“Hey, bro,” Alvin said as they entered the classroom. “Is it true?”

“What?” Simon asked, but he already knew what Alvin was referring to.

“You know, the rumor is you got pummeled by Ryan. Man, that guy never stops, and then some new chipmunk clocked him.”

“Alvin, it didn’t happen quite that way,” Simon said as they sat down.

“Well, what I heard is that you were unconscious most of the time so how would you know?”

Simon just turned away looking over at Jeanette who had a concerned look on her face. Great, he thought to himself. Even she felt sorry for him. Simon really couldn’t concentrate on the class and went more inside himself and didn’t even hear when the teacher called on him.

Alvin nudged him which brought him back to reality. “What?” he almost shouted. Then he saw the teacher standing over him. “Would you know the answer to the question,” the teacher asked him.

“What question?” Simon asked dumbfounded.

“In the desert regions what is mainly used as a water substitute?”

“Salt,” Simon said quickly feeling embarrassed for letting his mind wander.

He was relieved when the bell rang signifying the end of class. He was about to walk out of the room when the teacher called him back. “Mister Seville, may I see you for a moment. Alvin, who was standing next to him, thought for a moment the teacher was speaking to him. “Simon Seville,” the teacher clarified.

Simon looked over at Alvin and said, “I’ll catch up.”

“Whatever,” Alvin said and walked down the hall.

Simon walked over and hopped on the teacher’s desk. “You wanted to speak with me.”

“Yes, Simon,” he said. “I was told by Doctor Ruben that you were one of the best students in the school, so I was very excited to have you in my class, but…” he hesitated for a moment. “I expect all my students, the ones with the highest marks to the lowest, to pay attention, so if this class bores you…”

“No, no,” Simon said, feeling like he had offended him. “I’m sorry if I seemed distracted, but I just had something else on my mind.”