EMMET HAD NEVER EXPERIENCED A FIRST DAY WITH A teacher like the one he had with Dr. Newton. Everyone sat at highboy lab tables in hard-back stools where they could conduct their experiments. Emmet wasn’t sure if he got off on the wrong foot with Dr. Newton or not. In fact, after about five minutes he wasn’t sure if even Dr. Newton knew where he stood.

But first, he was assigned a seat. His lab partner was apparently going to be a kid named Jimmy Johnston.

“Everybody calls me Double J,” he said as Emmet sat down on the stool next to him.

“My name is Emmet,” Emmet said, trying to get comfortable in the high-back chair.

“Cool. Where you from?” Double J asked.

“Moved here from Montana,” he said.

“You like science?”

Emmet shrugged. “I guess it’s okay.”

“I don’t,” Double J said. He was taller than Emmet, already close to six foot, which was tall for a sixth grader. He was about as big around as a #2 pencil and his long hair was an indeterminate brown color pulled back in a ponytail. The weather outside was already pushing eighty degrees, but Double J wore a thick leather jacket, blue jeans with a chain wallet attached to his belt, and thick black army boots.

“Oh, well. What classes do you like?” It was probably a good idea to try to be polite to someone dressed like a biker. Even if he was a sixth grader.

“Lunch,” Double J said, putting his head down on the table atop his crossed arms and falling immediately to sleep. Emmet jumped when Dr. Newton called his name.

“Emmet Doyle!” he said, from the front of the room.

“Yes … sir,” Emmet replied with hesitation.

“Class, meet our newest student, Emmet Doyle,” Dr. Newton said. There were a few muttered “hi’s” but the response was otherwise underwhelming.

Dr. Newton strolled up to Emmet’s table, giving him a good looking-over, like he might be buying a horse or something. He was medium height, a little on the heavy side. His long hair stuck out all over his head like he’d been shocked, and he wore a tweed sport coat over a green T-shirt that said I SUPPORT GREENPEACE in white letters. His new science teacher also wore Birkenstock sandals with socks. To Emmet, this made him immediately suspect.

“You’re from Montana,” Dr. Newton said.

Emmet wasn’t sure if it was a question or a statement. So he just nodded yes.

“What did you do there?” Dr. Newton asked.

“Um. Snowboarded, went to school, I —”

Dr. Newton cut him off. “Snowboarded! You know, ski resorts are bad for the environment. They destroy the habitat. What do your parents do for a living? Do they work for oil companies?”

Emmet wasn’t sure what was going on. It felt like he was on trial.

“I only have my dad … he’s a scientist. He works for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He’s here to work in the Everglades. He —”

“The Everglades. Pfft. The government is ruining the Everglades. They have no backbone. Won’t stand up to the corporations who’d just as soon pave over the Glades and build condos.” Dr. Newton stared at Emmet.

Emmet was pretty sure you couldn’t pave a swamp, but he kept that remark to himself.

“I wouldn’t know about that. He’s an avian specialist. He’s working with the Park Service on migratory —” Again, Emmet didn’t get a chance to finish.

At the mention of “avian specialist,” Dr. Newton’s demeanor suddenly changed. It was subtle, but he stood up a little straighter and his eyes drilled into Emmet with an intense stare.

“An avian specialist, you say. What kind of birds?” Dr. Newton asked. Truthfully, it was more barked than asked. The guy was making Emmet nervous and he didn’t know why.

“Raptors. H-he works on how —” Emmet stammered, but was immediately interrupted.

“Raptors? What is he doing here? Trying to figure out how the government and the lobbyists are killing off the eagle and osprey populations?”

“Uh. No. At least, I don’t think … he doesn’t …” Emmet got all tongue-tied and didn’t know what he was supposed to say, desperate to find the words that would send Dr. Newton on his way. He felt like an ant being studied by a praying mantis.

“Hmm. Well, I’d like to meet your father sometime. And learn more exactly about what it is he thinks he’s up to in the Everglades. Helping the raptor population? I seriously doubt it. But welcome to Tasker Middle School and Florida City. Luckily for the environment, you can’t snowboard here.” Dr. Newton kicked the table leg and Double J came awake with a start.

“Suntans!” he said out loud, having just been woken up without warning.

“Wake up, Mr. Johnston, or you’ll have plenty of time to work on your tan when you flunk out of school.” Dr. Newton handed Emmet a textbook he’d tucked under his arm. “This is your text. We’re on chapter thirty, the study of the ecosystems of coral reefs and the marine life they support. Try to keep up.”

He spun on his sandaled heel and stalked to the front of the room. As he did so, Double J coughed an uncomplimentary word about Dr. Newton into his hand.

“Sounds like you have a cold, Mr. Johnston,” Dr. Newton said. “Perhaps a few days’ suspension will allow you the time to get healthy again.”

Double J said nothing, returning his head to the table. Emmet could swear that in four seconds or less he was already snoring softly. He’d never seen anyone fall asleep so fast.

After meeting Dr. Newton, he was glad there was only one more period to go in his first day at Tasker Middle School. It was going to be a long, long time until summer vacation.