Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses domestic violence, child abuse, racism, and anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination.

As part of his graduation requirements, Ogle needs to take a foreign language. His mom tells him to take Latin because it is the basis for all Romance languages, but Ogle tells her he wants to take Spanish. She forbids him from taking Spanish as his language elective. Before submitting his class selection list, he scribbles out where Mom wrote “Latin” and writes Spanish. Ogle hides his Spanish class from Mom for the entire semester until his report card arrives. When she sees that he has disobeyed her, she begins hitting him. He tells her that he earned straight A’s in his classes, but Mom can only be furious that he took Spanish.

Kids of all races and ethnicities hurl derogatory nicknames at Ogle. One Mexican kid refers to him as a “maricόn,” which translates to a slur for gay people. When he cannot find the word in a translation dictionary, Ogle asks his Spanish teacher what the word means. One of the students asks him why he does not know how to speak his own language, so Ogle flips him off and earns detention from the teacher.