“Arika won’t accept!” she shouted.

Covington rolled her eyes. “Of course she will.”

I said nothing.

“Well, you can’t just appoint her; she has to be confirmed by the Committee!” East Keep challenged.

Covington didn’t blink. “Fine. All in favor, say ‘aye.’” There was a moment of silence, then Covington snapped her fingers at the twins.

They jumped and spoke together. “Aye.”

In the end, the count was ten to one, with one abstaining, in favor of my appointment.

Covington’s rings clinked as she folded her hands. “Arika is Vice Chair.”

East Keep shrieked, “Noo!”

“It’s done, we’re moving on.”

“But she voted against herself!”

“Actually, she abstained,” Hannibal said.

“Hush up, Hannibal!”

“Hey, don’t shout at her,” Jetson said. “You lost fair and square.”

East Keep’s pug nose quivered on the verge of tears.

My stomach rolled guiltily. If there had been any other explanation for my whereabouts, I would have declined the job, just to remove that wounded look from her eyes.

She stood up and backed toward the exit, looking around the room as if we were strangers. With the exception of Covington and myself, the Committee avoided her gaze. It was terrible to see her pain. But, I figured, I owed her that much.

At the door, she turned to deride Covington.

“You all follow her like she’s something special, but she’s not and she knows it. She’s only President of the Committee because Arika declined the post.”

Her eyes raked me. “And you—you’re too nutty to care what happens at the Joust. You don’t care about any of us. All you’ve ever cared about was your marks, and your reputation with the Teachers. And that’s all you care about now.”

She tossed her head toward Covington. “Do you know she wanted the Silver Award? She works just as hard as you, only she does it in secret in case she doesn’t win. She doesn’t want to come in second, again, to you.”

I dropped my gaze to the table.

She sneered at Covington. “I’ll get you back for this.”

Before anyone could reply, she left.

* * *

I couldn’t lift my eyes from the blank parchment in front of me. Why had Covington lied for me?

Covington broke the silence. “As President of the Committee, I move to remove East Keep as Treasurer. I move to elect Hannibal as Treasurer in her place.”

“Technically,” Hannibal said, “we can’t elect new officers without every member present. If East Keep doesn’t return, we can’t even hold a meeting.”

Covington rolled her eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous, of course we’re holding the meeting.”

A secondary student spoke, his voice small. “Hannibal’s right. According to the rules, nothing we do is official without every member present. That’s why attendance is mandatory.”