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He waited for lunch to arrive, barely staying awake for his next class and giving up entirely for the one after. None of the teachers mentioned his absence at all, but he supposed he should have expected that, given how overcrowded each class was. They surely had more important things to worry about than the whereabouts of a single student.

When lunch arrived, he found himself seated at the table with everyone, receiving their questions and intrigued faces. After all that had happened to him, he had to remind himself of their names. Nathan, Janine, Gregory, and then of course Sheryl and Micah.

“...I got a job in private security,” Hector explained.

‘Really? I was guessing you’d go with metalworking.’

“Security?” said Sheryl. “You mean like a bodyguard?”

“Kinda, yeah...”

“I didn’t think people under eighteen could get work like that,” said Micah.

‘Oho. What now, genius?’

“It’s... an unusual arrangement, um... just... It’s difficult to explain.”

‘What a cop-out! Boooo!’

“What do you mean ‘unusual’?” Gregory asked.

‘Ha!’

Hector looked between everyone. “Um. Well, uh. This wealthy guy... he hired me. D-don’t ask me why. I don’t really know. But um. It’s pretty rewarding work. I mean, I enjoy it.”

‘Wow, Hector.’

“There’s just one problem,” Hector added. “My boss. He’s kind of a jackass.”

‘Oh, you dick.’

Micah’s brow rose. “Has your boss been making you miss school? That’s not legal, is it?”

“N-no, I’ve been choosing to miss school...”

“That’s no good!” said Sheryl. “You shouldn’t skip so much. What if you aren’t able to graduate?”

Hector frowned. “Ah, uh... I-I think that ship may’ve already sailed, actually...”

Her eyes bulged. “What?! You’re kidding!”

Hector flushed with shame and looked down at his food. It was some kind of meat-like blob covered in sauce, and the sight of it didn’t do much to make him feel better.

“Do you need a tutor?” Micah asked.

“Yeah, do you need a tutor?” Sheryl echoed.

“Um, I, ah...”

‘Uh-oh. Where is this going?’