"The room shrank when he walked in."
Silver had spent the two days since Americus's ambush alternating between strategies for avoiding the committee meeting entirely and acceptance that her roommate would literally drag her there if necessary. She'd tried claiming illness, academic emergency, even a fake physical therapy conflict, but Americus had shot down every excuse with the efficiency of someone who'd anticipated and prepared counterarguments for all possible escape attempts.
So now she stood outside the Old Campus student center on Thursday evening, clutching her notebook so tightly her knuckles had gone white. The Gothic building loomed above her, its stone facade lit by lampposts that cast dramatic shadows across the snow-covered courtyard. Through tall windows, she could see other students already gathering in the conference room on the second floor.
