Chapter 3

The next day, I put my plan into action. I waited until the lunch line was long and Sarah was just a few people behind me. As I got closer to the counter, I started talking to the girl in front of me, loud enough to be "overheard."

"It's crazy, right?" I said, shaking my head. "My uncle works for the company that supplies the school. He said the athletic boosters are giving Ms. Patty kickbacks. That's why the football team gets double everything. It's coming right out of the school budget."

The girl' s eyes went wide. Behind me, I could feel Sarah leaning in. I didn' t look back.

I got my tray-one sausage patty, as usual-and walked away. I had planted the seed. Now I just had to wait.

It didn't take long. By the end of the day, the rumor was everywhere. It was in the hallways, the bathrooms, the locker rooms. Kids were angry. Parents started calling the school.

A week later, there was a school board investigation. Ms. Patty was "reassigned." The new cafeteria manager was a nervous man who used a measuring cup for every single scoop. The portions were finally equal.

It was my first real victory. A small one, but it felt huge. It proved I could fight back.

But my victory had a price.

A few days later, a note appeared on my locker. "See me after school. Mr. Harrison."

Mr. Harrison was the school counselor. He was an overworked, tired-looking man, but he was one of the few adults at school who actually seemed to care. My stomach dropped.

I walked into his office that afternoon. The room was cluttered with papers and college pamphlets.

He didn't waste time. "The cafeteria rumor, Eli. That was you, wasn't it?"

I didn't answer. I just stared at him.

He sighed. "I'm not going to punish you. Frankly, Ms. Patty had it coming. But that's not why I called you in." He leaned forward. "I was helping a teacher find a misplaced textbook today. I had to check your locker. And I found this."

He slid my tin box across the desk. My escape fund.

My blood ran cold. It was over.

"You were planning on running away," he said. It wasn't a question.

I braced myself for the lecture, for the phone call to my parents. But it never came.

"This isn't the way, Eli," he said, his voice gentle. "Running away, you'll end up on the streets. You're too smart for that. There's a better way to escape."

I looked at him, confused.

"Emancipation," he said. "It's a legal process. It would make you an adult in the eyes of the law. You could live on your own, make your own decisions. Finish school on your own terms."

Hope, a feeling I hadn' t felt in years, flickered inside me. "Is that... possible?"

"It's hard," he admitted. "But with your grades, and with the situation at home... I think we have a case. I'll help you."