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Captain’s for his fish shift. I called for him to visit me in my master suite bedroom. It took him a few minutes, but after I yelled and yelled, he opened the door.
    â€œWhat? What the hell, Taco?”
    â€œDo you think Maggie Corrigan treats me like the gem I am?” I asked.
    â€œAre you kidding me?”
    â€œNo. What do you think?”
    â€œWhy are you asking?” Darius asked.
    â€œBecause she wants to do it—you know, do it —but I need to be sure she’s completely ready before I agree.”
    Darius stared at me for a moment. Then he said, “No, absolutely not. Don’t do it. She doesn’t love you.”
    â€œWell, sure she does,” I said.
    â€œNo. How would you even know?”
    â€œI just do. We are definitely in love, Darius.”
    Darius glared at me for a moment. Then he shrugged. “You’re stupid,” he said. “She doesn’t love you.” He turned and walked down the hall.
    Darius used to be in love, but this girl, Kayla Kronstadt, whom he dated all through high school and our mom getting sick and Dad leaving, broke up with him when he got his drunk-driving ticket. Darius said it was because he couldn’t drive her places anymore after he lost his license. But she didn’t get back together with him when he started driving again. Of course, he doesn’t always make great decisions, and he’s kind of a jerk sometimes. And he’s drunk a lot, so maybe that all has something to do with it. Also, he’s broken inside.
    Anyway, I wasn’t sure what Darius’s advice had been. He told me I was stupid. But I didn’t ask him if I was stupid or not. He also said Maggie didn’t love me, which clearly wasn’t the case. Mom said that I shouldn’t listen to Darius when he said mean things, and wasn’t he being mean by calling me stupid and not loved?
    Whatever. I got very quiet. I meditated to try to communicate with Mom’s ghost. I heard nothing. I tried to summon the Tibet baby that I dream about that might be Mom. I couldn’t do it. And I thought, Maybe that’s your answer. Nothing!
    Right? Nothing! Do nothing!
    Because honestly, while I was sure Maggie loved me, I wasn’t sure she could yet love me like the gem I am. That settles it!
    Sorry, lady pal! No. Doing. It.
    I felt very good about this decision, very smart and mature.
    After school, Brad Schwartz came over, and we had a good talk about democracy. The lessons he brought home in both English and social studies had to do with democracy. Using the little boys in their underpants killing one another with sticks and rocks from Lord of the Flies , Brad tried to convince me that democracy is doomed to fail.
    â€œWe have a base nature,” he said. “We’re more animal than creatures of reason.”
    â€œYou’re wrong!” I said. “Those kids on the island are just kids. They don’t have the maturity to make good choices. If they were a couple years older, like our age, they wouldn’t have crushed one another’s skulls with rocks. They’d have figured out democracy—no problem.”
    Brad rolled his yes. “Have you seen the cafeteria without a lunch monitor? You’re delusional, Taco.”
    â€œNo, I’m not,” I said.
    He shrugged and left.
    Later when Maggie Corrigan showed up after cheerleading practice, she said all she could think about was my body.
    â€œThis body?” I asked.
    She nodded. Then she gently removed my bear slippers and my pajama pants, careful not to hurt my coccyx, and she carefully put her naked knees on either side of my hips and leaned over. As she breathed in my ear, she whispered, “I love you so much, man.” That was when I decided we should definitely do it.
    And we did! It kind of hurt Maggie, which made me worried, but she said she was okay. We fell asleep. Then—wait for it—we did it again!
    It was great! I couldn’t