Thursday's class is torture. Ethan doesn't look at me once, not when I walk in, not during the lecture, not when I raise my hand to answer a question. He calls on other students, keeps his eyes on the back of the room, maintains perfect professional distance. It's exactly what we agreed to, and it feels like rejection.
After class, I pack quickly and don't linger, walking out into the hallway where they find me.
"Avery."
I turn to find Liam and Madison together, blocking my path.
"We need to talk," Madison says.
"No, we don't."
"Yes, we do." Liam steps closer. "People are talking about you and my father."
"Let them talk."
"It's not that simple—"
"Yes it is. People always talk. I don't care."
"You should care," Madison says, "because if this gets out, if someone reports it, he loses his job. You realize that, right?"
"Nothing's happened. There's nothing to report."
"Yet," Liam says. "But it will. I saw the way he looked at you in class Tuesday. Everyone saw it."
