"He's going to take four years to finish this sentence," Kai whispered back, grinning. "It means he won't have time to be evil. By the time he formulates a sinister plan, we'll all be graduated."
The speech went on for forty-five minutes. He said a total of six sentences.
When he finally finished ("...the... values... of... Northcrest."), the applause was genuine. We weren't clapping for his rhetoric. We were clapping for his lack of ambition.
Then, the Chairwoman stepped back up.
"Now," she said. "To business."
She pulled out a scroll.
"In light of the evidence presented by Mr. Blackwood," she nodded to Arthur, who blushed, "The Board has voted to repeal the 'Bond Registry Act' effective immediately."
The room didn't cheer.
It sighed.
It was a massive, collective exhale. A thousand shoulders dropped. A thousand knots of tension unspooled.
For months, we had lived in fear of lists, of registries, of being cataloged and controlled. And now, with a single sentence, the weight was gone.
"Furthermore," she continued. "We are recognizing the 'Student Union' as an official campus organization. Your... spirited defense... of the university has been noted."
"Spirited defense," Ivy snorted from the row behind us. "That's code for 'Please don't turn our security guards into waterfowl again we can't afford the insurance.'"
"We accept the terms," Arthur called out from the side, raising his clipboard like a sword.
The ceremony ended with a mixer.
Dean Dane (slowly) raised a glass of sparkling cider.
"To... peace," he said.
We drank.
The cider was lukewarm. The mini quiches were slightly rubbery. The music was a string quartet playing elevator versions of pop songs.
It was boring. It was mundane. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.
"So," Stone said, walking up to us.
He was wearing his uniform, but he had left the tactical vest at home. His badge was polished. His hair was slightly messed up (courtesy of Ivy).
"The Enforcers are being rebranded," he announced. "'Campus Safety.' No more raids. No more interrogation rooms. Just... locking doors and breaking up parties that get too loud."
"Boring," Jax teased, appearing at his elbow with a plate of three quiches. "You're going to be a hall monitor."
"I like boring," Stone said, taking a quiche from Jax's plate. "Boring is safe. Boring means no one gets hurt."
"Boring is underrated," Amelia agreed.
She walked past with Arthur. She was wearing a dress that wasn't gray. It was blue. A soft, sky blue.
"You look nice," I said.
"I look like a civilian," she corrected, but she smiled. "We're going to the library. Arthur wants to show me the first edition ofMagical Theory."
"Nerd date," Ivy coughed.
