Everyone wants to chatter at Julian, including his best friend Tina. He can see them coming down the halls, their eyes full of yearning, itching to pull him aside just for one sec and confide about parents fighting, that weird locked shed on the edge of Halsey Playground, or Albert Knickerbocker, the undisputed heartthrob of the 9th grade. When his own mom starts in on her secrets, Julian knows that he has had enough, but how exactly to get this across? Is there any way to write Closed for Maintenance on your eardrums?