In the middle of a confrontation with the assistant headmaster Mr. Waters, Donte Ellison wishes to be invisible. He tries to calm down when seeing how Mr. Waters looks at him. Donte thinks about how many of the students at his school, Middlefield Prep, don’t look at him and don’t seem to like him. He can feel himself being judged by Mr. Waters, and he tries to keep cool. Mr. Waters says: “It’s 2:46 PM. Couldn’t you have finished the day without getting in trouble?” (5). Donte is frustrated that Mr. Waters didn’t pull him aside into his office to talk instead of making assumptions. He feels again that he’s being punished for something he didn’t do, which he tells Mr. Waters.

Donte explains that he dislikes the school: “[N]o matter what goes wrong, I’m at fault. Some guy overturns a chair; it’s my fault. My locker’s broken into; my supplies scattered, dumped in the trash. My books ripped. I get detention. And a library fine” (6). Other students make fun of him and of his dreadlocks. They say racist things to him.

After Donte finishes speaking, Headmaster McGeary replies that Donte doesn’t “get to bring [his] New York behavior here” (7) and accuses Donte of yelling at him.