Page 33 of Lessons in Power

Asher snapped. There was no other word for it. He moved with manic fury, his fist plowing into John Thomas’s face again and again.

John Thomas smiled the whole time.

“Asher,” Emilia said. He didn’t hear her, didn’t hear me, didn’t hear anything, lost to a haze of fury.

There was a blur of movement to my right as someone pulled Asher off of John Thomas. It took me a moment to process the fact that it was Henry. Asher struggled against his hold, lunging forward. Henry jerked him back. His arms tightened around Asher’s torso.

“Enough, Ash,” Henry said.

When teachers descended on us a moment later, John Thomas was still lying on the ground bleeding. He was stillsmiling. He caught my eyes, and I could practically hear him gloating,You’re not the only one who can execute a plan.

CHAPTER 24

Asher was suspended for two weeks. He was lucky he wasn’t expelled. Enough people had seen the fight to paint a consistent picture: Asher had thrown the first punch. John Thomas hadn’t even fought back. Fewer of us had heard John Thomas goading Asher into the fight.

When the headmaster had asked Emilia if John Thomas had been bothering her, she’d shaken her head. She didn’t meet Asher’s eyes. She didn’t say a word.

No amount of explaining could compensate for that.

Asher caught her on the way out of the headmaster’s office. “Em—”

“Don’t,” Emilia told him forcefully. I translated:Don’t ask her what John Thomas had been talking about. Don’t ask her why she hadn’t answered the headmaster’s question with a yes.“You finally got yourself suspended,” she snapped at Asher. “Are you happy now?”

“I was just …” Asher started to say, but Emilia didn’t let him finish. She put a hand on his chest and pushed him back.

“I didn’t ask you to.”

A very bruised John Thomas declared himself my partner in Speaking of Words.

Henry came to stand between us. “A real man never just assumes someone wants to be his partner,” Henry said, staring at John Thomas with an expression that sent chills down my spine. “A real man asks.”

Henry’s voice was low and rife with the implication that he wasn’t really talking about group projects.

“A real man does not coerce. He does not pressure,” Henry continued. “He does not just take what he wants. Heasks.” Henry kept his eyes fixed on John Thomas for a moment longer, then turned to me and demonstrated. “Would you like to work together on this assignment, Kendrick?”

If looks could kill, the one I leveled at John Thomas Wilcox in that moment would have put him six feet under.

“I’d love to,” I told Henry, turning my back on the minority whip’s son.

Unfortunately, there was an odd number of students in the class, leaving John Thomas free to tack himself onto our group. Clearly, he hadn’t taken even one of Henry’s words to heart.

He’d taken them as an invitation to spar.

“Shame about Asher,” John Thomas said offhandedly. “Guy’s always been a little unhinged.”

For an instant, I wondered if taking a swing at John Thomas myself might be worth a two-week suspension.

“In a couple of weeks, Asher’s suspension will be over.” Henry’s voice was mild, perfectly controlled. “But you,” he continued, looking at John Thomas like he could see into and through him and there was nothing to see, “will continue to be an utter disappointment to anyone who has ever given you the benefit of the doubt.”

Disappointmentwas a word that hit John Thomas where it hurt.

“What about you, Tess?” John Thomas asked, once he’d recovered. “Are youdisappointed?”

“No,” I said. “I don’t give the benefit of the doubt to people like you.”

There was another brief, tense moment of silence.

“Did you know Hardwicke keeps records?” John Thomas asked, breaking it. “About medications, diagnoses, mental health risks …” he trailed off. “You’d be surprised how many girls at this school say they’re going to summer camp but actually check in to eating disorder clinics. And your little friend Vivvie?” John Thomas continued. “She’s an interesting one.”