CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY EIGHT – A SANCTUARY

Still, she couldn't simply ignore the issue any longer. Not after arriving one morning to find the studio space in utter disarray, art supplies and materials clearly having been disturbed and tampered with. "Who did this?" she demanded, sweeping her gimlet stare across the assembled students already buzzing with mutinous outrage. "This strikes me as sabotage, pure and simple." "It was those engineering pricks, no doubt," Nic spat, fuchsia hair seeming to bristle with rebellious fury. "Probably pissed we got approval to start setting up the north courtyard installation despite their objections." Jasmine frowned. While she had indeed signed off on letting that group commence construction in the currently underutilized square, she'd had no idea it was such a contentious decision. Leave it to Hastings and his cadre to dig in their heels over even the most trivial concession. "Don't stoop to their level," she warned, working to keep her voice level and authoritative. "Those stunts might