You’ve gotta be kidding me. You do ?
I glanced at Constance. Her skin grew pale under all those
“Um . . .”
freckles. My heart went out to her even as I was flooded with relief.
“Ten seconds, Mr. Simmons.” Mr. Barber seemed to be enjoy-
“Yes?” she said with remarkable calm.
ing this. “And for the record, we don’t say um in my class.”
Okay. If I knew the answer to this, I would be fine.
“It’s Mary something,” the chunky kid said. “Mary . . . Surratt?”
“Which king of England was served with the lawyer’s brief that
Right. That sounds vaguely familiar. I think.
declared this country’s independence in 1776?” he asked.
“Yes. And for what crime was she put to death?”
Wha-huh? Lawyer’s brief? Since when was the Declaration of
“Conspiring to assassinate President Lincoln,” Mr. Simmons
Independence referred to as a lawyer’s brief?
said with much more confidence.
Wait. What was the question again?
“Good. You pulled that one out, Mr. Simmons,” Mr. Barber said,
“King George the third,” Constance said.
adding a point under the A. I glanced at my watch, wondering
“Correct.”
if there was any possible way I could make it out of here without Constance beamed. Someone behind me said “easy one.” Right.
getting called on. There were still fifty-three minutes left in the King George III had received the Declaration of Independence. I class and only about twenty students.
knew that. I just had to focus. I took a deep breath, glad that I hadn’t
“Miss . . . Brennan.”
been chosen as the first victim. On the blackboard Mr. Barber
Oh, God.
wrote a big A and B with bright yellow chalk. Under the B he added
“Yes?”