<blockquote>They have just made it through the syllabus and started on actual instruction when, with twenty-five minutes left, the fire alarm goes off.
“Probably a drill,” says Mercedes.
“Not on the first day,” Vidal counters. “Some clown pulled the alarm.”
“Or some clown set a fire,” Mercedes says, cheerfully.
Nile sighs before she can stop herself. “I wasn’t planning on dying today, and I’d rather not,” she mutters in English.
Isidra snorts, packing away her things. “You millennials and your gallows humor.”
Nile lets herself laugh at that, but not as long as she’d like to. </blockquote>
