Page 40 of The Honor Society

I smile behind my cup then instantly sober. Must be nice. “Well, at least you have him.”

“Right, so can we back up where you tell me why you lied to Axel about cheating on him? Jude told me the whole story.” How the hell did Jude know? Oh duh, Axel, duh duh duh. “And you’ve never cheated a day in your life. You’re not a cheater and need I remind you the guy nearly died and you think this is the time to tell him you want to sow your wild oats around campus? What the hell girl? Are you good?”

Nope. Not good. “Would you believe me if I told you I was trying to keep him safe?”

“If you were a gangster like Jude now, maybe.” She jokes. “Oh God, imagine him in pinstripes, I wouldn’t survive it.”

I really laugh this time. “Sorry I just keep seeing him as the little rat from Zootopia in his chair.”

“Yesss.” She plops down on the couch and winces. “So, you’re keeping him safe from what?”

“I have no idea who I am, Lilah.” I shrug. “And at one point I hid some shit from you, made some bad choices⁠—“

“—yeah I was there when you wielded a gun towards us.”

I shake my head. “It’s so much more complicated than that. Jude joined his dad to keep you safe, to keep you from being used as a pawn. I’m doing the same. I’m keeping him safe the only way I know how.”

“Right.”

The door cracks open. Jude comes strolling in like he won the lottery, maybe in his mind he did last night. “Am I interrupting?”

“Did you have to break her hip?” I ask.

He smirks. “According to her screams? Yeah.”

“Hey,” I jump up. “Your dad does seedy things right.”

“Yeah.”

“So by way of easy math, you have ways of doing seedy things or finding out seedy things, right?”

“Sureeee.” He crosses his arms. “Get there faster, what’s up?”

I sigh. “Does the last name Sterling mean anything to you.”

Judes eyes lock on mine with realization. He utters one word. “Famine.”

11

Fourteen Days Until The Convocation

CHARLIE

“Famine.” I repeat heart pounding near out of my chest. “What does that word have to do with Sterling and how do you know about the photograph?” And how does he know it was related in the first place, that it was written on that photograph?

“Photograph?” Jude looks around the room. “What photograph?”

I go over to the breakfast plate where The Proctor had left it for me, grab it, and thrust it over at Jude.

His eyes widen as he looks at the picture, and somehow get even larger when he flips it over and drops it to the ground like it’s going to burn him. “Where the hell did you get this?”

“No idea, but The Proctor⁠—”

“—I’m sorry,” Jude takes a step back and holds up his hands. “How do you know The Proctor?”

I take a deep breath. “He um, made me breakfast.”

“And you ate it? And you’re alive?” He looks around the room. “Are you kidding right now? Tell me you’re kidding that you didn’t just casually have bacon with the most powerful and anonymous psychopath murderer known to mankind. Fuck dude, do you have a death wish?”