Author's notes:

I do not own Reboot or any of the characters; they are property of Mainframe Entertainment.

Constructive criticism is appreciated, so please review.

***

Anna Lan sipped her energy shake listlessly. She couldn't believe she'd been called in to the Prime Guardian's office for the third time this term. This time it had been about her less than stellar performance on her practical exam on sealing tears. Last time it had been about that fiasco in game training. And before that, it was her poor marks in Supercomputer history. At this rate, she would be expelled by the end of the term. It wasn't fair. She spent almost all her free time studying, but she just didn't understand it. She just didn't have the skills to do any of the fighting; and she could never remember any of the history or viral classification.

She sighed and surveyed the cafeteria from her table in the corner. She hated it here. She didn't have any friends. And she always felt so basic. The only class in which she had even remotely good marks was in vehicle maintenance, which she took as an elective. She would have been happy to leave the Guardian Academy and become a repair sprite. But that would never happen; she was a Lan. Lans had been Guardians since the founding of the Collective.

She gathered up her organizer and data storage and headed down to the Joseph Lan Memorial Read-Only Room, her mind on her earlier meeting with Turbo.

"You know why I've called you in here."

Anna nodded. "I'm trying Sir. I really am."

"Anna, I know you're trying, but this is your fourth term here, and you haven't improved at all. I've sent a notice to your parents. If your grades aren't up by the end of the term, I'm afraid that's it."

"Sir, please. I…I don't know what else to do, but you can't expel me. I mean—"

"I know your family has a long-standing tradition in the Collective and this Institution," Turbo remarked, "but I can't keep you here with these grades of yours. I'm sorry."

Anna stopped in front of the trophy case in hall. The damn Lan tradition. Her father and mother were Guardians. Her uncles and aunts were guardians. And Bob—her damn brother was one of the best students ever to attend the academy. She looked at the smiling likeness of him on the wall—one of many awards he had received—and her eyes narrowed. It wasn't fair. She wished she could show up her older brother for once in her life. She'd give anything to be the star for a few moments. To have people look at her as a person…not a Lan, and definitely not Bob's little sister. She turned on her heel and headed out into the darkness. She didn't feel like studying anymore; she knew it wouldn't matter. And she definitely did not want to go back to the dormitory, where she knew an e-mail from her parents would be waiting to tell her she was a disgrace. She decided to walk off some of her frustrations.

.