The next morning, Anja leads me to a practice room in the back corner of the band hall which is never used. This is apparently where she usually hangs out in the morning. It’s a rather large practice room that contains a bunch of assorted percussion equipment. When we walk in, Nova is already there, playing his DS.

“Morning Nova,” Anja greets as we both take seats next to him on the floor.

“The three of us need to discuss something very important,” I say, hoping to cut to the chase.

“Um… I need to finish my algebra homework first,” he replies.

“Don’t bullshit us,” I snipe at him. “I can clearly see that you’re currently playing Mario Kart. How stupid do you think I am?”

“Fuck off,” Nova growls.

“When’s your work due?” Anja asks.

“First period,” Nova replies.

“Oh wow. So yeah, you better get that done before we do anything else,” Anja says.

“I only have like thirty minutes, though,” Nova argues. “What’s the point of starting it now?”

“You haven’t even started it?” I inquire. “How many questions do you have?”

“Like, twenty,” Nova answers.

“Dude, you can do that in thirty minutes. Algebra’s as easy as piss.”

“Hehe… That wasn’t my experience Ashley,” Anja cuts in, grinning.

Normally, you would take basic algebra in the ninth grade. However, students who are in advanced classes are given the opportunity to take it in eighth grade and start geometry in ninth grade instead. As a result of this, both Anja and I are on the same level in math, despite the fact that she’s a year older, and Nova is still in algebra despite being in my grade.

“Fine. I’ll do it,” Nova groans, rolling his eyes. He pulls one of our school’s antique algebra textbooks out of his backpack and opens it to the appropriate page.

“Okay, first you need to think back to the lecture over this material,” Anja instructs him. “Compare the examples you went over in class to the first few problems.”

“Implying I was actually paying attention during class?” Nova snickers.

“Oh. Well, if you weren’t paying attention, that’s okay,” Anja says reassuringly. “You just have to…”

“Hold on a second,” I interrupt. “No, it’s not okay. Why on earth weren’t you paying attention? Do you want to fail?”

Nova gives me a death glare. “You know what? Fuck you and your nagging,” he spits. He slams his algebra book shut and storms out of the practice room with it.

Anja sighs heavily, staring at me with disappointment. “I hope you’re not planning on becoming a teacher, Ashley,” she chides. “You’d be terrible at it.”

“Yeah, I suppose I would be,” I admit. “I have a very low tolerance for idiots.”

“He’s not an idiot, you bitch!” Anja jabs at me. “I don’t think you truly understand the things he’s dealing with in his life.”

“And you do?”

“Well, I have a feeling that you may have reminded him of his mother just then. And not in a good way.”

I think about this. If Anja’s characterization of his mother is accurate, it would explain his reaction to my scolding.

“I suppose we don’t want that,” I concede. “How about you do the tutoring next time?”

“I think that would be best,” she says dramatically.

I sigh and direct my attention towards studying for my upcoming quiz in AP Human Geography. Most AP classes are reserved for our junior and senior years, but Human Geography is offered to a special selection of students who got excellent grades in eighth grade history.

Zoe could’ve gotten into the class with me, but she voluntarily declined, not wanting the extra pressure. I can’t blame her. She’s a pretty bright kid, but she just goes to pieces any time there’s a quiz or test, and AP classes have quite a lot of those. Unfortunately, the absence of her company means that I have to deal with those idiots all by myself.

After I flip through my flash cards for a while, Nova comes back into the practice room, holding what appears to be a completed math assignment.

“Can you guys look over my answers?” Nova asks.

“Uh… okay, maybe this is a job which you’re better suited for,” Anja says, passing the paper over to me.

I sigh again and begin to look over his work. Despite the hassle it took to get him started, it seems like he nailed it in the end. I’m guessing that he used the examples in the book to make up for his lack of conscious classroom instruction.

“These… are all correct,” I tell Nova, handing the paper back to him.

He doesn’t have a response for that. He just plops back onto the floor and starts cramming his things back into his backpack.

“I suppose I was wrong about you after all,” I continue. “You’re not stupid, Nova. Your problem is that you’re lazy.”

“He’s not lazy either!” Anja barks. “He’s afraid, Ashley.”

“Uh… what would I be afraid of?” Nova asks.

“Hmm… perhaps you’re afraid of failure?” I speculate. “Are you underestimating your abilities?”

Nova shakes his head. “Look, can we stop with this psychoanalysis shit? It’s annoying me.”

“Alright, whatever,” I say. “There’s not enough time left now, so let’s plan to discuss some more serious matters over lunch.”

Nova gives a non-committal grunt. I decide to leave the practice room and look for Zoe.

I find her near the front of the band hall, talking with three other girls. One of them is Diana. Like Zoe, she goes to my church, but I’ve never liked her all that much. She’s always come across to me like a bit of an idiot. The next is Terra, another girl from church I never quite clicked with. Always came across as overly judgmental to me. She has a habit of saying something horrible about whoever just left the room. It always makes me wonder what she says about me after I leave. The third is Yonca, who admittedly is alright. The worst thing about her is the company that she chooses. One-on-one, she’s nice enough.

When Zoe sees me, she gives me a friendly wave and stands up from her chair. “Oh, there you are, Ashley!” She says. “What have you been up to this morning? I couldn’t find you in any of the practice rooms.”

“I was in the back one with Anja and Nova,” I explain to her. “Nova needed some algebra help.”

“Which Anja?” Terra asks me. “Do you mean Anja Beulen?”

“Yeah. I don’t think there are any other ‘Anja’s at the school, are there?”

She leans over the back of her chair and looks at me with narrowed eyes. “Are you aware of the… rumors surrounding her?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t care,” I tell her bluntly. “Unlike you, I don’t pay attention to petty gossip.”

“Hmm… well, if you learned what the rumors are, you might just care,” she replies ominously.

At that moment, I’m saved by the ringing of the bell.

“Oh! We better head to English,” Zoe says. “Talk to you guys later!”

As we leave the band hall together, I notice that Zoe seems stressed about something- she’s breathing more deeply than usual.

“Is everything okay?” I ask her.

“Yeah. I’m just nervous for the quiz today,” she confesses.

“You mean the one in English, or the one in Biology?” I ask.

Her eyes fly open. “We have a quiz in English???” she asks in a frightened voice.

“Relax. I’m sure it’s going to be easy,” I assure her. Nevertheless, her anxious state is considerably heightened for the rest of our time walking to class.

However, Zoe and I are quite surprised to walk into class and find the desks arranged in groups of three. I guess we’re not having a quiz, then.

“I’ve decided to postpone the quiz until tomorrow,” Ms. Truman explains. “Today, we will be doing a group project.”

“Phew. That’s a relief,” Zoe says as we sit down at an empty table. “Now I have another day to prepare!”

“Personally,” I comment, “I prefer to know what to expect when I walk into class.”

As I’m getting my things out of my backpack, I notice something odd. Some boy I’ve never seen before is standing near our desk, glancing around nervously. He’s almost my height, a bit muscular, and has short, brown hair that’s ruffled up and rectangular glasses.

“What do you want?” I ask him, looking him in the eyes.

“Um… is... can I…” he stutters, looking flustered for some reason.

“Oh, do you need a group?” Zoe asks kindly. “You can sit with us for today.”

“Yeah. Thanks,” he says, looking relieved.

He sits down, takes a deep breath, and then looks at me. “Ashley, right?”

“Yes.”

“Nice to meet you,” he greets, nodding curtly. “My name’s Kevin.”

“I’m Zoe!” Zoe says, reaching out to shake his hand. “Anyways, we need to find out what it is we’re supposed to be doing…”

I grab a hand-out that’s sitting on my desk. “Let’s see… instructions. I’ll just read it to you guys, since we only have one.”

The rest of the class period goes fairly well. I was initially worried that this Kevin guy may try to cause us trouble, but he seems fine. With the quiz in English cancelled, I set my sights on the next quiz I have that day: AP Human Geography. I can be fairly certain that it won’t be cancelled, as this class is taught by a competent teacher.

While reviewing my flashcards in the minutes before class, I feel a tap on my shoulder. I don’t even turn to look around, because I have a strange feeling that I know what’s about to happen.

“Hey Ashley! Can I… see those real quick?”

It’s Zoe’s friend Diana. As you can tell, she’s basically one of those kids who wants to get through school without putting any work in. So obviously, I tell her, “No.”

“...No? Please Ashley? I’m panicking!”

“That’s not my fault,” I say, because it isn’t. I’m the one who went through the trouble to put these together, not her.

I would’ve loved to get back to reviewing, but at that point I’m interrupted yet again, by a familiar, whiny voice which is now impersonating a stereotypical old English accent, saying “Sorry, the peasants must payeth thy taxes before speaking to the queen!”

I turn my head head to right, and I see him: Mason Wallace.

Mason Wallace is a boy whom I dislike possibly more than anyone else on the entire planet. I understand from the Bible that hatred is a sin, but I gotta admit, I fucking hate him. He’s comparable to Draco Malfoy, except without any of Draco’s more redeeming qualities from the later books. I mean, he even has the blonde hair.

There he sits, grinning at me in such a way so as to invoke my inner sadist. Okay, no, wait, this is important, I need to interrupt myself again to make this point. Let me give you an idea here. You know how Anja has that smile she sometimes gives me that just inexplicably annoys me? Mason’s is like, 100 times worse. Scratch that, 200 times.

“You saved the day again!” He says to me. “You sure showed Diana the importance of preparing b-”

“Mason. Shut the fuck up. I’m studying.” I whisper, cutting him off mid-sentence. Because I am not in the mood to put up with his shit.

He smirks at me, evidently delighted that he got a reaction out of me. Which is the wrong response. If he knew what was going on inside my brain, he would be sprinting out of the classroom as fast as he can.

Fortunately for him, the quiz is being passed out at that point. Next time…

The atmosphere of the lunch table today feels remarkably different today than usual. Ashley and Anja both look unusually serious. Well, to be more accurate, Anja looks unusually serious, and Ashley looks about the same as usual. It gives the area a tense vibe, and I get the impression that both of them are anticipating something.

“Hi guys,” I say timidly, afraid of breaking the mood. “What’s up?”

“Oh, hi Zoe. We’re going to have a serious talk with Nova,” Ashley asserts.

“Oh really? About what?” I inquire.

Ashley and Anja glance at each other, and Ashley shakes her head very slightly. Anja seems to know what this means, and sighs morosely.

“Nova’s been going through a tough time in his personal life recently,” Anja explains. “We’re worried about him, so we want to help him… talk it out.”

“Actually, you may be able to help us,” Ashley says to me. “I think that… I may have gotten on Nova’s bad side this morning. I’d appreciate it if you could help me talk to him.”

“I don’t know what I could do to help,” I admit. “I barely know him.”

“You’re good at getting people to trust you,” Ashley assures me. “You can take my word for it.”

Nova comes over to the table at that moment, Ashley begins before he even has a chance to sit down.

“Nova. Before you pull out your DS, it’s time we talk about that important subject we referenced earlier.”

“It’s a 3DS,” Nova replies, looking annoyed with her.

“Whatever,” Ashley says back. “Anja, do you want to do the honors?”

Anja looks down at the table solemnly. “Well… I’ve been talking with Ashley, and I think we’ve found a way to... help you out.”

“Help me out with what?” Nova asks skeptically.

“With your custody case,” Anja explains.

Nova glares at her. “How much does she know about it?” he presses her, clearly referring to Ashley. “I didn’t think you were going to go around telling other people about it.”

“I know the basics,” Ashley interjects quickly. “But I want to hear most of it from you. I need an idea of how serious the situation is.”

“And why should I tell you anything?” Nova protests, shooting a betrayed look at Anja.

“Nova, you have to trust me,” Anja tells him, speaking gingerly. “I wouldn’t have done what I did… except I really think we have a fighting chance here. There’s a way we can get you through this.”

Nova looks despondent. He’s now just staring off into space, drumming his fingers on the table subconsciously. Something about the look in his eyes looks familiar to me… I’m not sure what moves me to do it, but I start talking.

“I know that we don’t know each other very well,” I begin, “But you can tell us whatever is going on with you. If there’s any way we can help... we will.”

For a moment, he doesn’t react to what I said in any way. However, after a few seconds, he begins talking.

“So, let me get this straight,” Ashley says after Nova is done explaining. “Pavia’s going to give custody of you and your sister back to your mom, because… why?”

“Because he’s a prick!” Nova spits, his face contorted with fury over the tale he just recounted. This whole time his eyes have been seemingly fixed down on the table, away from everyone’s eyes.

“Ah. Well thank you Nova, that clears up everything.”

“I think what Ashley means is, he must have some sort of legal argument,” Anja cuts in. “Didn’t you say something to me earlier about him not liking your dad?”

“He thinks that my mom would be a better caretaker because she has more money,” Nova explains, sneering. “But that’s bullshit. My dad works two jobs to care for us and pay for our shitty apartment. You can’t say that he doesn’t care.”

I gasp unconsciously. I always thought that this town was a fairly wealthy one, so it never occurred to me that there are people here who struggle just to get by. Nova finally looks up from the table and momentarily makes eye contact with me, giving me an odd, blank look.

“It sounds like he might think he’s doing the right thing, then,” Ashley comments, almost more to herself than to anyone else.

Nova shakes his head, his eyes returning downward. “We’ve told him about the way my mom acts; how she throws things at people when she gets home and insults us. My dad’s talked about it, I’ve talked about it, even Kat has come in to talk about it; but he believes my mom over all of us.”

Ashley looks deep in thought; it’s like she’s trying to solve a complicated math problem in her head.

“Well, we can’t talk about it much in here, because it’s very personal,” Anja explains, “But Ashley and I might just know a way to help you out of this.”

This intrigues me. What could Ashley and Anja do to help Nova with a legal case like this? Perhaps they want to coach him on legal arguments or something? I want to ask, but it sounds like the type of thing that’s none of my business.

Nova doesn’t seem to be convinced; instead of answering, he returns to drumming his fingers on the table agitatedly.

After a moment of this, Ashley snaps, “Nova, would you cut that out?”

“Cut what out?” Nova replies, not looking at her.

Ashley sighs, and evidently decides to let it slide. “Whatever. Let’s plan to meet up tomorrow. We need to go over what exactly we have in mind for how to resolve this situation, first of all. In addition, there are some outstanding claims about Pavia that we need to investigate before taking action.”

“Well, whatever we’re doing, we better do it by next Thursday,” Nova comments. “That’s when he said he’s making a final decision about the custody case.”

“Damn. It would’ve been nice if you mentioned that earlier,” Ashley replies, looking peeved. “Well, you must understand that we are working with powers that are greater than any one of us. We absolutely can’t afford to make a hasty decision.”

“Doing nothing is not an option, Ashley,” Anja asserts. “If you know how to help and do nothing, you’re responsible for the outcome.”

“And if you rush into a decision without thinking it through because you feel like you must do something, you’re responsible for the unintended consequences of your actions too!” Ashley argues back. “Ask your friends in Congress, who passed a bill they hadn’t even read through, and guess what? It turned out to be a disaster!”

This pushes Anja over the edge, and the two begin to have a heated political discussion about healthcare or something. This stuff is over my head, so I quickly lose track of the discussion.

While I didn’t ultimately contribute very much to the conversation in hindsight, I think I was at least able to help with what Ashley wanted me to do. After I spoke to Nova, he opened up to us about his situation. It was really heartbreaking to hear about what he’s going through; I pray that somehow or another, he’s able to get through it and be able to find peace.

At long fucking last, I’m done with tests and quizzes for the day. Just got done with my first root word quiz in Biology. Pretty sure I nailed it.

As I walk out of the classroom, however, I bump into Zoe. This occurrence is not unlikely, given that she has class in the same room afterwards.

She just about runs into me, looking scared halfway out of her wits. “How was it?” she asks. “I don’t even know what is the how this going.”

…Did I just have a stroke, or was that total gibberish?

“Um… can you say that again, slowly?” I ask her.

Zoe just looks up at me, looking as if she’s about to burst into tears. “How can you stay so calm all the time? Every time I have to take another test I feel like my brain is slowly unraveling…”

“Zoe, there’s nothing wrong with you,” I say as softly as I can manage. “You just have… uh, testing anxiety.”

“Are you sure I’m not just stupid?”

“W- No, Zoe, you’re not stupid.” I put my hands on Zoe’s shoulders. “And I go to this school, so I know all about stupid.”

Zoe smiles and seems a little calmer. “Well, okay…”

I pull her into a hug, hoping that it will help her stay calm. She returns it gladly… it’s rather nice, honestly.

At this point, I see a few other girls walk near us; the same trio that Zoe was talking to this morning. I guess Diana’s a bit salty about what happened in Human Geo, because she’s glaring at me. Terra is also giving me a suspicious look. I quickly release Zoe, and we both head to our respective classes.