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Adam heard two hundred and wilted, and then he heard the rest and thought he must have misunderstood "Less? Each year?"

"Each hted, but Adam couldn’t quite accept that his rent had just dropped by two thirds Twenty-four hundred dollars a year, suddenly freed up His dubious Henrietta accent slid out before he could stop it "Why did you say it was changing?"

"Tax assesshed at his suspicion "Those taxes don’t normally work out on the happy side, do they!"

She waited for Adaed, "Thank you, ma’am"

As Blue closed the door, he drifted back to the center of the room He still couldn’t quite believe it No, wouldn’t believe it It just didn’t track He retrieved the letter fro onto his flat mattress, he finally opened it

Its contents were very thin indeed, just a single-spaced letter on Aglionby letterhead It didn’t take long to convey itsto cover additional costs, although his scholarship was not They understood the tuition raise presented a hardship for him, and he was an exceptional student, but they needed to re list for Aglionby was quite long, inhabited by exceptional boys able to pay full tuition In conclusion, they reminded Mr Parrish that fifty percent of the next year’s tuition was due by the end of the month in order to hold his place

The difference in tuition between this year’s and next enty-four hundred dollars

That nuain It couldn’t be a coincidence

"Do you want to talk about it?" Blue asked, sitting down beside him

He didn’t want to talk about it

Gansey had to be behind it He knew Adaineered all of this Persuaded Mrs Ramirez to take a check and manufacture a tax assess tuition notice two days ago The raise wouldn’t have ined life as Gansey must live it The car keys in his pocket The brand-new shoes on his feet The careless glance at thecould hurt hi hadn’t seen anyone as rich as the Aglionby boys They were untouchable, immune to life’s troubles Only death couldn’t be swiped away by a credit card

One day, Adaht ht He would have never asked for Gansey’s help Adam wasn’t sure hoould have covered the tuition raise, but it was not this, not Gansey’s money He pictured it: a folded over check, hastily pocketed, gazes not met Gansey relieved that Adam had finally come to his senses Adam unable to say thank you

He beca hiht

"Don’t look at me like that," he said

"Like what? I’h his voice "I don’t want your pity"

If Gansey wasn’t allowed to pity him, Blue sure as hell wasn’t allowed to She and Adam were in the same boat, after all Wasn’t she on her way to work, the same as he’d just coer snarled up in hi hi as slightlyfury

"What’s pitiful about me, Blue? Tell me what’s pitiful" He juet? Is that what makes me pitiful and Gansey not?" He shook the letter "Is it because I don’t get this given tosimmered in her eyes "No"

His voice was terrible; he heard it "I don’t want your damn pity" Her face was shocked "What did you say?"

She was looking at the box that served as his nightstand Somehow it had moved several feet away from the bed The side was badly dented, its former contents scattered violently across the floor Only now did he re the box, but not the decision to kick it

It hadn’t switched off the anger

For a long moment, Blue stared at him, and then she stood up

"You be careful, Adaet what you ask for There irls in Henrietta who’ll let you talk to theo sit on those stairs out there until et me If not, I’ll see you later"

She ducked a little to keep fro her head, and then she shut the door behind herself It would have been easier if she’d yelled or cried Instead his words just kept hitting flint inside his thoughts, again and again, another spark, and another She was just as bad as Gansey Where does she get off? When he graduated and flew from this place, and she was still trapped here, she’d feel stupid about all this

He wanted to open the door and shout this fact at her

He made hih to see how his anger was a separate thing inside hih to re how it felt, the emotion would lose its inertia It was the same as physical pain The more he tried to mentally decide what made pain hurt, the less his brain seemed able to reer inside hirabbedout the door? Is this what e? Did he feel this when he passed by ht every time he remembered I existed?