An hour later I’d hauled the last box out of Green’s room and up the three flights of stairs since the elevator was conveniently getting repairs. Part of me was sure Green had known that when he made me do the job, but maybe that was giving him too much credit. Shaking my head to rid myself of the storm cloud that seemed to have settled around my shoulders ever since my run-in with Little Miss Fitz, I hurried toward the student dorms. It was late, and if I didn’t hustle, the mess hall would be closed, and I’d be out of luck. With that in mind, I broke into a jog that ate up the quarter mile between the simulation building and my dorm in a matter of minutes.

My mind went back to the successful simulation I’d done that afternoon. It was over the Battles of Lexington and Concord, and I’d gone in disguised as a British solider. I wondered if it would ever get old seeing Paul Revere in the flesh. Probably not. Early American History was my favorite, and this simulation was one of the more advanced of the program since potential Butterflies were scattered over a large area. Which is probably why it was my favorite; there was nothing I loved more than a challenge. I smiled, thinking about how I’d caught my Butterfly in plenty of time, cuffed him, and made it out before major damage was done. It had been textbook. I hadn’t stayed back to watch the Recap to rub Regan’s failure in her face. That was just an added bonus. It really was the extra practice that I craved. If you wanted to be the best, you had to live and breathe this life, and if I could learn from my classmates’ mistakes and avoid making my own, all the better.

I reached the mess hall two minutes before it closed and earned myself a dirty look from Mrs. Smith, who was just walking over to the big metal double doors to lock them up for the night.

“Sorry,” I apologized as I flashed her one of my most winning smiles. “I got tied up. I’ll just grab something and bring it back to my room.”

“There isn’t much left,” she grumbled as she locked the door behind me lest anyone else sneak in and make her night longer.