Bathroom Pass

In the book's first chapter, Peter overuses the classroom's bathroom pass in order to get out of class and goof off. Mr. Terupt soon catches on and gently teases him while getting his point across. The pass is a symbol of Peter's attempt to test the new teacher and Mr. Terupt's ability to catch on and handle the matter in a way that enables Peter to save face.

Dollar Words

Mr. Terupt engages the class with a math game in which each letter of the alphabet is assigned a value and students get points for finding words that add up to 100 or one dollar. The game is an example of his creative teaching methods and is woven throughout the book as each of Luke's chapters notes any dollar word used.

Girl War

Early in the book, Alexia is depicted as being a troublemaker who schemes...