At a breakfast before a big css assembly, I sat slouched, not really feeling the egg that was served. We were seated near one of the TVs that had LE M Croissant, a popur news show, on.

  “Here’s one for ya,” a male host of the show said, his usual set up for the story. “You remember the story of that masked viginte going arouing up various cultists around the try?”

  “No,” The dy cohost said.

  “Well, that’s the long and short of it,” he said. “But now we have reports that they're back at it.”

  A video popped up of a bunch of people in dark robes looking like they got knocked out in front of an abandoned outdoor bathroom. I could reize the general look of them, they were Order of Terina members, that creepy cult that had messed with Kalei’s head when her fangs came in. Kalei was watg the report ily.

  “Yes, the infamous figure, who witnesses have dubbed 'The Exile,' is ba the streets of cities big and small, targeting the cultists known as the Order of Terina. We at LE M Croissant have actually gotten a s of footage of the viginte in a.”

  They cut to a five sed clip of an agile, shadowy figure with long hair that was mixed with bd red did a jumping kieone, knog their bloodsaber out of their hands. The figure turo whoever was filming and the video paused. It was blurry, so not much of them could really be gleamed. But I could see their eyes, eyes that looked like cat eyes, glowing in the darkness.

  “That’s kinda freaky,” I said.

  “Kinda?” Laenie said. “He's dht terrifying.”

  “No kidding,” Aira said. The two clearly wao look away from the shadowy figure, but their eyes were locked onto the s.

  “But I guess good if she’s taking out Terina cult groups?” Oka said.

  “For sure,” Kalei said. “ask, too.”

  "They had a mask?" I asked. "I just saw the eyes."

  There were some girls looking our dire. I thought they were watg the s too, but they were staring at me because they turned back as soon as they saw that I was looking their way. They were looking at me the same way Aira and Laenie were looking at the video of the viginte.

  It wasn’t the first time I’d gotten stares like that over the week. It really sucked being in a big fight, but the after the big fight part kinda sucked because afterwards you bee the ter of attention. It was hard tet about getting attacked on the beach when people kept staring at me and whispering.

  “Revel in the fame, dude,” Kalei said, spotting the whole se of mutual staring and unfortableness. “If there’s o vanil pudding in the cafeteria line and you do a ‘I kicked Ovie’s ass so bad she had to leave school’ look, that pudding is yours.”

  “I don’t eople to be afraid of me,” I said. “And I like chocote puddier than vanil.”

  “Then fine, if there’s o chocote pudding, you know what to do.”

  “I almost want to get you a gift card fetting rid of Ovie,” Iris said. “I know it was all terrible and it was more Ovie nuking her own school life, but still. I’d rather you get the credit.”

  “Well, it hopefully won’t st forever,” Oka said. “I’d be surprised if it sted lohan a few weeks, people fet pretty quickly here. Like that girl who got her head stu the vending mae."

  “Hey you know, Oka’s teically famous, she help you out,” Kalei said.

  “I’m really not,” Oka said. “I checked; my name isn’t even on the Kinder encyclopedia online.”

  “Bummer,” Kalei said. “You get any cash from them yet?”

  “No,” Oka said. “Their money’s either tied up in stock market stuff I don’t uand or in massive debt stuff I don’t uand.”

  “Laaame,” Kalei said. “Zeta, what you o do is get video of that fight and sell it to the highest bidder. Add a like fart noise in there somewhere and bam, instant meme. You say you’re affiliated with that Exile guy!”

  “I’m in for the fart noise,” Aira said. “I think that would really seal the deal.”

  “She was using time stop powers or whatever, I don’t think anyone filmed it.” I said. “ we stop talking about the fight?”

  The bell rang, and it was time for the assembly. I was really hoping my i wouldn’t be mentioned. I sat in the auditorium with Oka and Kalei on one side, and Iris and Maia oher, with Aira and Laenie behind us.

  “Oh man,” Maia said. “When did they reupholster the chairs?”

  “Resist the urge, Maia,” Iris said.

  “What urge?” Oka asked.

  Maia got her cws out. “Cening.” She said.

  “Aw, cool,” Kalei said. “No, do it, give in to the urge…”

  “Shut up, Kalei,” Iris said. “She’ll get in trouble if she does.”

  “Don’t worry, if you fall asleep, I definitely won’t scratch up this niew chair in front of me.” Maia said, practically drooling.

  “I won’t fall asleep,” Iris said. “I’m not even tired.”

  “I’m holy surprised Zeta and I didn’t scratch up our stuff when we had Feral Flu.” Oka said.

  “Feral Flu wouldn’t give you the same o scratch things up, even if it gave you cws,” Maia said, her eyes wide and her pupils already getting bigger as she practically drooled at the fabri front of her. “It’s just something hardwired in Kanibari.”

  The lights fell, aeldtam strutted onto stage. By the time he reached the microphone, Iris was asleep, and Maia got to work kneading and scratg up the chair.

  “Hey, sup y’all,” Peam said. “We got some big news, and uh. Well, I’ll let Mr. Soleri handle some of that.”

  “Oh crap, that’s right,” I muttered. Soleri’s promotion hadn’t gotten an official annou yet.

  Mr. Soleri joihe stage as Peam scratched his head and yawned.

  “Greetings, students,” Mr. Soleri said. “As some of you have already heard, I have accepted a position as vice-principal of Rising Shards and Falling Shards. This will not interfere in my regurly scheduled css time, but any students I am advising will o be reassigo a new advisor. I hope you uand, and I look forward t with you in this expanded capacity.”

  Some polite g followed. I hadn’t talked to Soleri sihe Ovie fight. He seemed pretty partial to Ovie, but if he was vice principal, he probably had some say in expelling her. I couldn’t shake the feeling he was going to hold it against me somehow after he got mad at me about reading Raina Starlight books in css.

  “And the annou…” Peam started, looking at his notecard. “Well, I don’t get to make this oher, huh?” Peam gred at some staffers whed at him. “ I go then? ht, the photo op. Alright brother Beri on up here.”

  “Huh?” Oka said.

  Oka’s adoptive dad Berin took the stage. He waved to the students but didn’t get a rea. I feel like Oka would have cpped, but she looked too surprised.

  “Hello there, kids,” Berin said. “Well, this might sound like a repeat of the st annou, but I have also accepted a position here at Rising Shards, starting today I will be your new co-principal, and the fulltime principal of Falling Shards!”

  “What?” Oka asked. “Since when?”

  “Sioday, apparently,” Kalei said.

  Peam grabbed the mic, or tried to, from Berin. The two looked like ten-year-olds wrestling for the microphone, but Beriually gave in. “Fine, whatever!”

  “I just wao add that this is definitely not because I’ve been deemed incapable of many basis of my position, no siree.” Peam got ready to give the mic back to Berin, but swiped it at the st sed.

  “Oh, I have an annouoo, I just remembered!” Peam said. “Starting…in a few hours, I’m a proud father now! I will be hosting an exclusive ceremony to introduce my new perfect child.”

  “…what?” Oka said.

  Berin and Soleri droned on about school spirit for a while, luckily ning up anything vaguely resembling my i with Ovie. Peam said he was about to start singing whehers abruptly ehe rally.

  Iris woke up to Maia’s hands half dug into the back of the chair in front of her, having shredded the new fabrid moved on to the upholstery insides.

  “I may or may not be stuck, but I expin,” Maia said. “I really, really wao do this.”

  “Oh, Maia Maia Maia,” Iris said groggily. “Do you want some help getting unstuck?”

  “…I may or may not,” Maia said.

  “This might take a bit, you guys don’t have to wait for us,” Iris said, rolling up her sleeves to get to work prying eaaia’s cws out of the chair. "You're luobody's sitting in front of you, they might've gotten back cwed here."

  I kept an eye on Oka after the event, who looked pretty down.

  “Great, juuuust great,” Oka said. “Aupid Kinder party.”

  “ you skip this one?” I asked.

  “I should probably go,” Oka said. “If nothing else than to see who my eical cousin is. That sounds so weird out loud.”

  “Maybe we should e with this time?” Kalei asked. “We’ve never been to these, but they did say pretty exclusive so I dunno.”

  “I don’t know why you’d want to,” Oka said.

  “It might be fun to see them all,” I said. “And I could see your room at their pce. And we back you up if your new cousin sucks or something.”

  Oka stopped to think about it for a moment.

  “That…actually sounds good,” Oka said.