Free The F Factor by Diane Gonzales Bertrand Page A

practice.” Ignacio led the way up the steps to the portable building. “My dad told me he’d buy your gas once a month if he didn’t have to drive downtown to pick me up.”
    â€œMy mom would probably pay the rest,” Andy said.
    Javier would like to drive with his friends, but he knew it wasn’t going to happen. “Did you forget those annoying license rules? Just one passenger if you’re not related.”
    â€œThen it needs to be
me
.” Ignacio pointed back at himself with his thumb. “Andy doesn’t carry drums home every day. I’ve always got my trumpet case.”
    â€œIgnacio gets his license before I do,” Andy replied. “Besides, I live closer.”
    They walked inside Mr. Seneca’s classroom to see it half-filled with third-period students. The teacher had his back to them as he stacked papers on his desk.
    Javier walked over to the spot where he sat in first period. His backpack thumped on top of the table. Pat sat at the next table behind it. He glanced up and nodded at Javier.
    Ignacio slugged Javier in the shoulder with his backpack. “Too close, Jack. I was forced by Maloney’s stupid seating chart into a front desk.” He brushed past Pat to claim a table closer to the rear.
    Andy followed Ignacio. Javier looked down at Pat. “Want to move back?”
    Pat raised an eyebrow. “You’re kidding, right? We both know Mr. Seneca’s radar for guys in the back. I’m safer here. Always sit in the same place up front and teachersignore you.” He rested his elbow on the desk and planted his cheek against his hand.
    Javier heard the creak of Mr. Seneca’s crutches behind him and quickly pulled out the chair to sit down. He feared his teacher’s impatience more than his friends’ annoyance any day.
    Other students rushed in. The bell rang. Mr. Seneca took roll and then motioned to Bryce Thayer, another sophomore. “Pass out the papers on my desk, will you? Okay, gentlemen, I’m giving out a quiz. It’ll give me an idea of what you already know. If you’re totally ignorant, I’ll start with assignments like memorizing world capital cities and lessons in latitude and longitude.” He said quite calmly, “You have ten minutes.”
    Row by row, Bryce left stacks of the quiz with each guy in the front table. Javier slipped one off the top and passed the others behind him. If Pat had planned to sleep, it wouldn’t happen today. Javier looked down and saw twenty-five rows of multiple choice questions typed in small font.
    He heard the shuffle of papers behind him and Pat’s pained whisper. “He can’t be serious.”
    Javier felt the same way. He grabbed a pen and started reading. The questions grew more difficult until by the last ten, he was making guesses about conservation efforts in Africa and terrorist activities in Great Britain.
    The quiz was all they could talk about as they stood in the lunch line.
    â€œCan a teacher make a guy feel more stupid?” Ignacio complained as he squeezed ketchup across the top of his hamburger patty. “Why didn’t he ask more questions about Mexico or South America? I know about those places.”
    â€œThat’s ‘cause your mom watches
las novelas
,” Andy answered. He grabbed the bottle, smothered his fries with red ketchup, and passed the bottle over to Javier. “And how many did
you
get right? You
always
throw off the test curve for the rest of us.”
    â€œThe quiz made me feel stupid too,” Javier said. “Who knew Lake Victoria was in Africa? I thought it would be in England—you know, named after one of the queens.”
    After Javier used the ketchup, he followed his friends into the main cafeteria area. He spotted Pat at the end of a table where sophomores often sat. There were several empty chairs around him. “Let’s sit over there with Pat.”
    â€œOnly