The best place to look for this answer is in chapter 1 of the book. Connor is a troublemaker, and his parents have had enough of it. In paragraph 7 of the opening chapter, Connor admits that he has worked to give himself a "bad boy" persona; however, Connor does admit that he's not necessarily enough of a bad boy to run away and be AWOL. There are some hints in chapter 1 that indicate that Connor is a lousy student on top of being a troublemaker. He brings home a B+ grade on his science test just to make his dad feel guilty about the unwind order. Connor admits it's the best grade he's ever gotten. The biggest piece of evidence that shows Connor being enough of a delinquent to be unwound can be found when the text tells readers what Ariana's parents think of Connor. They refer to him as "that Lassiter boy," and then we read that Connor has been in and out of "disciplinary school."