A month passed and there was still no sign of Monday. Claudia tried to keep busy, spending time with her family, but she worried about Monday every day. School was difficult without her only friend: English was a struggle, and the popular girls bullied Claudia.

Monday used to have to wait in line for the free school lunch; Claudia always waited with her, even though Ma packed her lunch. One day, Claudia skipped lunch to speak to the coolest teacher in school: their former English teacher from seventh grade, Mrs. Valente. Claudia knew Mrs. Valente is gay and married her partner the summer before. Feeling safe enough to be honest with her, Claudia told Mrs. Valente that she hadn’t seen Monday since last June.

Mrs. Valente took Claudia to the office to look into it, and they discovered that neither Monday nor her two younger siblings registered for school that year. Mrs. Valente asked the front office clerk if this school followed up with students who didn’t register. “A lot of students didn’t return this year,” the clerk responded. “Most had to move due to rent going up and stuff. But I’ll pass a note along” (49).