you said is erased, turned meaningless, just like that.

The textbooks are dumbed down to the where your kid sister could probably read them, and the teacher go over and over and over the same stuff anyway, drilling it into your head so that they can ask you one hundred multiple-choice questions to get it all back out of you again.

You're surprised at all the blood.He looks over at you, eyes wide, mouth dropping open, his face almost as white as his shirt.He's surprised, too.

ThinkWhen did it go wrong?The break-in?No, before that.The party?That was part of it, but that wasn't when it started.Zack?Of course, yeah, it would be easy to say it was Zack. But that's not it, is it?Before Zack.Before Ryan. Before Max and Derrick or that whole thing with the wallet.Before Ashley.Before tenth grade even began.And you're thinking, this can't be it.