"Miriam, what's that face supposed to mean? You don't want to buy the cheating devices with the rest of us? You wouldn't go tell a teacher about this, would you?"
Every pair of eyes in the classroom swung toward me.
These same faces—last life, they'd watched me slip from the rooftop edge, and their twisted laughter was still ringing in my ears.
I switched to a smile instantly,
pulled a fistful of hundred-dollar bills from my pocket, and slapped them down in front of Molly.
"Something this good? Of course I'm buying in. I'll cover the biggest share!"
Molly looked at me like I'd grown a second head.
But the doubt in her eyes was swept away by the eruption of cheers around us.
"Molls, this is amazing! With eight hundred from our class president, we've got enough!"
"This is it! I'm getting into Westbridge this year! All those years my parents spent grinding at the morning market, finally worth something!"
"Miriam, I didn't expect you to support Molly's plan like this."
Ethan stepped forward and slung his arm around my shoulders.
"Miriam, keep being like this from now on. You know how much I like it when you're good and do as you're told."