Page 21 of Pick Me Up On Tuesdays

She nodded slowly. “Mmm. I do like the sound of national recognition.”

For a brief, glorious moment, I thought I had won.

Then she dropped thebut.

“But.” She leaned forward. “There’s one problem.”

I tensed. “…What?”

She arched a brow. “Ethan.”

…Oh. His name came with a burnt rubber sensation, cuddling my gut.

“Ethan?” I repeated, pretending I didn’t know where this was going. “What about him?”

She gave me a deadpan stare. “Clark.”

I sighed. “Okay, yeah, he’s technically part of our group.”

Catherine shook her head. “Absolutely not.”

“Wait, what?”

She folded her arms. “Clark, I adore you. You are one of my best students. But Ethan?” She exhaled sharply. “A disaster. Detentions, suspensions, causing mayhem on school property—he once tried to barter his way out of an Alchemy test with a vial of dragon tears.”

“…Did it work?”

“No, but the teacher did cry.”

I rubbed my temples. “Okay. Look. I get it. Ethan is… Ethan.”

Catherine gave me an are you hearing yourself look.

“But!” I added quickly, “what if he isn’t part of the official school-funded team?”

She narrowed her eyes. “Explain.”

I sat up straighter. “What if the official documentary team is just me, Joy, Shun, and some other few wildlife club members? The school funds us, and we make the documentary as planned. If

Ethan comes along, it’s completely separate. No funding, no liability.”

She considered this. “…Meaning that if he does something ridiculous, I don’t have to explain it to the school board?”

“Exactly.”

She exhaled deeply, staring at me like she was both impressed and personally victimized by my logic. “You are dangerous, Alderman.”

I gave a modest shrug. “I try.”

A long silence stretched between us. Then, finally—

“Fine,” she said. “You have your funding.”

I nearly collapsed in relief.

“But,” she added, pointing a warning finger at me, “if Ethan so much as sneezes in a way that causes trouble, I’m shutting this down. Understood?”

“Crystal clear.”

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