Lilah rummaged through her bag, retrieving a notebook and pencil while she waited for class to start. She was nervous, not only for starting school, but also because she hated standing out from the group. Everybody already eyed her warily, but her father had insisted she not wear the school uniform, and what father says, goes. She absently fingered the bracelet on her left wrist, another "gift" from father. She almost sneered at the thought. As if he ever gave anything freely, even to his own daughter.

Keeping her eyes riveted to the front of the classroom to avoid meeting anyone's gaze, but that didn't stop her from noticing another person standing out from the crowd. Her thoughts raced, wondering at the implications of having two representative candidates in the same classroom, but still she reacted to nothing.