Chaz’s eyes are brimming, but he fights not to let the tears overflow. I am so mad, I could leap across the table at these buffoons.

Ms. Silverthorn is steaming. “I am ashamed to call you colleagues today. And Christian? I don’t think so.”

“You watch your mouth!” Mr. Blue’s face screws up into even more unpleasant form. “Students aren’t the only ones who have rules!”

The door flies open, and everyone jumps. It’s Leeza. And oh my god, she’s gone full Pat Benatar: her hair is teased wildly, her lips deep red, her eyeshadow an extreme blue even by her standards. She wears a purple zebra-stripe bodysuit with a wide red leather belt and towering red pumps. She looks fierce. Like Wonder-Woman-taking-on-Nazis fierce.

“You can’t be in here,” Frohmeyer barks, and only I notice how frozen Buckman is right now.

“What are you going to do? Expel me?”

Ms. Silverthorn reaches for her. “Leeza, what are you doing?”

“Just making clear they have no power over me. Fun fact: one of the perks of being an A student with a love of extra credit is that I already have enough points to pass all my classes. If I don’t do another thing, they’ll still have to give me a diploma.”

Ableman looks at Blue, who shrugs. She’s right.

Frohmeyer rolls his eyes. “You want to skip class and lose out on being valedictorian, be my guest.” (She’s valedictorian? She never let on!) But we’re in a meeting, and you’re going to be in trouble if you don’t walk out that door.”

“The trouble’s inside the room—this stupid school with its sexist rules and constant judging, and now this. You’re going to kick out two guys who got attacked, and you’re going to do it simply because they exist. Real nice. Real ‘love thy neighbor’ of you.”

“We don’t make the rules, Leeza,” Ableman finally speaks, and he sounds pitiful. He doesn’t like this, but he knows how things work. “We can’t let them stay here.”

“Really? If you’re going to kick them out for one kiss—” Dammit. I probably should have warned her that we never admitted anything to Frohmeyer. “Then what are you going to do about Andrew? Because, let me tell you, we’ve had a lot more than one kiss.”

Frohmeyer is on his feet. “What?” He turns to Buckman immediately. “What is she saying, Andrew?”

I see the way Leeza looks at Buckman: defiance mingles there with doubt. In her heart, she must know that he will fail her in this moment even as she hopes maybe he won’t, that maybe they can Bonnie-and-Clyde this meeting together.