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his name?”
    “Uh . . . Archie something.”
    “You mean Archduke Ferdinand.” Mr. Guzman wrote the name on the board. “Yes, his assassination was the immediate cause that sparked the war. What about long-term causes? Alyse?”
    So that’s what her name was. Alyse, that too-serious shorty, said, “Alliances between countries. And economic rivalries—each country wanted to have more colonies than the others.”
    “Excellent.” He wrote alliances and economic rivalries on the board. “What’s another one?”
    “Lots of big-ass weapons,” a guy at the back called out.
    “Yes, militarism. That’s when everyone wants to build up their armies and weaponry because they know their rivals are doing the same. What’s another reason?”
    Mr. Guzman waited and waited. Finally Alyse put her hand up again. “Propaganda.”
    “Right. The press was full of war talk before anything ever happened. The media played a major role in raising tensions.”
    “As usual,” I grumbled.
    “Pardon, Ty?”
    I said, “Well, that’s what TV and newspapers do—cause trouble. They always talking trash to make money.”
    “There’s certainly some validity to that.”
    “ ’Course there is. The news is what started that whole East Coast–West Coast thing in the nineties.”
    “Hmm. Could you clarify that for us? I’m afraid I don’t know much about this East Coast–West Coast conflict.”
    “You heard about Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. being knocked off, right? Well, they was rappers from each coast, and they got offed ’cause they was at war.”
    “What started this war?”
    “Same kinda thing that you be talking about. They was competing to sell records, peeps was taking sides, guys on each side was strapped and hiring gangstas to back them up.”
    “That’s a fascinating connection to make. So, class, if Ty is able to make such a strong comparison, what does all this tell us about the causes of war?”
    “They all the same,” Nympho said.
    “Not necessarily,” Alyse said. “There’s one other thing we haven’t talked about, because it doesn’t apply to World War One, but it does apply to World War Two and a few wars since. A dictator. Someone like Hitler or Stalin. Or that Serbian guy with the weird name.”
    “Slobodan Miloević?” Mr. Guzman said. “You’ve made a good point. So we can see that wars stem from a variety of causes, from rivalries to ambitious dictators. Will there always be war, do you think?”
    A guy in Blood colors shot his hand up. “War’s what humans do. Man is a savage beast.”
    A Latina said, “That’s a man’s excuse. War only happens because men are too stupid to find another way.”
    “We can’t generalize like that,” Alyse said. “World War One, yeah, I think it didn’t have to happen. But not all wars are like that. Someone like Hitler had to be stopped with violence. He wasn’t going to quit until he’d taken over the whole world and killed every Jew and other minority in it.”
    Mr. Guzman scratched his cheek. “Now here’s a question. Should a country start a war because they think another country will come after them in the future?”
    “Like what happened in Iraq?” someone asked.
    “I’m saying in general.”
    I put my hand up. I had to answer this one.
    “Ty?”
    “A good leader always knows his enemy’s next move, and strikes first. Think about it. Who got it made? The army that gets to the battlefield first, or second?”
    Mr. Guzman’s eyes brightened. “The Art of War.”
    I nodded.
    Alyse said, “That sounds fine, but is it really smart to go around starting wars just in case you think an enemy might strike againstyou? Like when Bush went after Saddam Hussein. It only got more of the Arab world against him. Against us. Is it worth it to get rid of one enemy if you’re going to make lots more? I don’t think so.”
    The Blood said, “Saddam needed to be taken out. We knew what we had to do, and we did it. That’s why we on top