Cora says, “What—” but doesn’t get to finish her sentence before Nandini pulls her into the hallway.

I turn to Ace. “What did you want to talk about?”

“I can’t make it to the study session today,” he says, his voice quiet. “I have a family thing.”

I blink. “A family thing.”

“My dad insists on having family dinners every Friday,” Ace says, shrugging. “He usually leaves for business trips afterward, so we eat pretty early.” He looks uncomfortable again, like when we spoke about Xander. It piques my curiosity, but not enough to pry.

Then his words register.

“So you’ll be skipping our lesson every Friday?” I ask in disbelief.

I’ve been following Miss Cannon’s outline as a base for our sessions. If I turn five weekly meetings into four, every single lesson will have to be adjusted in order to accommodate the change.

Ace grimaces. “Listen, I know but... I can’t not attend.”

The reluctant look on his face is one that I understand all too well. Sometimes our parents don’t give us a choice.

I frown. “I get it. I really do. But that’s so many days unaccounted for...”

Before Ace can reply, Miss Cannon appears in front of our desks, beaming. “I assume your study sessions are going well?”

I hesitate and look at Ace. He looks back at me with his lips pressed together harshly, and I’m reminded that when he showed up at our first session together, he was shocked that I hadn’t complained to Miss Cannon about him.

“Great,” I say, turning my attention back to Miss Cannon. “Alistair has shown a lot of initiative.”

“Do you feel you’re learning a lot from Karina?” Miss Cannon asks Ace, still grinning. Her happiness is infectious and, despite my concerns, I smile in return.

“More than I expected,” Ace says. He’s staring at me instead of Miss Cannon. “I hope to continue learning more.”

The weight overlaying his words makes me squirm, heat rushing to my cheeks. “I hope so, too.”

Miss Cannon sighs happily, folding her hands together and clutching them to her chest. “I’m so glad this is working out.”

Ace doesn’t look away as he says, “Me too.”

Without much left to contribute, I start packing up my things and head for the door. Miss Cannon lets me slip past her with a small smile. As soon as I pass through the doors and into the hallway, fingers wrap gently around my wrist and pull me back beside a row of yellow lockers.

I look up at Ace in surprise. His rings are cold against my skin. “What?”

“I thought you were going to tell her about me bailing today,” he says. He doesn’t phrase it as a question, but his gaze is imploring as he looks at me.

I shrug. “I thought we could figure it out between us first.”