“I don’t think it’s supposed to be that way,” I said. “Ashley asked who I am. I’m a cape, born, raised, and learned. I’m a student of capes, I obsessed over them well before I had powers and I stepped up my game in a professional capacity after I got powers. I had date nights with my cape boyfriend where I studied and read his Wards handbook, because that’s how into it I was. I’ve followed the trajectories of two hundred cape careers and I’ve been part of a team trying to get off the ground. I looked seriously into what it would take to start a team back when my boyfriend was getting close to leaving the Wards, because I was worried he’d get moved to another city.”

I looked Ashley in the eyes. “This is me. I know cape stuff. I know what goes into it and I know what comes from it.”

I looked at Tristan. “The last thing it is, is fair. You’re not owed anything. If you roll the dice nine times and get bad results every time, you don’t have a better shot on the tenth roll because of that.”

“But,” Tristan said, and he said it with a bit of theatrical emphasis and a light in his eyes that made me really believe he had that experience in being in front of cameras and showing off for crowds. He was more into things as he continued, “You have a better shot at getting an optimal result if you roll the dice a lot, than you would if you rolled it a couple of times, get bad results, and quit. You have to get back up after you get knocked down. You have to.”

“Or stand up in the first place,” Sveta said.

“Or stand up in the first place, yeah,” Tristan said. He glanced at Mrs. Yamada, then back to me. “What you were talking about earlier, with Sveta and it being toxic to not stretch yourself out enough, it applies here.”

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Mrs. Yamada said. “Tristan, can I ask why you keep looking to me? It’s not a usual habit.”

“Oh,” Tristan said. “I barely noticed. I think I’m pretty used to you jumping in to tell me to back down or not get so into an argument.”

“I see,” Mrs. Yamada said.

“I guess the fact that I’m checking means I’m already aware I’m doing it again, and I should self-moderate. Back down on my own instead of being told to.”

“Look at that, Pavlov’s dog can ring his own bell now,” Chris said.

“I’m all about the goats, thank you very much,” Tristan said. He touched a more pronounced lock of his magenta hair. “See, like the curling horns of a ram, right?”

Chris rolled his eyes.

Team Reach and goats? “You’re Capricorn?” I asked.