On the anniversary of the September 11 attack, Chance Taylor’s Seattle high school, Lincoln High, is a different place. The principal gives a speech, the marching band plays “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and in every class, teachers have “boring discussions” about Iraq, al-Qaida, terrorism, and Osama bin Laden. As he’s been doing since middle school, Chance keeps quiet.

Chance’s last class is World Issues, taught by Mr. Arnold. Like Chance’s dad, Mr. Arnold is tall and thin, but he doesn’t have Chance’s dad’s disheveled appearance—which Chance attributes to his dad’s alcohol addiction. Chance and his father live on a dilapidated sailboat. If Chance’s dad isn’t drinking, smoking, and rereading the sports section, he’s likely at a bar.

For September 11, Mr. Arnold welcomes Brent Miller, a soldier who recently graduated from Lincoln High.

When Chance was a freshman, Miller was a senior. Both their dads fought in the First Gulf War, and, like Chance’s dad, Miller’s dad has alcoholism. While their dads drank, they hung out. One time, their dads got in a fight, putting Chance’s dad in jail and Miller’s dad in the hospital. Miller started bullying Chance at school, including dunking his head into a toilet filled with urine and feces.