Regan shrugged and turned her attention back to O’Reilly and his description of matching knitwear common to that time period. When the class finally ended, I shoved myself to my feet, my stomach snarling at the possibility of lunch. While everyone else walked toward the lunchroom with their partner, I hurried ahead to grab my lunch tray. I sat down at the same table we’d eaten breakfast at that morning, silently sulking over the fact that avoiding Regan was now physically impossible.

A moment later someone set a tray down next to mine, and I turned, fully expecting to see Regan looking smug. Instead I saw the too-serious face of Sam. He was still wearing the bloody uniform, and I tried to scoot to the right without him noticing.

“Are you a jerk?” he said, and I almost choked on the forkful of salad I’d just put in my mouth.

“What?” I said once I managed to stop coughing.

“A jerk,” he repeated. “Are you a jerk?”

“No?” I said, but it sounded unconvincing even to my own ears.

“Then stop acting like one,” he said. “Because if you don’t learn how to work with your partner, you fail.”

“And you think that seems fair?” I shot back, glad I had an outlet for the anger that had been simmering under the surface of my skin ever since that morning’s disastrous study session.

“Who in the world told you that life was fair?” he asked, eyebrow raised. I opened my mouth and then shut it again.

“Here’s the deal,” Sam went on. “The way I see it, you get dealt a hand in life, and it’s up to you to choose how you play it. So, you can keep huffing and puffing about the partner you got stuck with, or you can make the best of it and become a phenomenal team. From what I saw back there”—he jerked his head toward the Sherlock class’s platform—“Regan is pretty dang good.”

“Shocking, you’re already on Team Regan,” I said. “That girl has been skating through life like everyone’s favorite puppy. It figures the same thing would happen here.”

“No,” Sam said. “But I recognize talent when I see it. Is that your problem? Everyone likes her? No one likes you?”

“No one likes me?” I said. “Already?”

Sam shook his head. “I’m not saying that. What I am saying is that the gigantic chip you’re carrying around on your shoulder is going to get in the way of you becoming everything you could be. You need to get out of your own way.”