"Lily!" Rick's voice crackled with urgency on the other end. "Where are you? Why aren't you in class yet?!"

"Class?"

It took me a moment to piece together the chaos of yesterday.

Nothing much had happened, really.

I had grabbed the thing he'd given me and fled in embarrassment, my head down, feeling utterly foolish.

Andrew hadn't called me back; his soft laughter echoed in my mind, amplifying my embarrassment.

"Oh, I remember now. What time is your class?"

"Eight! It's eight already! The classes are all at eight, and it's seven forty-seven! Don't tell me you're still on your way!"

His frantic tone made me hesitate to admit I was still in bed.

If I told him the truth, Rick might just leap out of the classroom in a panic.

For his sake, I decided to hold my tongue.

I rummaged through my stuff to find my long-forgotten student ID. Thankfully, the security guard didn't scrutinize it too closely, ignoring the fact that I'd graduated four years ago and letting me through the gates.

By eight-fifteen, I was huddled by the classroom door, ready to sneak in through the back.

Just as I took my first step inside, Andrew's voice floated down from above. "Rick's sister, you're here pretty early today."