Oh, come on. And he doesn’t even glance at me. So sneaky.

“Anyone?” Gupta asks.

“The first one,” Felix says without missing a beat. “He said he ‘likes’ November but revealed a microexpression of disgust, pulling just one corner of his mouth back, making his words and his emotion incongruent.”

Disgust, huh? Brendan shoots me a smile that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

“I’m disappointed in you, Brendan. You’re usually better than letting a microexpression trip you up,” Gupta says. “This pitiful display makes me nostalgic for the students of twenty-five years ago. Do you know that one girl went an entire year without anyone being able to detect her lies?”

Brendan rolls his eyes, like “Here we go again with the bragging about past students” thing.

However, it’s interesting to me that this is the second time someone’s specifically pointed out a record set twenty-five years ago. I can’t help but wonder if this was the same girl Blackwood claimed won all those midnight challenges.

“If confronted with the average person, you all will dance circles around them. But what about when you’re in a situation with another Strategia? At the rate you’re going, you might as well just tell one another the truth and save yourselves the hassle.” Gupta sighs. “Ashai, please come up here and make me feel better about my purpose as a teacher.”

Ash makes his way to the front of the class, appearing perfectly confident. His eyes sweep across the room and he smiles. “I like being surprised, even when the consequence is me being outmaneuvered.”

Hmmm. I would guess that he does like surprises, but nothing about Ash makes me think he likes to be outmaneuvered.

“I’m better at cards than Layla is.”

Something about his voice reminds me of when he’s trying to charm me. But I can’t imagine that Layla would be better at cards, considering his ability to read tells. Although I wouldn’t put it past Ash to lie about the one thing we’re all sure is true.

“And I’m not easily eliminated from a fight.”

I cough from surprise at hearing the word that was written in blood on my floor this morning. What are you doing, Ash? He scans the room again, and I can’t tell if he’s trying to read people or if he’s sending a message to whoever did it. Probably both.

Gupta smiles and his eyes crinkle. “Finally. Now, there is a well-delivered lie. Did anyone see or hear anything in there that would indicate which of Ashai’s statements was the deceit?”

The room is silent.

“Anyone?” Gupta says, and looks around the table of students. I look at them, too, trying to pick out a sign that might indicate the culprit. But I see only relaxed expressions and neutral postures.