The Boy at the Back of the Class

Over the next few days at school, Alexa winks at Ahmet as often as she can, which gets his attention. She stops winking so much, though, when Michael tells her it looks as if there’s something wrong with her eyes. Meanwhile, Alexa’s class starts a new project: each student will grow their own plant in a small pot, and whoever’s plant grows the most will win a prize. Alexa hopes to win the prize herself, but she also wants Ahmet to win.

Alexa starts to worry about Brendan the Bully, one of her classmates that beats up kids who are smaller than him or who do better in school than him. Even though Brendan picks on other students, he doesn’t always get caught or fairly punished for being mean because some teachers like him. Alexa fears that Brendan will start bullying Ahmet, especially after she sees Brendan watching Ahmet with narrowed eyes.

On the playground, more rumors spread about Ahmet, who continues to stay inside during breaks and recess. Some kids believe Ahmet is dangerous, while others think he has a “super-contagious disease.” A third group says that Ahmet comes from a very wealthy family and is attending school undercover, so he won’t get kidnapped. To Alexa, only this last rumor seems likely to be true, and she wonders if she and her friends should become Ahmet’s bodyguards.

Since Alexa can’t find Ahmet during breaks or talk to him during class time, she and her friends try following Ahmet during recess to figure out where he disappears to. However, Mrs. Khan catches them and explains that Ahmet needs to be in “Seclusion.” She says it’s “for his own good.” Alexa and her friends promise Mrs. Khan not to pry into Ahmet’s situation, but they’re confused about what “Seclusion” means.