The chemistry test went poorly.

  Leon knew it the moment he handed it in. Question seven had stumped him completely, and he'd second-guessed himself on at least five others. Mr. Harrison collected the papers with his usual stern expression, giving nothing away.

  "Results Friday," he announced as the bell rang.

  Great. Something else to worry about.

  Leon gathered his things and headed for the cafeteria. It was Tuesday, which meant the lunch special was pizza—the only decent thing they served all week. The line was already long when he arrived.

  "—did you see the press conference yesterday?" A girl ahead of him was talking to her friend, phone in hand. "She literally made the UN representative apologize on live television."

  "Who, Iris Remeria?"

  "Yeah. It was brutal. He tried to argue about the trade sanctions and she just... destroyed him. Didn't even raise her voice."

  Leon kept his eyes on the floor, pretending not to listen.

  "I saw that!" the friend said. "My mom was watching. She said Remeria's probably the scariest person alive."

  "Scariest and hottest. Did you see what she was wearing?"

  They laughed, moving forward with the line. Leon shuffled along behind them, hands in his pockets.

  This happened a lot. Iris was everywhere—news channels, social media, conversations in hallways. She was impossible to escape, even here, thousands of miles away from wherever she actually was.

  He grabbed his pizza and found Marcus already at their usual table.

  "Test kicked your ass too?" Marcus asked around a mouthful of food.

  "Yeah."

  "Harrison's tests are impossible, man. I'm pretty sure he makes them hard on purpose."

  Leon nodded, taking a bite. The pizza was lukewarm, but he was hungry enough not to care.

  The TV mounted in the corner of the cafeteria was on like always, usually set to some news channel. Right now it showed a stock market report, numbers scrolling across the bottom of the screen. Then the image changed to a familiar face.

  Iris. Some kind of business summit. She sat at a long table surrounded by men in suits, her expression unreadable as she spoke into a microphone.

  Leon looked away.

  "You good?" Marcus asked.

  "Fine."

  "You've been weird lately."

  "Just tired."

  Marcus didn't push it. That was the thing about Marcus—he was easy to be around. No complicated questions, no prying. They'd been friends since sophomore year, bonding over shared classes and similar tastes in music. It was simple.

  "So listen," Marcus said, lowering his voice slightly. "Did you hear about Jake?"

  "What about him?"

  "He got suspended. Three days."

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  Leon raised his eyebrows. Jake was a senior, the kind of guy who always seemed to be in trouble. Big, loud, with a short temper and a group of friends who enabled his worst impulses.

  "What'd he do?"

  "Got into it with Mr. Chen. Apparently he tried to steal something from the convenience store down the street and Chen called him out on it."

  Leon's stomach dropped. Mr. Chen. His boss.

  "When was this?"

  "Last night, I think? Chen banned him from the store. Jake didn't take it well."

  Of course he didn't.

  Leon pushed his pizza around on his plate, appetite fading. He'd have to ask Mr. Chen about it when he went in for his shift later.

  The rest of lunch passed normally. Sophie joined them, complaining about the history project partners that had been assigned. Daniel showed up late with a detention slip, muttering about unfair teachers.

  Leon kept his head down.

  The convenience store was quiet when Leon arrived at 4:30 PM. Mr. Chen was restocking cigarettes behind the counter, his usual calm expression in place.

  "Afternoon, Leon."

  "Hi." Leon dropped his backpack and grabbed his vest. "Um, Marcus told me something happened yesterday? With a student from school?"

  Mr. Chen's jaw tightened slightly. "Jake Morrison. Tried to walk out with beer. Got aggressive when I confronted him."

  "I'm sorry."

  "Not your fault." Mr. Chen waved him off. "Just keep an eye out. I don't think he'll come back, but you never know with kids like that."

  "Okay."

  Leon started his usual tasks—checking expiration dates, restocking shelves, wiping down counters. The store got a few customers, the usual after-school crowd grabbing snacks and drinks.

  Around 5:30, the bell above the door chimed.

  Leon looked up from the register and felt his stomach sink.

  Jake Morrison walked in, hands shoved in his jacket pockets. Two of his friends flanked him—guys Leon recognized but didn't know by name. They were all bigger than him, all wearing the same vaguely hostile expressions.

  Mr. Chen was in the back room. Leon was alone.

  "Hey," Jake said, approaching the counter. "You work here?"

  Leon nodded.

  "You know who I am?"

  Another nod.

  Jake leaned on the counter, getting into Leon's space. He smelled like cigarette smoke. "Then you know your boss fucked me over yesterday."

  "He... he was just doing his job."

  "His job?" Jake's voice rose. "He got me suspended, you little—"

  "You tried to steal from his store," Leon said quietly, regretting the words immediately.

  Jake's face darkened. "What did you say?"

  "I just meant—"

  Jake reached across the counter and grabbed Leon's vest, yanking him forward. "You think you're smart? Think you can talk to me like that?"

  "Let go—"

  "Jake." One of his friends spoke up, glancing at the security camera in the corner. "Not worth it."

  Jake held on for another second, then shoved Leon backward. He stumbled, catching himself on the shelf behind him.

  "You're lucky," Jake said, pointing at him. "Next time I see you without cameras around, we're gonna have a real conversation. Got it?"

  Leon said nothing.

  Jake and his friends left, the bell chiming cheerfully as the door closed.

  Leon stood there, heart hammering, hands shaking slightly. He straightened his vest with unsteady fingers.

  Mr. Chen appeared from the back room moments later, carrying a box of inventory. "Everything alright? I thought I heard voices."

  "Yeah," Leon said, his voice not quite steady. "Everything's fine."

  Mr. Chen looked at him for a long moment, then at the door, then back at Leon. "If someone gives you trouble, you tell me. Understood?"

  "Understood."

  But as Leon returned to work, checking IDs and scanning items and making change, his mind was elsewhere.

  Next time I see you without cameras around.

  He had to walk home after his shift. Through three blocks of poorly lit streets. Alone.

  This was going to be a problem.

  Leon's apartment felt smaller than usual that night. He sat at his desk, chemistry textbook open but ignored, and stared at his phone.

  He could call someone. Marcus, maybe. Or Sophie. Tell them what happened.

  But what would that accomplish? It wasn't like they could do anything about Jake. And if it got back to school, things might get worse.

  His thumb hovered over another contact. The one simply labeled "I.R."

  No. Absolutely not.

  He couldn't call Iris about something like this. She'd already told him not to contact her unless necessary. A school bully threatening him didn't qualify as necessary. It was embarrassing.

  Besides, what would she even do? She controlled countries, corporations, international policy. She didn't have time for his small, pathetic problems.

  Leon put the phone down and tried to focus on his homework.

  Outside, a siren wailed in the distance. The apartment above him creaked as someone walked across the floor. Normal city sounds. Normal night.

  On his desk, his phone screen lit up with a notification.

  Breaking: Remeria Industries announces new global infrastructure initiative. Projected impact: 2.3 million jobs.

  Leon glanced at it, then turned the phone face-down.

  He needed to figure out how to avoid Jake Morrison tomorrow.

  That was his reality. Small problems. Small life.

  He picked up his pencil and went back to work.