The next morning arrived too soon, as it always did.
I navigated through Hartwell's halls on autopilot, brain still processing the previous night's lesson planning. Cassidy's face when I'd accepted her bet kept replaying in my head. That mixture of shock and something else I couldn't quite identify.
But that was a problem for later.
Right now, I had a free period. Eleven o'clock. Fifty glorious minutes where no one needed me, no one expected me, and no Valentine sister could demand I feed them ramen or help with stuck zippers.
Every minute I used productively now was a minute I got back later.
The library called to me like a siren song.
Most students avoided the second floor during free periods. Too quiet. Too far from the vending machines. Too much like actual studying might occur.
