Page 114 of The Outsider
Jameson stared at her coldly. “It may not be illegal, but it violates the spirit of having a council to decide howourchildren should be educated.”
I found my voice. “With all due respect, your decision so far has been tonoteducate them. So, you’ll forgive me for finding a solution to a problem that so far, your council has been unwilling or unable to solve.”
He looked like I’d hit him. “You clearly don’t know your place, outsider.”
“She does,” Alice Wang said from the crowd, looking stern. “It’s right here, where she’s earned the trust of our kids. If you have a problem with that, you can call a council meeting, like anybody else. But I think everyone here will vote against you.”
There was a murmur of assent from the crowd, and my heart felt fit to burst. I’d earned their respect at last. I was being accepted, trusted, and finally,useful. I could’ve cried with joy and relief, but I managed to hold it together as Jameson shot me a venomous look and stalked away, muttering to himself.
“Okay,thatwas awesome,” Jenna murmured to me as we filed into the classroom. “Claire, you have balls! I was wondering when I’d see you stick up for yourself at last.”
I smiled. “Turns out that I have something to fight for after all.”
Chapter 32
Claire
Mid-April, just as we were starting to get seeds in the ground, Jenna convinced me to attend the next community dance, where she and Liam planned to play music as usual. It had all happened so quickly—one moment, I was helping her tune her violin, the next I heard myself reluctantly agreeing to sing a few songs with them.
“You’ll be a hit,” Jenna gushed. “And we’ve been practicing for a while now.”
“O-kay,” I said, my stomach churning. “I’ll…see you there, I guess.”
A few days later, I found myself sitting in front of the vanity table in my bedroom, filled with equal parts dread and a strange sense of excitement. It’d been a long time since I’d sung publicly. The music practices with Jenna and Liam had restored the musical part of me that’d withered from disuse, so I had to hope this would be good for something, at least.
I put on the one and only dress that Nimkii had made for me: a light green frock that brought out my eyes. I hadn’t yet had an occasion to wear it.
“I’m nervous,” I said to John as I fixed my hair at the vanity in our room. I pinned it half-up, then smoothed the front of my dress.
Fresh out of the shower, John pulled a clean shirt over his head as he answered, “You have a beautiful voice, baby. It’d be a shame not to use it. Besides, Jenna’s gonna be up there too, and Liam.”
“Yeah, Jenna talks an awful lot about him,” I said with a small smile. “He’s so quiet, though. Hardly talks during music practice, but she acts like he walks on water. Who’s he related to again?”
John grinned. “Didn’t know she was into him. Guess it makes sense. He’s one of Noah’s little brothers. Quiet like Noah, but not as socially awkward. Always thought he had the hots for Asra, though.”
“The one who’s in love with you?” I teased with a smirk.
John rolled his eyes. “Still can’t believe she said that at the council meeting. We never even went out. I helped her fix their truckone time.”
I giggled, couldn’t help it. Realizing that John was the reluctant hottie of the Valley cracked me up. It shouldn’t have been surprising, given how attractive he was, but his utter indifference to the female attention he received was undeniably funny.
I didn’t feel worried or threatened by it, and my heart squeezed as I realized that it was mark of the trust I had in him—trust that I’d worked so hard to cultivate.
I’m not perfect, but I’ve come a long way.
“I’m just glad Asha’s coming,” I said absently as I fiddled with my hair again. “For Kimmy’s sake. She’s been gone so often lately; Kimmy’s been a little depressed about it.”
John put his hands on my shoulders and bent to kiss my cheek, watching my face in the mirror.
“Well, no one’s going to look as good as you tonight,” he said in a low, intimate tone.
“Will you dance with me?” I asked with a playful smile.
He chuckled. “I never dance.”
“You did once with me,” I reminded him.
“That was different. I had a crush on you, and it was a chance to hold you close without telling you.”
