"Jason? Could we have a little chat?" Ms. Wolfe asked him during lunch as he ate noisily. She tried her hardest through her posture and expression to convey this wasn't premeditated, although of course it was. A new student in one of Jason's classes had complained that he patted her head as a form of greeting and did not quite buy the argument of historical precedent; she complained to her teacher, who thought it the right thing to do to tell Ms. Wolfe, and from there Ms. Wolfe thought she had better show a little leadership and take care of the problem. Jason felt his heart drop and his skin turn icy, and he knew his time was limited. He considered making a run for it—Ms. Wolfe was wearing high heels, she stood no chance—but that wouldn't be proper. He didn't know for certain he was in trouble, and in any case, he thought it best to face death with dignity.

Ms. Wolfe escorted Jason to Mr. Kurtz's door and told him to wait outside for a few minutes; she shut the door, and Jason tried his best to eavesdrop through the wall.

"So, Mr. Kurtz, this is about Jason. You know what I mean."

"What will the outcome be? A slap on the wrist or a disciplinary hearing?"

"What do you mean, Mr. Kurtz? We can't possibly decide beforehand."

"But he's a good kid, very well-behaved, and with this meeting being so impromptu we have had no time to build a case against him. So I do think whatever's the fastest outcome that gets us all back to lunch and ensures we don't have this happen again will be ideal."

"This is a serious matter, Patrick, not a game. If you were ever in my position you'd understand."

"It's just a bit of locker room talk—what's the harm? But anyway, bring him in." Ms. Wolfe knew that Jason was outside and could overhear, so she chose to hold her tongue and open the door. Jason walked in and took a seat, squirming a little when he felt their gazes on him.

"So, Jason," Mr. Kurtz began, "I think you know why we're here. I'll save you our side of the story and let you begin." Ms. Wolfe glared at him again, then Jason once more, but remained silent. Jason's first instinct was to redirect, claiming how his gestures were intended to be friendly and that nobody ever complained. He was equal-opportunity, patting members of all sorts of groups, a claim that sounded ridiculous but was really quite true; this, the principal claimed, did not make his behavior any less creepy. The accusations against Jason were first framed as sexual harassment, supplanted by relayed testimonials from many who felt uniquely targeted: others did not pat them on the head, certainly, and nobody they had talked to felt an inner sense of fuzziness or self-worth as a result of Jason's actions. Jason continued his attempts at redirection, arguing that even if it were harassment, it was mild, the sort of playground teasing where one kid stuck his tongue out at another kid and made a funny face, not the sort of harassment that demanded a tense conference that made his heart pound. It was fortunate for him that partially as a result of those mitigating factors, and that Jason was seemingly a good kid (albeit one with a strange penchant for outburst), that just like all the previous incidents, the only punishment was a strict warning not to do it again. He left the room silently, his head hung in shame, and spent the remainder of the period looking at happy children that all seemed to behave the same way without any sort of censure. If Juliet showed little hesitation toward brushing up against people, hugging them, or otherwise exhibiting a casual physical intimacy (which strangely enough, he thought, never seemed to be directed at him), and if Tom could give meaty handshakes to every acquaintance, and if Behrooz could give a back-pat and a smile, why was he now the pariah? It just wasn't fair.

"I didn't know you had this planned out beforehand," Mr. Kurtz remarked after Jason had left the room.

"Why wouldn't I? I have a duty to my students above all, and there's no room for assumption or prejudice here. You know what they say: when you assume, you make an ass out of 'you' and 'me.'" Ms. Wolfe, over the few years she'd been working at Heller, had learned that Mr. Kurtz operated under a slightly different ethical framework than would be usually encouraged. Mr. Kurtz believed that rules were a social construction meant only to make things take more time, and took time during staff meetings to indirectly criticize those like Ms. Foster who held onto such archaic customs. Likewise, Mr. Kurtz believed in personal experience above all, even more than any rules that were based on other people's experiences; after all, were they not all anecdotes? In this case, Mr. Kurtz knew Jason to be nothing but a gentleman, and whoever this transfer student was, how could they claim to understand Tiger values, how Tigers always did things? Jason certainly never dared to pat him on the head.

Jason initially found a comforting presence in Pranav, who discreetly stepped away from the leadership activity Juliet had stolen from her cheer team and was leading to talk with him under the shade of a redwood tree.

"You'll be fine. I've seen the administration not act on worse. Stuff that's a bigger deal, you know, like actual catcalling. There was this kid my freshman year—he's the year above me, although he transferred—who slapped a classmate's butt. Yeah, I know, not good. And because his parents were rich, they did nothing about it."

"Well, I should have nothing to worry about now. There's no official punishment. So yeah, I don't care. Nobody cares, right?"

"This too shall pass. I should return to the meeting. Good luck." Pranav patted him on the back and walked back to his post. Pranav had been weighing in his mind whether Jason or Ernest was a worse person, and he supposed this tipped the scale toward Jason: just because Pranav's hobbies tended to be male-focused did not mean he looked kindly upon misogyny. That was one nice thing about the club, and Pranav thought it was part of the reason why it had not been shut down: they discriminated equally against everybody, and for such arbitrary reasons, that it was indeed just the ordinary sort of "harassment" Jason had described. With daily meetings, the club had been forced to diversify its curriculum, partially because people like Ted kept trying to abuse its powers for their own personal benefit. That was something only the officers were supposed to do. Greater focus was being placed on building team unity and "soft skills" that did not quite come across clearly in the text of How To Be A Good Person, but could be demonstrated through example.

Ted had overheard their conversation, and immediately turned to his own speculations. As much as Ted understood what Jason was going through, he couldn't feel much sympathy. Jason's mistake was having a lack of charisma. If he exercised more and had a more fashionable haircut, nobody would have complained. He would have suggested these tips to him, but Jason did not look like he wanted to take constructive feedback. Ted would normally avoid giving feedback like this that could unseat himself from his position, but as Jason seemed no significant rival, there really was no threat. Who would he go after, Madeline? Too cerebral, he thought—there was a point where one became a killjoy if they were too focused on academics. Even though there was nothing inherently romantic in Jason's behavior, it was somehow connected to that tangled web that occupied Ted's thoughts and only proved his original point. If Jason could be put in his place, he could too.

Tom found Alan in a mood more desultory than usual, and without any words from Alan knew to give him a hug and sit down next to him.

"My mother used to say that you could always find something to be happy about," Tom remarked after a few minutes. "And look at how stupid that is! But maybe, just maybe, she had a point. Even in times of sadness, there is something to be said for remembering the past fondly."

"That reminds me of something Frank told me once privately. There's supposed to be this movie called Casablanca that addresses that very same thing. He teaches us things like that, coping mechanisms, at the club."

"Of course, we watched that over the summer. But don't try to convince me that the club is the epitome of equality. You know just as well as anyone that's not the case. Who thought a club founded on the principle of inequality would be unequal? Don't take anything I say as criticism—I benefit from this system—but there's a line between levelheaded respect and being a groupie, and some of your peers take that too far. She—they are garden fairies. Besides, they wear black, which is such a beastly color. All of them dress like they're trying to sell me something. What I'm trying to say is that it's good there are people like us who are able to use their brains a little and grow as people. Does that make you feel any better?"

"I don't know, I don't know. I know nothing," Alan moaned, and he rocked in his seat continuing to repeat his mantra. Tom thought at that point he had given all the help he possibly could. Frank found Alan a few minutes later, still moaning, and tried to take up the torch:

"Is there something wrong?"

"I don't know, I don't know, I don't know..."

"Do you need to take some time off from the club? Pranav can step in as interim club officer. I don't want to add any stress to whatever it is you're feeling right now."

That brought Alan back to the present: "No. I refuse. I'm no coward. I can't possibly let all of you down just because I'm a coward. I'm no coward, I'm no coward..." Alan continued, seizing the opportunity to return to delirium. Frank sat with him for a few minutes, waiting for Alan to change his tune, but eventually grew bored and left.

Juliet, Beth, and John had begun to discover that they were the only three in Mrs. Huang's class who valued punctuality, and they frequently found themselves lingering outside her door thinking of ways to pass the time.

"What book do you think has most influenced the way you think?" John asked the other two. "We were talking about that in English the other day."

"I promise I'm no religious nut or anything, but The Bible. That has to be the most common answer, right?" Beth responded, still leaning against the railing.

"I think I'd have to say How To Be A Good Person has been the most of a guiding ideology for me. Everything I do, I try to think: what would a good person do?" John suggested.

"It's like that's your Bible!" Juliet joked, and John immediately saw the need to defend himself:

"No, not at all. That's a lot more important. Don't even mention the two in the same sentence."

"But you say that's your guiding ideology."

"Well, if anything, it's just tradition we'd ought to respect. Frank would say the same, and he'd undoubtedly give the same answer."

"Well, you and Frank are two very different people," Beth interjected. "At the very beginning of freshman year, I used to think he and you were two sides of the same coin, but look at the two of you now: he still wears a suit and tie every day, which I guess is just normal now, and you're wearing sweatpants. Aren't we all supposed to wear business casual clothing?"

"Yes, I'm wearing casual clothing. That's a tradition I think is quite reasonable to implement, and all of us are a bit classier now. Prettier," John added, "if that doesn't sound too weird." Juliet shook her head to indicate that it wasn't weird at all and that she appreciated the compliment.

"I think that's perfectly fair of you to say, John. It's so funny how both of you claim to be acting from the same principles, yet end up with such different outcomes. You're nice without being flirty—I don't think Frank would ever say anything like that."

"Why, because he isn't nice?" Juliet interrupted, looking down at her outfit and then at the others just to make sure.

"No, not like that, he's just a bit more reserved with his words. He's funny like that. I know that he tries his hardest to remain neutral and project severity, but you can tell when some things make him uncomfortable and he's choosing his words carefully. He speaks off the cuff, but there's a method behind his madness. I'm sure that he thinks our outfits are pretty too, but he would never want to come off the wrong way by saying that. So I think you're a bit more free-flowing, John."

"Exactly. Go with the flow, let life come to you. As ironic as this is, we should probably head inside now."

"I'll head inside first," Juliet declared. "I have a personal question." Mrs. Huang was working at her desk as usual, and when she saw that Juliet was not a freshman, she modulated her tone and asked what Juliet needed.

"So, Teacher Huang, I have a free period in my schedule right before lunch that for the last week, I've been trying to fill. A remnant after switching my schedule for this class, if you recall. Do you need another TA? Or if you have too many already, I can—"

"Fifth period is my free period, and I already have a TA then. But that will be convenient, actually. It is too quiet now, very boring. I think my current TA will be happy to make a new friend." Juliet took that as a yes.

"So I'll be a minute or two late, I think, but I will see you then. I can't wait to meet them."

"A new TA, Mrs. Huang? I certainly don't mind at all." Frank was hoping for a checked-out senior, someone who enjoyed solitude and did not encourage Mrs. Huang's rambling digressions, and besides, if he showed signs of hesitation, what would Mrs. Huang think?

"I know you two share common interests, so as soon as she gets here from the office, you can get to know each other better!" Frank thought he knew where this was going, but to ward off the inevitable, he responded innocently: "I'll be excited to meet her then," and went back to grading his tests, lazily circling errors with a red pen. A few minutes later, he heard someone outside the door, and through the tinted glass he could see a familiar outline, who had been given a similarly un-cryptic clue by Mrs. Huang after class and couldn't wait to see who the hunched figure was. Frank obviously knew at this point that it had to be Juliet, but he was a bit curious what would happen, so he kept his head down and waited for the inevitable end. She opened the door, saw the ineffable Franklin T. Barnes seemingly hard at work, dramatically put her finger to her lips so Mrs. Huang wouldn't say anything (she was ecstatic—they already knew each other!), and delicately tiptoed behind Frank—before she could do anything stupid, he turned around and smiled "Hello" at a now-deflated Juliet.

"Frank, how nice to see you here!" Juliet proclaimed, immediately taking the seat across from his. Frank thought it rude at this point to continue avoiding eye contact.

"How do you know Frank?" Mrs. Huang had extrapolated from both of them dressing nicely and being academically studious that they would get along; it was good fortune then that the awkward process of getting to know each other had been taken care of in some distant past.

"Oh my gosh, where do I begin? So freshman year, Frank was in one of my classes, and I had heard such nice things about him—he helped Regina with John—and so one day I asked him to help tutor me. We got along extremely well, and I gave him the idea to write his How To Be A Good Person, and as soon as he turned that into a club, I knew I simply had to come. So he kept helping me out, I kept helping him out, and let's see... oh, he happened to be walking in the park on my 16th birthday, and he was such a gentleman—he treated us to ice cream, and he and his parents even came to dinner. You never told me they spoke Chinese, Frank, so that must be how you learned too! Frank's parents are so, so, unbelievably nice—obviously he is too. And now I can't believe Frank hasn't mentioned this yet, but I'm the vice president of his club. We're such good friends, and now we get to be even better friends!"

"They studied abroad and both kept it up when they came home," he clarified, blushing a little. Frank looked disappointed the mystery had resolved itself, but Mrs. Huang did not seem to care:

"How interesting. This is God's will!" Mrs. Huang declared, her mind already spinning with ideas for what to do with her two new charges. They certainly couldn't waste all their time doing work, that was for sure.

Tom's talk with Alan still weighed on his mind, and now he felt despondent—it wasn't fair! Regina looked at him angrily after Tom explained, with a trace of sorrow that was completely genuine, what had happened:

"What I don't understand is why you didn't see the need to mention any of this before. You could have told me any time why he didn't come to the lake! You made me think he was a loser. I mean, he still could be..." She trailed off and waited for Tom to respond.

"With something as important as this, I don't see why I should be obligated to tell you everything. When somebody tells you something in confidence, anyone with morals knows how to behave."

"You're my boyfriend. You're supposed to tell me these sorts of things. What other secrets are you hiding?"

"I don't see why I need to be forthcoming about others. Judge me for what I tell you about myself, but don't drag others into it. That's the end of it," Tom declared, and Regina knew not to push him further. Regina felt especially predisposed to the sort of personal talk Tom tried as hard as possible to avoid due to her earlier conversation with Beth about Behrooz. Beth had at some point over the summer gotten over her great mistake with Ted; at the lake, Tom had once blithely commented "You know what they say, fourth time's the charm!" when the topic inevitably came up at the dinner table, and that inspired her to simultaneously prove him right and wrong.

"I can't quite put my finger on it, but he really seems to care. Ted didn't give a crap about me."

"He really is sweet. So pure," Regina replied, and for a second Beth wondered if that was a jab at her own past history.

"I don't think he would ever hurt a fly. All he wants to do is to make people happy. I've never seen him raise his voice at all."

"Tom raises his voice sometimes, but that's just because he's a passionate person." Beth, nonplussed, continued:

"I think he will be a good role model, the exact opposite of Louis and Ted." Normally this would not be a major concern for Beth, but she could not risk a relapse of bad behavior. Too many people believed in her. Of course, if she were to date him again, the feeling had to be mutual. She found him one day after school loitering above the swimming pool:

"Isn't it weird how unpredictable life can be sometimes? Bad things happen to good people for no reason at all," Behrooz lamented. "It just isn't fair."

"You're honest! You're the only one I know that I can really trust," Beth exclaimed. "Finally someone gets around to telling the truth. Who knew that was so rare?"

"You know what they say, honesty is the best policy, right?" They spent a few minutes staring out over the school, a few feet apart, silently appreciating their mutual understanding. Eventually Behrooz bid Beth farewell, and he walked to his car while she stayed there, just staring, until it was time to go to cheer practice.

Discussion Questions:

Describe the tone shift here—what's different about how Heller is portrayed?

What's responsible for Tom's sudden disenchantment in the club? Can you identify multiple causes?

How is Frank described by others, and how does this differ from more private perspectives we get?