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Ahead of me, Sawyer stepped into the hallway and closed a door behind him When he sawbright pink

I looked up at the naht MS MALONE, SCHOOL COUNSELOR

But Saas always quick to recover The next second he didn’t look self-conscious anymore His hands were onmyself into his ar to pull away again Nobody but us was in the hall right now I could hear Ms Chen’s h an open door But a teacher was likely to peek out at us any second, see us eht to the principal’s office Plus, surveillance ca everyone safe from school shooters and public displays of affection

Sawyer didn’t let go of , "Shhh Tell hed at the idea of Sawyer, with all his real probleargantuan sniffle, I said shakily, "I forgot to write th and looked into ain, he ordered ot to ot to write it at all? How many words do you have?"

"None" I was about to lose it

"Stop," he said again "But you have your thesis stateht? We did that in class"

I nodded

"That’s your blueprint All you need to do is fill in the blanks You have hours to get that done We don’t go to Mr Frank’s class until second-to-last period You can write it on your co roll"

"But Sawyer," I wailed, "I have class until then I’ot study hall," he pointed out, "and lunch"

"I was going to talk to Ms Chen about the hoently "Kaye Listen to o of that shit and prioritize Save your grade today Do ho tomorrow" He released my arms and rubbed where he’d squeezedclass, too Even when teachers are talking, you can be working on your paper"

"What if one of theet in trouble?"

"To save your GPA, it’s worth it," he declared "And if things really get hairy, take your co to work," I whispered

He gave me an exasperated look "Do you kno much homework I’ve done at the very last second in the bathroom? You can do this, Kaye You just have to believe it Isn’t your dad a famous writer?"

"He’s not famous," I mumbled