Chapter 136

Emma is waiting at the bottom of the steps with her bag clutched to her chest and the expression of someone who has been rehearsing an apology for the last two hours and is now unsure which version to lead with. Beside her, Priya is on her phone, and Chloe is eating from a bag of chips with the unbothered energy of someone who was not, in fact, the one who spent the afternoon in detention.

"How bad was it?" Priya asks without looking up from her phone.

"Two weeks of detention."

Chloe stops chewing. "Two weeks?"

"Yup. Every day starting today, so technically I've already served my first sentence." I start walking and they fall in around me the way they always do, Priya tucking her phone away, Chloe folding her chip bag closed, Emma falling into step beside me with that guilt still written all over her face. "It's fine, I handled it, Mercer and I came to a civilized understanding. Can we go eat now?"

"Lucia," Emma says quietly, and I already know from h