"All right," the teacher said once Luna had taken a seat. "Let's start with the basics. I'm sure all of you know some ways to kill people, since no doubt you have watched at least one TV drama in your life. However, there is a difference between simply killing your target and killing your target and yourself."
As the teacher droned on, Luna set her head in her hands and closed her eyes. She'd passed this class with flying colors before; it wasn't like she needed to listen again. "Luna. Luna, sweetheart, you need to pay attention."
Luna had to keep the scowl off her face. "Not really, Mom, I've passed this class just fine before."
"But what if they've added something that you need to know?" her mom hissed.
"What if they added something that I need to know, in the past year, when I've been carefully watching all the covert and non-covert channels to make sure none of my kills violated any of the honor-among-thieves codes."
Her mom nodded.
Luna sighed. "Mom, you really don't understand deadpan, do you..."
The teacher cleared his throat from the front. "Am I interrupting you two ladies?"
Luna pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes. "No sir, I was just explaining the finer points of what you're going over to my mom. She seems to be confused by the class."
Ripples of laughter went through the room. The teacher scowled. "Next time, Ms. Bowen, save the explanations for after class."
Luna nodded. "Yes, sir."
"And Ms. Bowen?"
Luna looked at him wearily.
"Since this is your second time taking my class, perhaps your mother should look elsewhere for tutoring."
The class exploded into laughter and Luna had enough. She grabbed her books, picked up her bag, and started stalking out of the room. But not before she could say, "Wear gloves to avoid fingerprints. Always use a gun reported stolen or missing, never one you yourself have legally obtained, and never use it more than once. Poisons need to be made quickly before use, or else their potency will be lost. Common weak spots are the temple, the chest, under the ribs, the neck, and anywhere there is a vein or an artery. Perhaps you should have looked at my previous scores before suggesting I'm simply stupid."
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