Conspiracy Boy (Angel Academy) by Cecily White Page B

dry.
    “Ignore her,” Veronica said. “She’s just jealous.”
    “Speaking of jealous”—Skye sat forward, brunette ponytail swinging against her shoulders—“I love that coat. Valentino , right? Did Luc get it for you?”
    “Lord Montaigne,” Veronica corrected.
    “Whatever. Did he?”
    “His mom, I think,” I said. “She’s got expensive tastes.”
    “ Très chic.”
    “Because what’s the fun of murdering innocents if you can’t buy nice things?” Katie contributed.
    “ Katie! ” Veronica snapped.
    I gave her a reassuring smile, which—hopefully—didn’t look too predatory. “It’s okay. Everyone’s entitled to their opinion.”
    “It’s not an opinion.”
    Veronica looked momentarily flummoxed as Katie piled her books in a stack and stomped to the other side of the room. Yeah, senior year was shaping up brilliantly. All I needed now was a demon virus and a staph infection to really round out the experience.
    I slid lower in my seat and extracted my Human Social Politics text, pretending to take notes in the margin. A few seconds later, the door to the hallway opened and shut with an almost-happy whoosh .
    “Good morning, class,” Lori Hansen greeted us. “We’ve got a full hour of lecture and discussion today. I hope you’re ready for final exams.”
    “Ready for vacation , yo!” Ty gave her a big thumbs-up as the rest of the class twittered laughter. My stomach sank further. Though it didn’t have much to do with final exams.
    Lori Hansen —Jack’s ex-girlfriend. You know, the one he was assigned to bond with in high school three years ago before he got recruited to teach here?
    Yeah, that one.
    As usual, her hair was perfect, her teeth sparkled, and her skin glowed like an airbrushed advertisement for facial cleanser. I probably would have hated her even if she hadn’t tried to kill me and Jack when we were hiding from the Guardian Elders last fall.
    She smiled along with the class.
    “Anyway, I hope everyone finished the reading last night, because today we’re going to jump into our section on familial politics. This will be the last discussion before we start review for the exam. Miss Bennett?” Her features darkened as she glared at me over the edge of her podium. “Did you manage to catch up on those extra reading assignments this week?”
    “Actually, yeah,” I said. “I squeezed them in between the genealogy homework, warding quizzes, and spell-casting drills you assigned. Thanks for asking.”
    “Excellent. You’re welcome.”
    Swear to God, the woman didn’t even blink at the sarcasm. Or maybe she was too evil to recognize it.
    “Now”—she bent over a leather text on the podium as I dropped my gaze—“in The Iliad , Homer discusses the deference and obligation that hold families together. We see this illustrated between Andromache and Hector, as well as in Achilles’s duty to his own aging father. There is, however, one value Homer holds in even greater esteem.” Hansen glanced up, her eyes boring a hole into the top of my head. “Can anyone tell me what that is? Miss Bennett?”
    I ignored her.
    Honestly, did she really expect me to focus on some ancient Greek story about a bunch of dudes picking fights with each other? I hadn’t had a decent cup of coffee in days—weeks, even. And besides, there was way too much going on right now. I still had to figure out how the Guardian fate rested on me. And who this Petra person was. Jack had called her an assassin, but she seemed to deny it. Black blood usually indicated demonic heritage, but she had called open a channel and busted through my shields with no problem. Then there was the small matter of her angelblood tattoo.
    Very weird, indeed.
    “Amelie?” Hansen shook me out of my reverie. “I asked you a question.”
    “I’m sorry?” I blinked up at her.
    “You’ve done the reading,” she said. “Allegedly. What do you think is the one virtue Homer glorifies above all else?”
    How’s that for