Dear Martin

"I know your kind: punks like you wander the streets of nice neighborhoods searching for prey. Just couldn't resist the pretty white girl who'd locked her keys in her car, could ya?" 

The irony of Castillo's comment is that Justyce's actions were actually intended to save Melo's life. This statement also highlights the issue of racial profiling. Castillo sees a Black teen in a hoodie with a white girl in a Mercedes and assumes that he is doing something untoward. Castillo slams Justyce into the car hood and handcuffs him, not wanting to hear any kind of explanation and holding Justyce in custody until the next morning, which is an extreme reaction given Justyce's intention in the parking lot. 

"In a way, I guess I thought I didn't really need to concern myself with this type of thing because compared to him, I don't come across as 'threatening,' you know? I don't sag my pants or wear my clothes super big. I go to a good school, and have goals and vision and 'a great head on my shoulders,' as Mama likes to say." 

Stone examines perception throughout the novel. Just as Castillo saw a Black teen in a wealthy neighborhood and assumed he was committing a crime, Justyce is also guilty of believing that certain clothing denotes someone who might be less than upstanding. Justyce always assumed that by looking nonthreatening and being a good kid, he would be exempt from racial profiling. However, with Castillo's arrest, Justyce realizes that his Blackness is all that some people need to see to assume he's a criminal. It is a harsh reality for Justyce to absorb and it makes him angry and hurt.