Unwind

Lev slips out of the bathroom when the bell rings. He asks someone where the office is and they point him in the right direction. He hurries to the office with a singular goal:

Lev knows that things must be put back on track. This is the best place to do it: a school. If there are any secret plans to kill Connor and Risa, it can’t happen here with so many kids around, and if he does this right, it won’t happen at all (77).

Once in the office, he explains he has been kidnapped. The staff puts him in the nurse’s office and calls security.

Lev asks the nurse if he can call his parents. She shows him the phone and steps out to give him privacy. Instead of calling his parents, he calls Pastor Dan. Pastor Dan tells Lev his parents didn’t report him missing to the police—on the contrary, he gives Lev advice:

Lev, listen to me. Listen to me carefully. No one else knows that you’re gone. As far as anyone knows, you’ve been tithed, and people don’t ask questions about children who are tithed. Do you understand what I’m telling you? (79).