[Pinnacle Academy, Main Courtyard]
[Thursday, 12:15 PM]
Lyra found me at lunch the next day.
I knew before she opened her mouth, because Lyra Anette approaches you at one of two speeds and this was the slow one.
"So," she said, dropping onto the bench opposite me.
"I talked to Dempsey."
"...And?"
She didn't answer straight away. She pulled her tablet out, set it face down on the table, and kept her hand flat on top of it, which is a thing people do when they've decided to tell you something and haven't decided how.
"First," Lyra said.
"I need you to know he was nice about it. He didn't grill me. He said 'Lyra, is your friend in trouble,' and I said I didn't know, and he said okay."
haah...
Dempsey Anette, still the only adult in this story who behaves like one.
"What did he find?"
She turned the tablet over.
[VISIONARY SYNDICATE — INTERNAL RECORDS QUERY]
[Subject: VALADEZ, Ines M. — Pinnacle Academy, Year 1, Class D]
