“Thank you, sir,” I said, forcing a smile onto my face. Treebaun turned his attention back to the know-it-all in the front row, and nodded for him to continue. The boy did, going on at length about every nitty-gritty detail of the epic battle. I saw Jennifer and Mike exchange looks of exasperation and almost smiled. I wasn’t the only one who found this particular know-it-all obnoxious.

“Very good, Cadet Mason,” Treebaun said, turning back to the class. “Now, who can explain the telltale flaw in the Butterfly Cadet Frost failed to apprehend?” With the press of a button, the Butterfly in question flicked onto the screen and began to slowly revolve in a circle so we could see every possible angle of his blood-splattered uniform.

There was the muffled rustle of clothing as everyone shifted nervously, and before I even realized I was doing it, my hand was in the air. Treebaun waited a moment, scanning the room to see if anyone else was going to volunteer before pointing at me.

“The blood on his jacket,” I said.

“Go on,” Treebaun prompted.

“It’s too red,” I explained. “If you look closely, you can see that his jacket is dry, not wet. He was disguised to look like he was injured in the battle, but blood dries brown, not bright red.”