“I won’t deceive you, Covington,” I said. “I’ve worked my whole life to be a Senator. Once I have my seat in the Assembly, I’ll do what I can to quell the Rebels and neutralize Voltaire’s Army. I want peace for all the Kongo Houses—but I can’t think of that now. For now, I have to keep on Jones’ good side and graduate. So excuse me, I have a Final Exam.”

Covington looked at me a long time.

I slid my chair back.

I had just reached the door when her voice stopped me again.

“I can still go to Jones whenever I want. You’ll be ruined.”

I walked back to the table. “You wouldn’t dare.”

She stood. “Don’t presume to know what I would dare, Arika Cobane. You’ve always thought you were too good for the rest of us, even in primary school. Did you ever think about us while you fought Jones? She punished all of us, not just you. Then, when you decided class was alright, you stepped on everyone in your race to the top.”

“I did not!”

“You skipped every gathering to sit in the library and memorize books that weren’t even required! You made sure you were the first to raise your hand, so that no one could get a word in edgewise. And when we did, you were always there to correct us. If the date was off a year or the name mispronounced—there came Arika!”

My shoulder stiffened. “That’s not fair. There’s only one top spot. You can’t blame me for competing for it.”

She looked down her long, thin nose at me. “Okay, I’ve tried reasoning. I give up. Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to wait here for twenty minutes. Then you’ll go to the Rec Room.”

“Why?”

She went on with her instructions. “By that time, I will have patched things over with East Keep.”

“There’s no way! East Keep was vexed!”

“I’ll patch it over,” she repeated. “And you’ll have fun for four hours while you’re at our party.”

“Have fun?” I said, bewildered. “At a nail party? What can you possibly hope to accomplish?”

“It’s not a nail party, Arika. It’s a braiding party. And you’ll be there.”

I grimaced—I couldn’t help myself.

“We’re having another tomorrow night. If you don’t have fun tonight, you don’t have to come tomorrow. You go your way and I’ll go mine. But you have to give it a chance. No snide remarks and no talking about books, exams, the Assembly or Hasting. You’re there to make friends, deal?”

Seeing she was in earnest, I bit my lip. “Can I answer later?”

“No.”

“Can I—”