CLAIRE’S REMEDIAL English class was officially called the Supplementary Academic Advancement Program. Today one of her students, Curtis, decided to set her straight about that.

“You know what they call this class? The Academic Dumb-Ass Program.”

“That’s harsh. Who calls it that?” Claire asked.

“Everybody does,” said Timbo. “Even we do sometimes.”

“And how much do you care about that?” Claire asked.

“I don’t give a shit,” said Andy.

“Same here, Mrs. D.,” said Reggie.

“So, that’s that. Case closed.” She knew that another teacher might get angry at the phrase “give a shit,” but not her, and especially not today.

“Listen. We have work to do, and we have an hour to do it,” she said. “Mr. McCormack is giving a quiz tomorrow. The Old Man and the Sea.”

“Thanks for the Christmas present, Mr. Mack,” complained Curtis.

“That’s how it is,” said Claire. “Anyway, let’s start with the obvious. Has everyone read the book?”

“I tried, man, but it was fish, fish, fish, water, water everywhere. The marlin was boring. The old guy was worse than boring. The kid was an asshole. I bailed,” said Reggie.

“What page did you give up on?”

A pause. All eyes turned toward Reggie.

“Ten?” he said. The others cracked up. Even Claire did. At least these kids were honest.

“Well, I think tonight, instead of watching Jersey Shore, you have some reading to do. Everyone take out a piece of paper.”

A small moan, but the paper came out. She couldn’t help smiling. The boys were tough and could be disrespectful, but she liked being with them most days.

“First question. What country does Santiago come from?” Claire asked.

“Ms. Donoghue…”

“No more talking, Timothy. We’ve got work to do,” Claire said.

Timbo ignored her order and spoke again.

“There’s a man at that little window on the door. He looks like he wants to talk to you real bad. Is that your husband?”