The next day at school, the fragile peace of their new normal was immediately put to the test. Kofi found Nina waiting at their corner, a look of grim determination on her face.
"Okay, new crisis," Nina announced without preamble. "Jake just sent me a thirty-seven-part text message detailing his new plan for talking to Ruby. It involves a PowerPoint presentation about the historical significance of the library's card catalog system."
Kofi just stared at her. "You're kidding."
"I wish I was," she said with a long, suffering sigh. "He has diagrams. I think we may have broken him. He's moved on from bread and is now weaponizing his nerdiness in the most unhelpful way possible."
'This is my fault. I told him to be himself.'
"We have to intervene," Nina continued, her voice taking on the tone of a general planning a military campaign. "This cannot be allowed to happen. Ruby will transfer to another school. It's a matter of public safety."
