Hidden Talents

For the next two weeks, Martin’s life falls into a routine. Teachers vary the classwork every couple of days; Martin gets into trouble regularly. He tries to be invisible, but teachers sometimes forget and ask him a question, which he usually answers with sarcasm. They learn to avoid him.

Each Friday evening, Torchie makes some lame excuse and disappears for hours. No one tells Martin what’s happening, but he hears the whispering. One Wednesday afternoon, he sees Bloodbath beating up Cheater, and he runs up, warning Bloodbath that he saw teachers headed that way. Bloodbath leaves; Cheater thanks Martin.

Martin’s good deed opens up Torchie, who tells him the secret: Every Friday, Lucky and his friends sneak out and visit the town.

As part of a class exercise, Torchie pens a note about why he likes who he is: He has lots of friends. Sometimes he loses friends because their stuff gets burnt, but he “never done nothing they say I did” (91). His note paper is slightly burnt.