She logged the session in her notebook as Rhea had asked: date, problems, no traps, forty minutes. He initialed when she requested it, eyebrows up, then compliant.
"Same time next week?" he asked. "Optional."
"Optional," she repeated. "I'll come if the problems stay honest."
"They will."
Walking to the bus, she felt neither triumph nor collapse. She felt like someone carrying a fragile arrangement of glass and trying not to jog.
---
Peer fallout arrived sideways.
In history, a boy named Sutton—pale, tall, perpetual look of smelling something mildly unpleasant—said during group work, "Some people like to show off so their moms can threaten lawsuits."
Imani's group went quiet. Rohan said, "That's not what happened."
Sutton shrugged. "My brother heard from a senior that Ellery got reamed."
"Good," Lila said from the next group, not looking up from her timeline worksheet. "Maybe he'll write real problems."
Sutton flushed. "You don't get how this school works."
"I get that you're repeating gossip because you can't do the map key," Lila replied, and the teacher looked over, and the moment broke into ordinary scolding about volume.
After class Cole caught Imani by the lockers. "I told Sutton to shut up. He didn't. I'm sorry I'm bad at this."
"You don't have to be my bodyguard," Imani said. "Just don't laugh when they do that."
"I didn't laugh."
"I know. Thanks."
Cole shoved his hands in his pockets. "For what it's worth, I tried the problem at home the way you fixed it. My dad said the original was 'character building.' I said character building shouldn't require fake math. He went to his study. So. Progress? Or exile. Unclear."
Imani smiled despite herself. "Both can be true."
Rohan's contribution was quieter and more practical: he started saving screenshots of any group chat that turned ugly and sending them to Imani without commentary. Documentation as friendship. She added them to Rhea's folder. The folder grew. Growing folders were not the childhood anyone advertised in brochures.
At home Rhea reviewed the enrichment seminar description Ms. Yoruba Dane had sent. It looked genuinely interesting—number theory puzzles, history of mathematical error, a unit on how textbooks hide assumptions. Rhea circled optional three times in red.