Excerpt from S.O.L. by James Noll

Three high school troublemakers fleeing prep school find themselves transferred to a raucous public high school where they join the beleaguered teachers in resisting the pressures of standardization. The boys, Gertrude (his real name is Kenneth), Zorn and Topher Bill essentially invade Battle Forge High School after taking a digressive joy ride into New York City. There, they try to fit into a stultifying schedule of classes and testing, which has already benumbed long-suffering teachers such as Mr. Frank and Mr. Glass. The teachers scramble to fulfill the assessment testing required of each department, along with attending daily fire drills and meetings that leave little time for class preparation, let alone a life. The story comes to a climax on S.O.L. testing day, when an unexpected visitor from the boys' past arrives to take care of unfinished business.

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