Eleanor shrugs. “I just want to get up to speed. I just found out I’ve been third-wheeling two of my best friends for half the school year and I want to figure out how I missed it. And why am I the only one who didn’t know?”

Rose reenters the room, her face grim. “It’s a media circus on the front grounds,” she says. “They’re interviewing every student they can get their hands on. Apparently, the headmaster’s sent them away twice and they keep coming back.”

“What do you think they’re saying?” I ask, feeling numb.

“We’ll go out there,” Eleanor said. “Me and Molly. It’s better if they speak to us than the other students, right?”

Rose flops on the end of the bed. “It depends what Danni wants us to say.”

“Us?” Molly repeats, sounding confused.

“Me?” I croak.

“You. This is about you.”

“This is about us. You know you’ll be brought up, Rose.”

Rose nods tersely. Oh, she knows. This is the part where she tells me what I’m cleared to say about her, right? My orders of the day from the palace?

“It is about us,” she agrees. “But it’s mostly about you. What do you want to say?”

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t surprised, and I take my time responding. I want to make sure I’m totally, definitely sure before the words leave my mouth. “I’m not going to fight it,” I say. “You can tell them I’m bi.”

As soon as the words leave my mouth, I realize that’s not what I want. Since the start of all this, I’ve had barely any control. I’ve been forced to hide my relationship with Rose. Dragged along to surprise double dates. Kissed by Harriet. Outed by whoever took that video of us. So, even though the thought of talking to a bunch of reporters about something this personal makes me want to pass out, or puke, or both, I have to. Something about this has to be in my control. So, I tell the girls I want to speak for myself. Rose gives me a super long look—like she isn’t sure I’m in my right mind—but she doesn’t argue.

Molly is the only one brave enough to bring it up. “And if they ask about Rose?”

“You don’t have to lie,” Rose says quickly. “You can just say you’re not allowed to comment about me. The palace can release a statement about me later.”

But she has to know as well as I do how bad an idea that would be, how damning it would look to anyone already suspicious.

“Rose,” I say tightly to Molly, “is my very good friend. Like you and Eleanor. We’re a group of girls at boarding school. We’re close. But Rose is straight.”