The next two weeks were a blur. In September, Marie at least was eased into the idea of tests. But October meant midterms at the end of the month, and her teachers were preparing her all month for them. She struggled to stay on top of studying. And this was for midterms. What on earth would happen with finals?

She was still soaring through Biology and Algebra. Mr. Edison would give a small smile in her direction when she'd raise her hand with the correct answer. It was nice to be acing some of her classes.

At the S.E.A., she noticed kids coming and going on a regular basis. In fact, most kids were there a month, tops. She tried to do as Mr. Edison suggested, but it wasn't working. She was now the longest attendee at the S.E.A. One day Marie showed up to the S.E.A. and Sophie wasn't there. Marie felt a pain in her heart as though she'd been stabbed. She should have known Sophie's parents would have gotten her out as soon as she showed an inch of improvement.

Marie honestly thought she was progressing. Her dance steps became surer. Her singing voice, though still not great, improved enough so Mrs. Hamilton didn't grimace every time she started to sing. Maybe they were checking her Presley High grades and saw she still had an F in choir. Either way, she started to resent her time at the S.E.A. She could have used the three hours after school studying for her midterms.

"And, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, again, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Excellent! Excellent job Marie!" Mrs. Hamilton said. "You are getting the hang of the salsa."

Marie tried to smile as she brushed some sweat off her brow. She wanted to ask why she was still at the S.E.A. if she was improving so much, but instead mumbled a thanks.

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed someone walk in. She assumed it was for observational purposes. When she glanced over, she saw it was Mr. Germain, and he was looking right at her. Mrs. Hamilton had them go again and Marie had no choice but to start dancing.

"Sorry to interrupt. We need to borrow Marie Curie for a few minutes," he said.

Marie lost count of her footing and would have slipped if her agent partner didn't tighten his grip over her hands. The last thing she wanted to do was to go anywhere with Mr. Germain.

Mrs. Hamilton nodded in Marie's direction. Marie glanced again at Mr. Germain before she forced herself to start walking toward him, her arms folded stiffly in front of her.

"Mr. Germain," Marie said in greeting.

"Marie." He didn't even look at her.

The two of them headed to the elevators. Mr. Germain swiped his ID and hit a button she vaguely remembered Mrs. Germain saying was the offices for officials. Marie started chewing on her bottom lip. The numbers inched their way up, and Marie stared at them, feeling both freaked out it was taking so long, and terrified it was too fast. Mr. Germain stood silently next to her, giving the door a thorough stare down. Marie had so much to say to Mr. Germain but knew she didn't have the courage for it.

Marie cleared her throat. "How's Sophie?"

Mr. Germain didn't blink. "Fine."

They resumed their silence. It made Marie want to edge away from Mr. Germain. She glanced at the numbers which were still in the sixties.

Being this high up she realized there would be nowhere to run if she got in deep trouble. The numbers continued to climb as she closed her eyes, trying not to give in to her fear. She had, after all, no idea why Mr. Germain wanted to talk to her. Maybe he wanted to figure out what kind of influence Marie was on his daughter. Maybe this was a formal interview to check her progress. Either way, she refused to freak out about the unknown.

The elevator stopped, then opened. Her legs turned numb and she tried to make her way semi-gracefully out of the elevator. There was a long hallway with doors on every side with names on all of them. Mrs. Germain's office was across the hall from his.

Mr. Germain took a hold of Marie's elbow as he half escorted, half dragged her to the office with his name on it. He set her down in the chair across from the desk and went to his computer, starting it up.

"Marie! It is so good to see you!"

Marie almost jumped out of her chair and turned to see Mrs. Germain at the doorway. She walked in and rushed over to her. Marie awkwardly stood up.

"Oh, hi. Good to see you too."

Marie felt the air being squeezed out of her lungs as Mrs. Germain gave her a hug which lasted a few seconds longer than she wanted. Mrs. Germain laughed her tittering laugh as they broke apart.

"I wanted to check up on you, dear, see how you were doing in the program," Mrs. Germain said.

"I'm doing... fine," Marie said.

Marie kept an eye on Mr. Germain through her peripheral vision. He was studying her as he tapped on his keyboard.

"Oh stop being so modest! Mrs. Hamilton brags about you all the time! She has nothing but glowing reviews whenever we meet. From what I hear, you are the top of your class here at the S.E.A.!"

Marie blinked a few times. "Thanks? I guess?" Was it a compliment to be passing with flying colors in a program which was designed for possible criminals the government wanted to keep an eye on?

"You know what, dear? Let me get you some hot cocoa. It's a bit nippy out there right now."

"Well, I actually came from dance, so I'm not in the mood to drink something hot," Marie said.

"Nonsense! One must take every excuse to drink hot chocolate! Be back in a jiffy!"

She left the office as Mr. Germain motioned Marie to sit back down.

"It does seem like you're improving, Marie." Mr. Germain was studying his computer where he must have pulled up her academic information. "The S.E.A. program is a wonderful thing."

Marie didn't want to agree with him, so she remained quiet. She doubted Mr. Germain brought her all the way up here to praise her.

"When you entered the program, I became in charge of your case, and therefore I am the one who will sign you off when you're ready. Mrs. Hamilton keeps wondering when you'd be done. Have you wondered yourself?" Mr. Germain asked.

"Um, yeah. Sometimes." She looked at her hands. "Often."

Why was Mr. Germain in charge of her case? From her basic knowledge of government, she knew President Arnold was at the top, then officials and junior officials, then agents and junior agents. The agents worked with their designated higher agents, who worked with their higher ups, and it kept going until the reports went to President Arnold. There were too many subjects each group of officials and agents oversaw, but she knew Mr. Germain was one of the higher officials. In fact, she remembered Sophie saying her parents were over the officials and often reported to President Arnold himself. What was he doing with a case like hers?

"I have a few questions before I let you go. You're taking math and science from Presley High. Tell me about them," he said.

Marie paused. "Um, I'm taking Biology and Algebra. Technically I should be in Algebra 2, but my schedule wouldn't allow it."

Mr. Germain nodded. "I see. And how do you like your teacher, Mr. Edison?"

A jolt of panic traveled through her system as she tried to keep her face neutral. Was this it? Was this the reason why she was brought up here during her dance class? Were they trying to figure out if she knew anything about Mr. Edison?

"He's a good teacher," Marie said.

She was terrified to say anything more. Sweat started to form at her hairline, and it wasn't from her dance class.

"I see," Mr. Germain glanced at his computer again. "Has Mr. Edison sought you out for anything?"

Marie kept her face blank. "No."

"Mrs. Hamilton mentioned in passing you have an Algebra 2 textbook, even though you're only in basic Algebra."

A knot formed in her stomach. "Well, I mean, he didn't want my talents to go to waste. He gave me the textbook so I could study it myself and get extra help from him if needed. I want to be able to take calculus my senior year."

Mr. Germain listened, looking at her suspiciously. "And do you go to him for extra help?"

"Not often. Algebra 2 is easy. What's this about? Is it a crime to get extra help from a teacher?" Marie asked.

"No, not at all. Except, we've heard things which make Mr. Edison a bit suspicious."

Marie doubted they just heard about these things, and doubted Mr. Edison was only a bit suspicious. Mr. Germain was being careful, and most likely trying to figure out how much Marie knew.

Mrs. Germain waltzed in with the cocoa. "Here you are!" She handed the cup and saucer to Marie. Marie had a moment of paranoia where she thought Mrs. Germain might have put something in it, but quickly pushed it aside as she took a small sip.

Mr. Germain tapped on his keyboard. "You are in a position to do this city a great service, Marie."

"Oh yes!" Mrs. Germain said as though she was hearing this for the first time. Marie had the impression these two were the S.E.A.'s good cop bad cop couple.

"Mr. Edison is a bit of an inventor. He's given the S.E.A. everything he invents, or so he says. We are worried he hides some of them, and inventors who hide their inventions are not creating anything to help this city. You understand?"

Marie tried not to let the panic reveal itself on her face. "Yes, I understand."

"Keep tabs on him. Come back to us and describe everything you see he's invented."

"You would be such an asset to this city!" Mrs. Germain said.

Her mouth went dry, and a few of the muscles on her face twitched from being held in a neutral position for so long. "Um, no thank you."

Mr. Germain's eyes narrowed. "Why not?"

"Well, you know, he's suspicious. What if he turns out to be dangerous and hunts me down? What if the inventions are deadly weapons?" Marie asked.

Mrs. Germain laughed, and Marie was starting to get sick of hearing it. "Oh Marie dear, you're such a hoot! Come now, if Mr. Edison was truly as dangerous as that, how would he pass through our system and get hired?"

Marie scrambled to think of something. She took another sip of hot chocolate even though she was already sweating. It gave her something to do.

"This is the S.E.A. Why do they need my services?" Marie asked.

Mrs. Germain glanced at Mr. Germain and felt she had a tiny victory with her look.

"Mr. Edison is well versed in the S.E.A. It'd be easier to have someone he doesn't expect keep an eye on him," Mr. Germain said.

"So, he is dangerous."

"No. Suspicious," Mrs. Germain said. Her falseness was beginning to chip away. Marie hid a tiny smile. They were nervous.

"My answer remains the same. Thank you, but I must return to class."

Marie felt an odd sense of accomplishment as she set the hot chocolate on the desk. Maybe this was why Sophie loved to battle with her parents. Marie was almost out of her chair when Mr. Germain stood up.

"Where is your allegiance, Marie?" he asked.

She was back in the chair. Mr. Germain wasn't finished yet, and she was nervous about what might come.

"I don't understand," Marie said.

"Where do you stand? Are you going to help our city, or are you going to be a coward?"

Marie glared. "Just because I don't want to possibly put my life on the line, doesn't mean I'm a coward."

Mr. Germain's eyes narrowed. "That is the definition of a coward." He continued to stare her down, and Marie felt the little hot chocolate she drank churn in her stomach.

"I'm concerned, Marie. Concerned for your grades at Presley."

Yeah right. Marie couldn't help but think.

"It's why I can't bring myself to sign you off yet. Therefore, your math and science classes are hereby cancelled. They are unnecessary, robotic classes, and it looks like you don't need them anyway."

Marie paled. "You can't do that."

"Whatever you don't already know can be learned in a book, as you've said so, and done so, yourself." Mr. Germain towered above her, staring at her like a vulture waiting for a weakened creature to die.

Marie's blood froze. "But I need those classes! I need them to take more advanced one's next year!"

"Oh Marie." Mrs. Germain's fake friendliness was gone, and her coldness made Marie shiver. "You can't be certain math and science will even be taught next year."

"You can't do this!" Her words toppled out of her mouth as her heartrate increased.

"It's for your protection. If you're scared of Mr. Edison, then it's best to change these classes," Mr. Germain said.

Marie wanted to scream at him but was terrified she'd accidentally reveal too much. She wanted to strangle Mr. Germain. Her fingers curled at the thought.

Music filled the room, and Marie understood what they were trying to do. They were provoking her to get her angry enough to sing. They were forcing her to reveal what she knew.

Marie closed her eyes as the angry music continued to rise. Any second now her chip would activate, and she'd start singing. If she made a sudden switch to happy thoughts, it would contradict with the angry music, and her chip wouldn't activate.

She switched to thoughts of her friends, of the fun times they had recently. She thought of the fun at the competition. The music turned a decibel quieter. She thought of her dad and was surprised when her soul filled with happiness. He was a great dad, a far better one than Mr. Germain. She immediately thought of Sophie and went through all the good times they had together.

The music changed from angry to calming. To finish it off, she went to her trusty mundane thoughts of the periodic table of the elements, listing the atomic number and matching name for each element, so the chip had nothing to put in as lyrics. The music faded away.

Marie was drenched in sweat, trembling, but her breathing was steady.

"I see," Mr. Germain said.

Marie opened her eyes and stared at his desk. She didn't want to look at him, her emotions still in a fragile state.

"I will say, Marie, I'm impressed at the control you have over your emotions. But I just want to know, if you have nothing to hide, why do you shy away from singing?"

Marie's knuckles turned white on the arm chair. "I... I didn't want you to hear my singing voice. I don't like it."

Once again, she heard Mrs. Germain's annoying laugh. She refused to look at them. Her chip never activated, so they couldn't arrest her.

"That's all for now, Marie. I still want you in the S.E.A. program, since we need to work on your confidence in singing. Tomorrow you will meet with your school counselor—" Mr. Germain checked the computer, "—Mr. Freud, and he will change your classes for you. Now, if you change your mind about anything, you let me know. It might get you out of the program faster."

Marie glared at him as she kept her breathing steady. "You're blackmailing me."

Mr. Germain smiled. "Even if that were true, who exactly would you report me to?"

Marie winced, which made Mr. Germain's smile deepen. There was no one she could go to, and she felt more alone than ever. She forced those thoughts away, scared they'd trigger the music again.

"It's been a pleasure, as always Marie," Mrs. Germain said, leaving the office.

"I'll escort you back to the elevator. Make sure you return. Mrs. Hamilton will tell me if you don't," Mr. Germain said.

It took everything inside her to stand up and start walking. Her eyes felt hot, but she refused to cry.