She escaped to the little outdoor path from the school to the library for fresh air between her first two classes. Eyes closed, Lia tilted her head up, inhaled, and choked. The sweet, sour scent of death rolled down the back of her throat. Lia shook her head and rubbed her eyes. A robin lay rotting in the bushes near her and Gem’s usual lunch table. She darted across the path.

A body smacked into her.

“Hey!” A hand closed around Lia’s arm. “Oh.”

It was Faith, and she dropped Lia’s arm. Lia stumbled back. Her backpack fell off her shoulder.

“Crap.” Faith held up her hands in surrender. “Sorry. I was just trying to slip past you. You looked pretty out of it.”

Lia’s stomach was in her throat. “Sorry. Yeah. I just needed fresh air.”

“Good luck,” Faith said with a laugh, and nodded to the bird. “Here. Let me help.”

Faith set down the stack of books she had been carrying. She bent over Lia’s backpack and picked it up, shoving a few of Lia’s books and pens back into the half-closed front pocket. She zipped it up and handed it to Lia. Her arm didn’t even shake.

Carrying textbooks was practically weight training now.

“Thanks,” Lia said. “You didn’t have to. It was my fault.”

Faith’s head cocked to the side, her hair tumbling over her shoulder. She smiled. “I feel guilty, and Mrs. White always lectures us about how important volunteering is. Consider this altruism.”

“Luckily we’re done with all that,” Lia said, turning around and relenting.

“Hardly. I haven’t heard back yet,” said Faith. “But I have a four point two, so it should be fine.”

Lia didn’t really know how to respond to that without starting a conversation, so she only nodded.

“It would’ve been better, but AP World History was so pointless.” She picked up her books. “Did you take it? We’ll never need it.”

Lia hadn’t, but she had liked the last geography and civics classes she took. AP classes were the bane of her existence, and she only took the ones her parents made her take.

“You will,” Lia said. “Critical reasoning and all that. You might not ever need to know when things happened, but it’s the thinking that counts.”

“No,” said Faith, checking her phone, “I’m pretty sure you mean ‘it’s the thought that counts.’ ”

Lia did not mean that.

“Sure,” Lia said. “You’re right.”

Faith grinned. “Sorry about spooking you. See you in class tomorrow, I guess.”

“Yeah, tomorrow,” Lia said, racing away. She was half worried about being late and half desperate to escape. She walked through the door to her next class with a minute to spare.

Gem was already in their seat and chatting with a beaming Cassidy.

“At least something good is happening,” Gem said, smiling at her.

“What’s up?” Lia asked.

“Nothing,” said Cassidy quickly. Her smile fell. “I got some good news.”

Lia sat without arguing. Cassidy’s business was her own, but Gem leaned against their desk.