Joan the Made (Throwbacks Series, Book 1)

Chapter 41

"You're an idiot."

Elizabeth is up in my face when I enter Crew's classroom through the trapdoor in the stage. Her anger is oddly refreshing. It cuts through my grief more effectively than any words of sympathy ever could.

"Shut up, Betty," I growl, brushing past her.

But Elizabeth isn't the only one who's furious at me. The entire class is glaring at me. It's intimidating, seeing some of the greatest faces from history regarding you like a traitor.

"Great to see you all!" I bellow, and push my way through the crowd to Harriet, who's giving me a half smile.

"Are you going to act like you still belong here?" Sacajawea hisses.

"Back off," Marie says, crossing the room to stand next to me in solidarity.

Crew enters the room, and his shrewd gaze assesses the faces around him, stopping at me. His eyes are as cold as my classmates', but seeing anger on his face is far more terrifying. For an instant, I can imagine him pillaging villages in northeast Asia, beating the citizens whose cities he conquered into submission.

I take a step back, almost tripping over Nic. His face is red, but his anger is the type that burns me, instead of freezing me out.

"Cast her out," Elizabeth commands.

Her voice is low, but it somehow carries throughout the room, like she's holding a microphone. It must be another one of her queen skills.

"No, your majesty," I reply, fixing her with my steeliest stare. "Nic and I are in a position to make a public spectacle of taking down the executives at Strand in a way that no one will miss. I know I screwed up, but I know how to fix it. Hear me out."

The muscles in Crew's face subtly shift from tense and angry to calculating.

"We're done with your ideas, Joan," Elizabeth says.

"Get the hell out," Sacajawea adds.

"I knew Joan would make a mess of things, but I didn't think she'd do it so completely," Joseph says.

"Silence," Crew shouts. The muttering in the room ceases as all of the students watch Crew with wide eyes. He's never raised his voice before, and the hairs on the back of my neck rise at the timbre of absolute authority in his tone. "We will hear her."

I launch straight into my plan before he can change his mind. "The screening of Strand's promotional vid, To Each, His Place, is on Circe Night. Instead of showing their piece-of-crap propaganda, we show the audience all of the proof we've collected against the Strand executives. If we take them down at their own event, not only will their illegal activity become public, but it will also show the strength of our rebellion that we are able to take on Strand on their home turf."

My classmates' expressions of irritation begin to thaw. They exchange glances, assessing each other's reactions.

Finally, Rob speaks up. "If we don't challenge these bastards at their homes, they'll have a chance to run before they pay for their crimes."

Sal and Mary nod along with Rob. The bloodlust in their eyes reminds me of the plans I overheard them making. Jail time is not what they have in mind when they imagine the Strand executives paying for their crimes.

"We could live-stream the confrontations with the Strand executives at the screening," Marie suggests. "That kind of vid would go viral in hours, even if none of the major news outlets carry it."

"The plan could work," Elizabeth concedes. "But we don't need Joan to execute it."

"Between Nic and me, we have four tickets to this event, two of which are already in our names. We need at least that many of us inside the venue to make this succeed."