“His nose had a tiny twitch, as though it were itchy. And when you lie, blood flows toward your nose, away from your cheeks. People touch their noses more often when they’re lying than when they’re not,” Ash says. “And his right shoulder ever so slightly lifted. One-sided shrugs are common nervous tells.”

It’s clear that Ash is in his element here.

“Correct,” Gupta says. “And additionally, there was a linguistic cue, which we’ll be studying more closely over the next couple of months. He said ‘I would prefer’ as opposed to ‘I prefer.’ The use of would is considered hypothetical, as opposed to a statement of truth. You may sit down, Felix. Jaya, you’re on deck.”

She stands and makes her way to the front of the room. “I accidentally burned my finger on a candle two weeks ago and the burn resembled a star. I can’t stand the smell of blood. I did not finish my breakfast this morning.”

“Which was the lie, Brendan?” Gupta asks.

“The third one,” he says, and Gupta nods for him to go on. “She overemphasized her last statement, making it louder than the other two, pushing us to believe it.”

I actually did notice that. This class is kinda fun.

“Good. Anyone see anything else?” Gupta asks.

“She also briefly rubbed her fingers together when she finished,” Ash says, “a soothing motion to make herself feel better about the lie. And she spoke faster during her last statement than the others, like she was trying to rush through it.”

Holy crap, Ash is good at this. An image of him flirting with me last night flashes into my thoughts and I groan in my head. This is so like me, to be attracted to the most complicated person in the room—the one I promised myself I wouldn’t like and who I’m positive will only make my life more problematic. If Emily were here, she’d be rolling her eyes hard right now, telling me to stop being such a wimp and just go for it. And I would probably tell her that everything was fine and that I didn’t care that much, but we would both know I didn’t mean it.

Gupta gives Ash a look of confirmation. “There was also a linguistic cue in Jaya’s lie. Did anyone detect it? In her second, truthful statement, she used a contraction, the way most of us do in casual speech. But in her third, untruthful statement, she said ‘did not’ when she might have said ‘didn’t,’ reinforcing the overemphasized nature of her lie, which Brendan spotted. Okay, Brendan, you’re up.”

Brendan stands. He doesn’t wait for Gupta to say go, which isn’t surprising.

He rolls his shoulders back and takes a breath. “I like November. But since I was a child, October’s been my favorite month. And I find the long nights in December peaceful.”