So Into You [The Jane Austen Academy Series #2] by Cecelia Gray Page A

finally said something—in front of Josh even. You know he hates that guy."
    "Do his parents know you’re the one who sent in the protest letter for the name change? Or wait . . ." Ellie leaned in closer. "You did send it in, right?"
    "Of course I did," Lizzie said. "No matter how I feel about Dante, that doesn’t change how much I hate what Bergie wants to do to Jasta. Making us co-ed and changing our name is just the first step."
    "Have you thought, maybe," Ellie took a deep breath and twirled her pen between her fingers, "that it might not be such a big deal if Bergie changes the school’s name?"
    Lizzie’s mouth dropped open.
    "I’m just saying . . . if you keep pursuing it, then you might ruin your relationship with Dante’s parents. And Bergie isn’t all bad—I mean, she figured out how I can stay until Thanksgiving."
    "Bergie’s not moustache-twirling evil, but she’s still an opportunist. Why would Dante’s parents care what the school is named? They don’t—changing it is all her idea. I bet she wants to rename it the Katherine Berg Institute or something lame like that."
    "It seems everything would go smoother for us if you just accepted this tiny change. You know—maybe it’s what the universe wants."
    Lizzie shook her head, pulling back into her chair. "The Jane Austen Academy was founded as the Jane Austen Academy for a reason. So girls, who weren’t receiving the same class of education as boys, would finally have a place to call their own. Just because boys are living here now doesn’t mean the spirit of the school has changed. Jane Austen always felt out of her element. Her stories are about characters bound by the situations they are in—until they’re finally set free. You . . . me . . . haven’t you always felt you didn’t fit in anyplace else? Until you came here? Aren’t you finally free?"
    "Yes," Ellie whispered, her heart constricting.
    "Then you know why I have to do this."
    "Are you going to tell his parents you’re the one leading the protest on the name change when they come for Parents’ Weekend?"
    "I don’t know," Lizzie said. "Dante doesn’t want me to. He worries it’ll be hard on me. That they’ll be hard on me."
    "It would be okay if you didn’t," Ellie said. "The path of least resistance isn’t the same as quitting."
    "It feels like quitting."
    Ellie knew better than to argue. She sat back in her chair, worriedly glancing back at Emma’s seat. Their teacher returned, but Emma never came.
     
    * * *
     
    Lunch kitchen duty was worse than breakfast. It smelled like deli meat, and because the cook had been roasting meat in the oven, the temperature was ten degrees warmer. Ellie moved a little faster now that she knew where everything was, but unlike breakfast, which half the students skipped because they didn’t wake up in time, everyone was there in full force for lunch. She would barely get through cleaning one tray of dishes before three or four more were stacked beside her. Sweat formed at her brow and armpits.
    By the time she was done, she felt grimy and gross. She left the kitchen and walked through the courtyard back to her room. Dante lay back on a picnic blanket under the central apple tree. He was texting into his phone. Lizzie’s head rested on his stomach as she curled up on her side with a paperback book, its spine bent back while she read.
    They looked so happy, so relaxed. So cool, dry, and sweat-free. Like something out of a magazine ad.
    She wanted what Lizzie had so badly. She wanted to be the one curled up next to Edward catnapping in the sun. She wanted to be the one with no money problems.
    And yet she knew that wasn’t fair. Her problems weren’t Lizzie’s fault. And Lizzie had her own problems.
    She hurried back to her room, her stomach growling since she’d been too busy making lunch to actually eat any.
    She pushed into her room—and stopped short.
    Edward spun around in her swivel chair. He abruptly stood when she entered, tripped,