As I passed Mrs. Morris, I motioned that I was going out to use the washroom. I'm sure she knew better, but she just smiled and waved me on. We aren't a school with a truancy problem. Let's be honest: Where would you go if you skipped class? No mall. No coffee shop. No hangout where the person running the place hasn't known you from childhood…and knows you should be in class.
In this passage from "The Gathering" by Kelley Armstrong, the narrator interacts with Mrs. Morris while attempting to leave the classroom under the pretense of going to the washroom. Despite the unspoken understanding of his intent, Mrs. Morris playfully acknowledges his gesture, indicating a level of trust between them. The narrator reflects on the nature of their school environment, implying that truancy is not an issue at their institution.
The narrator contemplates the limitations on where a student could go if they chose to skip class, highlighting the absence of typical teenage hangouts like malls or coffee shops. Instead, he suggests that every local spot is familiar, making it difficult for students to evade detection when they should be in school. This emphasizes the close-knit community feel of their surroundings and the inevitability of being caught if one attempts to misbehave.
