Cross let the groan die out across the room, then tapped her pen against her chin and smiled at the back rows.
"Class dismissed, my darlings," she said. "Mr. Monroe, you will stay behind for a moment."
Fifty chairs scraped the floor at once, and thirty of those students found a reason to walk past my desk on their way to the door. A Sapphire girl with a silver bob mouthed the words "extra credit" at her friend and nearly tripped on the stairs. A Ruby transfer patted my shoulder on his way by and told me to pray.
Belle snapped her laptop shut and reached across Naomi to grab a fistful of my sleeve.
"If she offers you a private tutoring package, you call me first," Belle hissed. "I need to review the terms before you sign anything with your mouth."
"I don't sign things with my mouth, Fox."
"You sign everything with your mouth, and I have the spreadsheets to prove it."
