Aery sat in the bleachers at the swimming pool, watching the other students show up. She had gotten there a couple minutes early, as she always did. Not that it mattered, really. She didn't exactly have any friends on the team, she just did it for the sake of having something to compete in. And anyway, most of the other students resented her at least a little bit, for getting in as a second-year at only fourteen; for being the only girl who ever actually swam distance; for getting good grades without even trying. It was always something. But what she wouldn't admit to herself was that she desired their friendship.