"Yeah. If he's not worth a class, I'll talk about something else. Turn of the century, collapse of communism, whatever. There was a terrorist attack in 2001 but I think that would be too touchy for a lot of students, especially ones who haven't seen it happen and zomg I am not writing that class." Tyler took a deeper breath; he'd been talking a lot.

"But a civil war vet might appreciate why the new guy's a big deal, however he does." He edged a magazine toward Nathan. "We're past due for hope."