Hale & Mercer looked expensive before anyone saw a single diamond. The Oak Street showroom had crystal chandeliers, polished stone floors, brushed brass
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The auditorium at Westbridge High smelled of floor wax, old curtains, and nervous teenagers. By eight-thirty in the morning, nearly five hundred students
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Late-morning light entered Room 12 in pale, dusty bars. It came through the old yellowing blinds, cut across scarred desks, open composition notebooks,
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