Free Divided We Fall by Trent Reedy Page B

tight. The president wanted us arrested? Montaine hadn’t said anything about that. Maybe he didn’t abandon soldiers under his command, but how could he protect us if the president of the United States came after us?
    “Ugh,” JoBell said. She tapped out of the feed. “I can’t believe that asshole Montaine is going to let those murderers get away with this!”
    I closed my eyes for a moment. “What?”
    “What happened to freedom of speech? Right to assembly? The government can have soldiers shoot American citizens now and nothing happens to them?”
    “I …” I felt like throwing up again. “I don’t think it’s that simple.”
    JoBell patted my arm. “I know it’s not. Of course, not all soldiers are bad. I’m glad you weren’t in the middle of this. It makes me sick.”
    “You and me both.” I hammered down on the accelerator to get to school faster.
    *  *  *
    I’d never felt so relieved to be in school, even if I was sitting in what everybody always said was the toughest graduation requirement for seniors, Mr. Shiratori’s American Government class. Coach Shiratori paced the front of the room, carrying what he called his “Stick of Power,” a piece of well-sanded wood a little longer than a yardstick, and just over half an inch wide. The end of the stick tapped the gray tiled floor with every step he took. Each tap echoed in the quiet.
    He put the Stick of Power in its holster on the side of his podium, then picked up an actual paper version of our textbook. With all the pages crammed between two thick covers like that, the book was huge. The handful of books I’d read in the last few years were all on my comm. Not too many people bothered with the old, clunky paper books anymore.
    “One key difference between this course and the American History class that most of you took as freshmen,” Mr. Shiratori said, “is that we will not be using the textbook nearly as much in Government. The whole first quarter of the book recounts the American Revolution and the events surrounding the drafting of the Constitution. It’s all material we’ve already covered.
    “So.” He dropped the textbook, letting it slap loud on the podium. “We’re going to try something you kids never do anymore, now that you’re always texting on your comms. We’re going to actually talk to one another, face-to-face, voice-to-voice.”
    He yanked the Stick of Power out of its holster and threw it up in the air, swinging his arm to snatch it in his other hand before it started to fall. “The Freedom Lake High School Board of Education requires all seniors to pass American Government in order to graduate. The board obviously believes this class is important. So … Why?” The room was silent for a moment. “Why is it important to study your government?”
    Mary Beth Reese, the only girl challenging JoBell for valedictorian, reached to switch on her comm. Shiratori tapped her desk with the Stick of Power. “Comms off! Don’t look it up. Don’t quote the book or report what the Internet has to say on the subject. Tell me what you think.”
    TJ raised his hand and Coach Shiratori pointed the stick at him. TJ flashed his big stupid-ass grin. “So we know who will be sending Wright to war.”
    A couple of the guys over on TJ’s side of the room chuckled. I leaned toward Sweeney and whispered, “Remind me to knock his teeth out at practice.” He nodded.
    “Well, that might be a bit of a stretch,” Coach said. “But yeah, we should be aware of who is making important decisions like sending our troops overseas.” He saw JoBell’s raised hand and smiled. “Ah, Miss Linder. Never one without an opinion. Let’s hope you haven’t mellowed out since your freshman year. Why do you think it’s important to study government?”
    JoBell leaned forward in her chair. “Because people need to know that our governor thinks he doesn’t have to listen to the president of the United States, that it’s perfectly fine to