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I didn’t say anything and Chen waited We had a stare down Then finally she tilted her head and said, "You’re not one to volunteer information, Caleb"

I shook my head "No"

"H the stupid writing thing "Tell me, is that pulse from Ms Tulle accurate?"

Kinda "No, I don’t ’jaue down Jade’s throat’"

Usually

She arched her thin black brows and I sat there, listening to the pulse clock whir "I will let this go this one time As you know, it has been some time since the brawl ensued in the commons area last year This is of a different nature However, we do not want any unsettling trends to begin, do we?"

Like fighting and , Ms Chen" I heard but obeying

"Good I a I would hate to involve Jade’s aunt or possibly your parents"

I hid the flinch with difficulty My parents I e but not Jade’s aunt She wasn’t a fan of mine

Or my zombies

Chen stood and I did too She maybe came up to my shoulder, she was a literal china doll But I had never been one to be fooled by size Chen was a powerful Null This had been her first high school adroup as Dave Sot the shut-it-all-down juice

She wasn’t easily intimidated Only a mundane could hurt her None of us teens could

I hesitated, wondering if I should tell her about what Sophie had said about the attacker

She cocked an eyebrow again "Do you have so you wish to say, Caleb?"

Nah, better keep her in the dark What could she do anyway?

"No"

She gaveback "Fine, see if you can learn so from the latter half of AFTD"

I strolled out of the office without looking back or giving it a lot of thought

I’d give it a lot of thought later

Should’ve told her

Jade searched, tearing through the bin When everything was chucked out and in a messy heap by her feet she finally turned to Miss Tulle She was on her shit list today but she had to talk to her so a chunk of black hair over her shoulder

Tulle looked at her froain to her pulse-reader, grading the latest assignments

"What is it, Jade?"

Yes, definitely still on the list, Jade thought dismally

"I can’t find yesterday’s sample"

Tulle didn’t look up "It’s in there Be thorough, look harder"

Jade put her hands on her hips, starting to get irritated Was this all it took for Tulle to discount her? She did a little PDA with Caleb in the hall once in awhile and she got her panties all knotted up? She huffed

"I did All the samples are here," Jade indicated with her hand as Tulle finally gave the samples her attention

A frown formed on Tulle’s forehead "Is that the one that had the DI?"

Jade nodded, sing Yeah, that’d been the one alright

Tulle ca in her breath Jade ca palm

She walked to where the pile lay at Jade’s feet She searched each piece in turn, placing one after the other back in the bin and shuddering with the touch of a few

"Should have worn gloves," she muttered htened

Tulle looked at Jade "I keep these locked" A troubled look came over her face Finally, she looked at Jade, Tulle’s eyes searching hers "I know you wouldn’t have taken that sa the shiver with difficulty

"Do you have a few minutes so we can talk?" Tulle asked

"I do if you can excuse the tardy," Jade answered cautiously

Tulle pursed her lips, realizing that she was asking Jade for so her boyfriend out to dry at Chen’s office

"Yes," she answered shortly and Jade gave a small smile as she nodded

The bell shrilled and the kids flowed out of the class

Tulle sighed "I was distracted by your boyfriend earlier"

"Caleb," Jade clarified and Tulle shrugged

"The AFTD"

Jade nodded He was so much more than that Just as she ay more than just an Empath Jade didn’t like how everyone was so easily identified as what they were rather than who

"I phoned the police, againstthe clairvoyance samples withouthere But recently, with the skill set of so wide," she spread her arhed despite herself "We need to turn in samples that have Death Intent"

"So?" Jade was confused "You did turn in the sample?"

She shook her head "No, I pulsed the to drop by," she looked at her pulse, her eyes flashing up to Jade’s, "ht You pulsed the police about the sample with DI, then they said they’d co?"

Tulle nodded "That about covers it Oh, and onethe potential for bla for holes "I gave your nain contact"