ARNOLD’s P O V

When I felt her foot touch my shaft, the food I was swallowing suddenly blocked my throat, and I let out a violent cough that caused the people around me to look at me with worried expression on their faces.

‘‘Arnold, are you alright?’’ Leina asked as she handed me a glass of cold water. ‘‘What’s happening to you?’’

I wrestled the glass away from her grasp and drained the entire contents of it in one swift motion. When I put the glass down on the table, I glared at Celestine, who was smiling innocently as if she had nothing to do with what had just...