Henrietta stared at the two, and set her eyes downcast. "Yeah, I can read your thoughts too, Mister Cadwal, and I forgive you. Miss Poppy, there is no way I can show you proof that I'm not controlling you. It would just be a matter of trust . . ."

The girl sighed and looked dejected. "This is why I don't like explaining my powers: suddenly, everything about me becomes false. My looks, how I act, even how anyone thinks or feels about me. Suddenly, my personality is all explained with 'Oh, it's just her ability!' No one even thinks to consider that I had a life before this school! I work hard to make friends and have fun, and somehow everyone thinks it's fine to hand-wave off my efforts at making friends as nothing but my powers!"

Henrietta banged her hand on the table, and her eyes glistened with a hint of moisture. When she stared at Poppy and Timothy, there was a kind of fire in her eyes - it was beautiful like all the rest of her, but it was also terrifying, and utterly lonely to look at. "You think it's bad for you? How do you think I feel? Every interaction I have is laced with distrust and loathing and I can hear it clear as day. Did you know, I have the smallest group when it comes to any of the Rulers. They're made entirely out of people that were my friends in middle school, that knew me before I had powers. I haven't made a single new friend since I came to this school . . ."