It was number 17 on her list — and easier than she’d expected. The woman had been practically handing out invitations to every stranger she met

ZeeZee shot out of her chair as soon as Mrs. Edelman dismissed the class. She’d been doodling impatiently in her notebook for the past ten minutes, and was more than ready for lunch.

“Coming?” she asked Rusi, who was still scribbling her notes, chewing her tongue in intense thought.

“Did you catch that last thing she said about the cows bringing the Aron to Beit Shemesh? Was that Rashi or Radak?”

ZeeZee shook her head cheerfully. “No clue. I was long gone by then. Maybe Shani knows.”

They both turned to Shani, who sat behind them, but she had an absent look on her face, and blinked rapidly at the sound of her name. “Uh, sorry, what did you say?”

ZeeZee laughed. “Nothing. Had a good shluf?”

Shani clapped a hand to her mouth. “I can’t believe I fell asleep! Rusi, can I borrow your notes?”

“Sure, but why are you so tired? You went to sleep at, like, 10:00 last night. Are you feeling okay?”

Shani’s cheek muscles tautened. “I’m feeling fine.” She stood up quickly, and swayed a little, grasping the edges of her desk for support. “Just a little… I don’t know. Strange. I think I’ll go back to the dorm and lie down.”

ZeeZee frowned. “And skip lunch?” She exchanged a glance with Rusi. “We’ll bring some food back for you.”

Shani started to wave them off, but then seemed to think better of it. “Yeah, thanks.”

As they made their way out of the room, they heard Mrs. Edelman’s voice, calling out from among the small crowd gathered around her desk.

“ZeeZee? Can you wait a few moments? I wanted to speak with you.”

Rusi raised her eyebrows at ZeeZee. “What’d you do?”