The sound of the bell echoed into the classroom, signaling that the school day had ended and it was time for the students to go home. Chatter immediately filled the air as all the teenagers rushed to pack up their bags, chairs scraping the floor as they eagerly started heading out.

Joseph was sitting in the back row, staring at his desk and was slower to get moving. His notebook remained unopened, the voices of the guys he hung out with distant as they were already leaving without him.