The board's review lasted four days.
I spent those days packing my books into boxes, though no one had told me I was leaving. Elias helped me carry them from my room to the greenhouse office, where the staff had offered me a temporary desk.
"Are you sure this is allowed?" I asked.
"No," he said. "But I don't think anyone is going to stop us."
That was the kind of comfort I had learned to trust.
On the fifth day, Mrs. Halloway called me into the meeting room. The board had decided I could remain at the Conservatory, but I would no longer be eligible for a leadership position. My practicum would continue under review.
The decision carried a cost. I would lose the rank I had hoped to earn after graduation. I would keep my place, but the record would show that I had challenged the board
