Page 39 of Riot Rules

A light goes on, and then Carrie Mendoza is in front of me, her expression a mixture of shock, fear, and fury. There’s a brick in her hand.

Pain lights up the inside of my skull.Oh…oh my fucking god. Ow!Shethrewit at me. Fucking launched a brick at my head andhitme with it.

“What the FUCK are you doing, Dash!”

It wasn’t a brick. It was a…book?

It’s there at my feet—The Count of Motherfucking Monte Cristo.

“DASH!”She launches herself at me, pushing me back against the door, and I don’t have time to figure out what the hell she’s trying to do. Labored footsteps pound along the hallway—the footsteps of a winded fifty-three-year-old Patriots supporter from New Jersey. They’re heading this way. I grab Carrie, wrapping my arms around her, pinning her arms to her sides, clamping my hand over her mouth.

She’s flush against me, her back to my chest, and she’s squirming like a…well, a girl who’s being restrained by a guy wearing a hoody, who’s just bust his way into her bedroom in the middle of the night.Fuck. “Shhhhhhit! I’m sorry, okay. Carrie, it’s okay. It’s me.Shhh. It’s Dash,”

“I know who…you…are!” she growls. “Get…out of my…fucking…room!”

I tighten my grip, pressing my forehead against her temple. “For the love of God, quit fighting me and shut the hell up. Hugh’s out there. If he finds me, I’m officiallyfucked.”

She stills.

Thank the stars, she fucking stills.

Hugh’s grunting and groaning can be heard perfectly clearly through Carrie’s bedroom door. He lumbers down the corridor, pausing every couple of steps…and he comes to a stop outside the room. Motherfucker!

There’s a soft tap at the door. “Carina?”

She bites my thumb. I yank my hand back, cutting off a yelp, and she uses the opportunity to slip out of my grasp. Whipping around, she glares at me viciously. My entire fucking life at Wolf Hall is in her hands right now. If she says one word, I’m on the next plane back to England and I’m simultaneously being cut off by my father. I’m not a fan of pleading, but I do it, silently, with a desperation I didn’t realize I’d feel in this position. I didn’t even know that I’d care…

Her scowl deepens. “Hello?”

Goddamnit, I am so fucked!

“Ms. Mendoza, can you open the door, please?”

I shake my head.

Carrie looks like she’s about to bring my entire world crashing down on my head…but then she sighs. “Get under the bed, and donotmake a single sound.”

There’s nothing dignified about crawling under a bed.Nothing. I’d rather scoot underneath Carina’s narrow single bed than be dragged out of here by Hugh, however, so I lie flat on my belly and pull myself under.

She opens the door, yawning dramatically. “Oh…Mr. Paulson? Is…what time is it? Is everything okay?”

Well, fuck me dead if she doesn’t sound like she just woke up. Little Carina should be hitting Broadway with Mercy this year, if this performance is anything to go by.

“It’s nearly four-thirty,” Hugh grunts out. “Why are you up?

“I—I wasn’t.” Her voice is thick with sleep. “I was out cold. The knocking woke me up.”

“Your light was on, kid. You telling the truth?”

“Uh,yes,I’m telling the truth.” Less tired now. More offended. “I fell asleep while I was reading. I’m sorry for leaving it on, but I think the amount my uncle pays in tuition fees here would afford me a little light to read by, don’t you?”

“Hmm.” He isn’t convinced. “You mind if I take a look in your room?”

“I’m on the board of the Modesty and Manners for Young Christian Women Organization. I can’t have a man in my room after dark. Alone. It could be construed as some sort of…sexual advance. My morals could be brought into question. And you could getfired.” She’s laying it on so thick now. Maybe too thick. Hugh shifts uncomfortably; I see the toes of his black boots recede back into the hallway.

“Well…ahh, wouldn’t want that. No, no. I s’pose he flew up the next flight of stairs before I could catch sight of him. Get on back to bed with you now. You’ll catch your death of cold. And turn your light out when you’re done reading, okay? The Principal doesn’t like to waste power, no matter how much money you guys pay to be here.”

Carina sniffs peevishly. “Don’t worry. I will.”