Part one: THE hearth and the salamander

Society is cold, hard, and self-centered. Clarisse is considered anti-social by her peers, something she finds funny because she finds their actions not at all social and doesn't consider class, sports, and classroom activities as social gatherings. She complains that other students do not ask questions, they lack curiosity, and they lack the skills needed to indulge in real conversation. Instead, they get into trouble for fun..... because they're bored. Social activity has been replaced by vandalism, risky behavior, and numerous deaths among the kids her own age.