"One thing I've been at," said Callie, "is missing homeschooling. Which is a surprise to me. I thought this year was going to be like being let out of jail; I'd be with kids my own age. But most kids my own age at East High--I don't mean you, Suri--are about two years behind me in some subjects, and THREE years behind me in understanding God. So I miss homeschooling
"But I can't brag as if I'm superior in every way. I came to East with totally unexamined ideas about peace: thinking everybody could always just talk a bit and solve every problem. But I was taught the semi-hard way that FORCE is sometimes needed. I learned that when a loose Rottweiler--that's a breed of dog, in case they don't call it that in Honduras--tried to kill me on the street, and a war veteran saved my life. Actually, the man who saved me is the same deputy sheriff assigned to our school now, Mr. Kramer."