Iris stared up at the ceiling of her dorm room, tossing and turning ihe only light came from uheir front door and the blinking red light of the fire arm.

  “Maia, remember how you said we have to be crafty about the dumb stuff on the Benta list?” Iris asked.

  Maia stirred in her bed opposite Iris. She checked her phone.

  “It’s…1am.” Maia said. She rolled over to face the wall. “This wait.”

  “You nap all day, it’s fine,” Iris said.

  Iris hoped she’d gambled correctly on Maia having napped enough to be able for even a brief te-night versation.

  “OK, make this quick.” Maia said.

  “Yes!” Iris said. “OK, so the club thita do…I was just thinking about it and you know, getting a little worried like, thinking like…”

  “I said quick,” Maia said.

  “OK OK!” Iris said. “Just…the club things. I looked at some of the clubs. They all suck. I ain’t doing that.”

  “…and?” Maia said.

  “I was hoping you’d have a good fix for my issue here.” Maia said.

  “We’ll find some club,” Maia said. “Oh minimal effort required of us.”

  “That sounds perfect,” Iris said.

  There was a knock at their door.

  “Crap, prefect,” Iris said.

  “I heard that,” Naomi Ratuna said from outside their door. “Just because yhts are out doesn’t mean that if you tialking, that it doesn’t break the lights out rules.”

  “So talking doesn’t break the lights out rules?” Iris asked. Maia’s eyes wide Iris’ sass levels.

  “No, I mean,” Naomi said. “That if the lights are out and you’re talking, that is also breaking the rules the same way as if…if you had the lights on. Aalking.”

  “It sounds like you’re talking about speaking rules, and you muddied the whole thing up with the lights out thing.” Iris said.

  Maia held her mouth to stop from ughing.

  “Just…stop talking go to bed!” Naomi said.

  Iris had to aia and held her own mouth to stop from ughing, partly at the situation, partly from being tired, and partly because Maia thrashing around on her bed trying to not burst out ughing at 1am was an incredible sight.

  “I ’t believe you talked back to her like that,” Maia whispered, still f back giggles.

  “She’s all talk,” Iris said. “2nd year prefects ’t even give detention slips. She’s probably not even on duty, just wandering around pying pretend 3rd year prefect.”

  Maia stifled anh, and Iris knew she had to go in for the kill.

  “Ooh, you know what I could have said there, I said ‘that sounds perfect’ to you, when Naomi knocked, I should have said ‘that sounds prefect,’ eh?”

  “That’s so dumb.” Maia wheezed.

  “You’re still ughing!” Iris said.

  “Shut up, she’s gonna e back here!” Maia said.

  The two girls tinued giggling, sleepy ughing at jokes that probably wouldn’t be as funny the day when they were well slept, somehow avoidiing caught again by Naomi that night.