As the clock moves from 10:42 to 10:44 a.m., Sylv reveals, though only to the reader, that Tyler raped her, and that she cannot let Tomas or her mother know, because she wants them to remember Sylv happy: “There was nothing either of them could have done to stop him” (222).

This happens as Sylv, Tomas, and Fareed discover most classrooms get locked between classes, until they find Mrs. Miller’s class, which they know is open because last year Tomas blew up the lock. There Sylv, Tomas, and Fareed realize the roof provides little safety. Adding pressure to the suspense and tension is the fact that Tyler lurks somewhere in the hallways.

Tomas presses Sylv about what Tyler did to her, which causes Sylv to remember times before their mother took ill. The two have not talked in months. She remembers one summer on the farm when they were young and Sylv and Tomas were inseparable: “We stayed at the farm and sneaked out almost nightly to search for lost treasures on the farm and in the woods. Mama didn’t know” (221).

Meanwhile, SWAT teams reach the auditorium, as

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