“Sorry, we’ll keep it down. I forget that some girls actually care about studying”

Tammy heard strains of music as she climbed the steps up to the dorm — a sure sign the volume was way louder than it was supposed to be. Still, it wasn’t loud enough to drown out the questions reverberating in her mind.

To tell or not to tell?

If yes, whom should she tell?

Would ZeeZee get in trouble? (Yes.)

Would Tammy get in trouble? (Not if she was the whistleblower.)

She sighed as she reached the second-floor landing and stood by the door. She’d just had her daily conversation with Shani, which had left her feeling even more confused.

On the one hand, everyone blamed her for messing up the situation. But, on the other, she was the only Shvilei staffer Shani was still in touch with. The only person in the world Shani trusted, with the possible exception of her therapist, whom Shani was slowly starting to feel comfortable with. And that was thanks to Tammy’s encouragement.

So her instincts couldn’t be all that bad, could they?

She pushed open the door and walked into the dorm lounge, where she was immediately hit with a blast of pumping music. The lounge was much emptier than usual; midterms were next week, and most of the girls were busy studying.

But clearly that didn’t interest girls like ZeeZee Keller, who was leading some kind of improvised dance class with five other girls.

Tammy walked over and shut the speaker. ZeeZee stopped mid-move, her arms and legs sprawled in different directions.

“What’s up, Mrs. H.?” she asked.

“You have to lower the volume.”

ZeeZee gestured toward the nearly empty room. “It’s not bothering anyone.”

“I heard it from two floors down. And girls are trying to study.”

ZeeZee looked mutinous, but after a moment flashed her a rueful grin. “Sorry, we’ll keep it down. I forget that some girls actually care about studying.”

Tammy couldn’t help but grin back. “Not everyone’s naturally brilliant like you, huh?”