"Daisy lost her bnce and fell,” Yvonne said calmly, already at the front of the room. She ced herpleted exam on the proctor''s desk. "Professor, I''m finished."


    "You''re done? Fine, get out of here," he said, waving her away dismissively.


    Yvonne stepped out of the ssroom and saw Bet leaning against a window at the end of the hall, smoking. Before she could walk over, someone called her name.


    "Yvonne!" Rachel came running up, out of breath.


    "What is it?" Yvonne asked, stopping.


    "Look, I helped you back there, but you don''t have to thank me. I was under Queena''s influence before, and I treated you badly. Let''s just call it even," Rachel said, fidgeting.


    Yvonne found her wordsughable. "First of all, I didn''t need your help to deal with Daisy''s usation. Second, as one of my past tormentors, the harm you did can''t be so easily erased. I''m not the type to turn the other cheek."


    She wasn''t the original Yvonne, and she had no right to forgive anyone on her behalf. She turned to leave, but Rachel grabbed her arm.


    "Hey, I''m trying to be nice here! What more do you want? I''m sorry, okay? There, I said it.....” Rachel trailed off, noticing that Yvonne wasn''t looking at her.


    Following her gaze, Rachel saw the man standing down the hall. He was backlit by the window, a figure sopelling it was impossible to look away.


    "No wonder you were in such a hurry to finish. Someone was waiting for you. Is that your boyfriend? He''s gorgeous!" Rachel gushed, practically drooling.


    "No," Yvonne said, her expression darkening.


    "Then he must be trying to win


    you


    over. Hey, he''s looking at you. He


    really worried with


    Said, her eyes alight


    gossip.


    "He''s my protection detail," Yvonne exined wearily.


    "Right, right, I get it. A ''girlfriend'' needs to be well-protected," Rachel winked, a knowing look on her face.


    Yvonne wished she could tape Rachel''s mouth shut.


    "I have to go. Stop bothering me,” she said, pulling her arm free and walking quickly toward Bet.


    He saw hering and immediately stubbed out his cigarette. "Finished?" he asked, his voice low.


    "Yes. We can go."


    The ck Mercedes drove away from the campus, moving steadily down the wide street. Yvonne sat in the passenger seat, the seatbelt snug across her chest. Suddenly, she pressed a hand to her heart: A sharp, constricting pain seized her, and her breathing grew shallow. ck spots danced in front of her eyes. The original Yvonne''s heart condition was a ticking time bomb.


    The car was quiet. Bet, his hand on the steering wheel, nced in the rearview mirror and saw the color drain from her face.


    “Are you alright?" he asked, frowning as he pulled the car over to the side of the road.


    "I''m fine. I just need some air," she gasped, fumbling with her seatbelt. The moment she pushed the door open, her vision wentpletely ck. She copsed into Bet''s arms and fost consciousness.


    Yvonne didn''t know how long she was out. In her dream, she was back at the police academy.