Teddy grinned. A reward! And then her smile faltered as her tummy rumbled.

Sighing, she slipped her new book into one of her shorts pockets and went on to find someone else to mug. Maybe this time they’d have some food. She walked a little slower, still heading toward the richest sections. She was keeping an eye out for capitalists, though, just in case.

She didn’t know what they looked like yet, but she figured she’d know one when she saw it. The man had said they were fat and piglike.

A loud gong sounded. Teddy tensed, expecting trouble, but it turned out that it only meant that a lot of people started leaving a bunch of buildings all at once. They all looked like normal people, though some were pretty fat (but not piglike, so they were probably not capitalists).

Teddy moved over to the side of one building where the entrance jutted out a bit and stood in the partial shadows there. A few of the people moving by looked her way, but they dismissed her as soon as they saw her.

Teddy waited until the crowds thinned out, a lot of them heading to some parking lots or toward a bus stop just down the street, others milling about and chatting animatedly.

What she was looking for was a loner she could mug.

And then a single girl stepped out. Her back hunched, her eyes downcast, her hands fretting over the strap of her bag. The perfect target.

That was, if she wasn’t also blond and wearing the same clothes as her Boss.

Teddy sighed and gave up on the mugging idea. She could just ask Boss for food. She’d pay her for her work, right?

“Heya, Boss,” Teddy said.

Her Boss jumped an impressive height and spun around so fast she almost knocked Teddy out with her swinging bag. “W-what are you doing here?!” she said before slapping her hand over her mouth.

A few people were looking their way now, but Teddy paid them no mind. She was too busy staring as the Boss took her hand and started pulling her along.

Had she done anything wrong?

She had left the house to mug people, but the Boss hadn’t told her not to.

Teddy figured the Boss was just being cautious.

“We, we need to talk. Right now . . . as soon as we get back to the dorms.”

“But, Boss,” Teddy said, “I’m hungry.”

The Boss made a weird noise. “Then . . . then food first.”

Teddy’s grin was enough to set a feral wolf running. The Boss was proving to be great. Teddy couldn’t wait to tell her of all the work she’d done so far.

CHAPTER FOUR

When in Doubt, Look It Up

Emily’s first class, an introduction to Literature 101, had gone . . . well.