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chose to stayat Lucent. Most did. Tessa, however, only worked three days a week. The other days she attended a local college even though she was only seventeen. I couldn’t be more proud of her.
    “My turn, hog,” Kiera said, pushing Tessa out of the way. Kiera hugged me hard. She’d grown stronger. Good. She pulled away from me.
    “Sleeping the day away didn’t do you any justice,” she said, narrowing her eyes. “What happened to your hair?”
    “As if I could change it.” I attempted to smooth my long blonde hair, wishing again that I could cut or dye it, but, as Abigail, the school nurse, once told me, “Having Light in our blood sometimes changes our outward appearance. Consider it a birth mark.”
    We moved to Liam’s table. Everyone avoided the seat next to him. It was just a given that it was meant for me. May sat on my left, and next to her was Aaron. He was leaning toward her while she giggled about something he was saying. They seemed a lot closer than when I left. Something I’d have to ask her about later.
    “Are you ready for today?” Arik, who was sitting on the other side of Aaron, asked me through a huge bite of pancakes.
    “Not really, but I’ll think of something to say.”
    “Don’t tell me you’re going to wing it,” May said.
    I sort of smiled and shrugged.
    May shook her head. “That’s not good.”
    “I know! I’ll probably say something I’ll totally regret and end up offending everyone on the Council.”
    “That was bound to happen either way,” Liam said, and then he leaned in closer and added, “Dr. Han’s right over there. I’ll be right back.”
    I nodded and swirled my fork through the syrup on my plate, thinking of what I should say to the Council. I couldn’t screw this up. If I could get them to back me up, then a lot more girls would join my class.
    Before I knew it, breakfast was over.
    “You’ll do great,” Liam whispered to me. I looked up, surprised to see that everyone was gone from our table. “Dr. Han’s waiting for us.”
    I took a deep breath and stood up. I may not have known exactly what I was going to say, but I couldn’t wait to speak. Lucent Academy had to change if we were to survive.

FIVE
    It was a long walk down the foyer of Chadni Hall and to the boardroom—a room I’d never been in before. Many of the students were crowded in the hall, probably all wishing they would be invited inside. I wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans. I wished I could’ve had more time. I would’ve dressed nicer.
    “Do I look okay for something like this?” I asked Liam.
    Liam looked me up and down.
    “Well?”
    He laughed. “How would I know? I think you look great.”
    “You’re useless,” I said and was about to go inside the room that was buzzing with conversation, but before I could, Dr. Han stopped me.
    “Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked.
    “Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”
    “The Council doesn’t see things the way you do. Not even close, so don’t expect any major changes.”
    I shook my head, refusing to believe that after everything that had happened, the Council wouldn’t be willing to do more, especially now that we had Jackson, who could tell us everything about Cyrus. “Let’s just get this done. Maybe they’ll surprise you.”
    Before he could say more, I turned and walked into theroom. The moment I did, all eyes turned on me, and I wondered if Dr. Han was right.
    The boardroom was not at all what I expected. It looked more like some kind of theatrical stage setting with nine wooden chairs, ornately carved as if they were thrones made for kings and queens. The chairs were arranged in a wide circle with one single chair in the center. On the outside of the circle, wooden bleachers, six rows up, lined the walls. They were seated with faculty. I spotted Abigail and Mrs. Crawford sitting next to each other. Mrs. Crawford smiled at me encouragingly.
    Dr. Han came up next to me while Liam took a nearby seat. I turned to him