ELENI

Eleni looked down from her window onto the dead-end street in front of Madam P's house. It was the first day of school. She was dressed and ready, and it was time to go down and eat. Matthew and Adam were coming by soon. They were all heading to the school together, early so she would have some time to familiarize herself with the building.

She took this moment, however, to wonder exactly what she was doing. She loved dancing and being able to dance to her heart's content on a proper stage was a dream come true. Living with Madam P had proven to be a near ideal situation for her as well. The woman respected her privacy and had reasonable expectations. Everything appeared to be a boon.

But was it all worth the risk? She sighed out her indecision and went down to breakfast.

"You hold your head high, child, no matter what." Eleni nodded as she stared down at the porridge she was stirring. Each morning Eleni made their simple meal, and Madam P cleaned up after, that was the routine. Standing there in an almost trance, she distantly recognized that she was glad the woman hadn't said something like 'it'll be fine'.

A minute later, she took the pot from the stove and poured it into two waiting bowls. As those cooled, Eleni retrieved a creamy fermented beverage from the cold press. She wasn't sure of the ingredients but knew it wasn't dairy. She added a tin of nuts, seeds, and dried fruit from the cupboard. The cooled porridge followed, and was joined by the pot of black tea, an indulgence Madam P allowed herself daily to Eleni's delight. They sat together and ate with little conversation.

The was a knock at the door a short while later.

"Hi! You ready?" Eleni looked up into Matthew's grinning face and comforting brown eyes.

"We'll see," was all she said, and they fell into step with each other as they made the walk to school.

"There's a good coffee shop on the way. Maybe we can stop there in the afternoon."

"I don't know," she murmured, though she was more interested than she let on. Stopping at a café on the way home from school: it was the sort of thing that everyone around her had done at the Citadel, and she never had. She would have loved to do it with Dave.

"Madam P won't mind if we are a bit late to the studio," he whispered conspiratorially. Eleni gave Matthew a flat look at that incorrect statement but did let it focus her on putting Matthew off.

"Another day, maybe."

They walked on in silence behind Adam and Madam P, though Eleni frequently felt Matthew's eyes on her. She ignored that attention in favor of watching their surroundings. They left Madam P's mansion lined street and entered an intersection that boasted a few small shops and the closest closed car station. There, they veered left onto a smaller boulevard, and about 5 minutes later the school came into sight, a grand stone structure with a broad courtyard leading up to the front door.

The courtyard in front of the school was dotted with several small clusters of students and some parents. They fell silent as Eleni, Matthew and the adults went by. She heard the muttered comment that 'Summers should have left his dirty laundry in the Sewer where she belongs.' She took a deep breath and walked on. That was just the beginning.

Eleni had learned that this was one of a few schools that children from the top tier families of the Montagne attended. There had been strenuous objections to her enrollment. However, Madam P's daughter had attended the school and the dance teacher's case had been strong. Eleni appreciated those efforts, but also realized they meant it would increase the grudge the other students held against her.

"What is the layout again?" she asked Matthew, trying to distract herself from the glaring eyes around her.

"The north wing houses the dining hall on the bottom floor, the library on the second and the gymnasium on the top level. The south wing has all the classrooms. We'll show you around."

They walked her to each of her classrooms to orient her. After gaining some confidence as to where her classes were, she asked to see the dining hall, a large open area filled with tables as well as more private nooks off to the side.

Then the library. That was not as open, but there were a few tables in the center that could be viewed from the entrance. She wished it had been more like the library at the academy she had attended previously, where most of the books were stored digitally, reducing the need for long, dimly lit corridors lined with tall stacks of books. The lack of technology at the Montagne continued to astound her.

Finally, the start of the first class drew near and the adults left. Matthew walked her to her first class, but after peeking into the room and only seeing a couple knots of students with no teacher in sight, she lingered outside. Matthew didn't object and seemed happy to stay with her and tell her about the teacher, one John Grey.

"He pretends to be hardnosed but is really a pushover. The students regularly make him go off topic. He loves to wax eloquent about historical supposition." Eleni nodded absently at that, as she examined the locker lined corridor. "You going to be ok?"

His question brought her attention back, and she found him studying her, concern clear on his face. She almost sighed. She knew she couldn't expect Matthew to understand, but at the same time she wished he did.

"We'll see," she replied again. Matthew continued to look at her, his brow furrowed. Thankfully, a large man covered in fur passed by them with an irritated look.

"Summers, you're going to be late and I won't be providing you a hall pass," was all the man said, not acknowledging Eleni at all.

"Yes, Mr. Cassidy," Matthew responded automatically. With one last look at her he turned to go. She entered the classroom and began her education at the Montagne.

Students were starting to pour into the classroom, and Eleni realized that it was the first time she had been in close proximity to a large group of UpMountain inhabitants. Save for the dance school that was, but there everyone was dressed to dance. Here, it appeared that many of her classmates were dressed to perform some bizarre play.

There were men dressed as women, and women dressed as men. Clothing was more often than not revealing and the colors bordered on garish to Eleni's eye. And while she was used to the unusual hair or eye colors, or patterned skins, several faces in her class were painted to an extreme, with the same bold colors as the clothing, and many of them glittered.

Eleni had seen these styles from a distance, but never in such numbers and never so close. Coming from the subdued-by-comparison vestments of the Down Mountain, not to mention the skirts-for-girls and slacks-for-boys schools of the Citadel, it all struck her as bizarre. While some of her classmates sneered at her pleated skirt and button-down blouse, she found them to be a comforting refuge.

Ducking her head to hide her blush, Eleni quickly picked the desk nearest the door. Being on the edge of the room it only had adjacent seats to the left and behind. She glanced briefly at the students who slipped into those seats as she settled her bag.

To her left was a young man with scales all over his body. His eyes were slit like a snakes'. A good sign – a physical mutation, so it was less likely he had any further abilities. Matthew had taught her that. Behind, however, was a completely normal looking girl, with black hair and brown skin. She was talking to her friend, who was sitting kitty corner from Eleni. That girl appeared to have horns. As they were both distracted, Eleni couldn't get a read on their reactions to their new classmate.

The teacher cleared his throat, and the students quieted.

"Good morning, class. Welcome to another year at the Pryde School of Advanced Learning. As you know we have a new classmate, a fairly rare occurrence here. Miss Jones, would you start us off by reminding us of the Rennaissance that occurred 700 years PD?" Eleni kept her eyes on the teacher. There was no way this could end positively for her, but that didn't mean she was defeated.

"No, sir. I cannot."

"Cannot or will not?" He stared down his nose at her as if she was a piece of trash. She calmly returned his gaze.

"Cannot, sir. I do not know the answer to your question." He scowled at her answer. The class tittered with disdainful laughter. Eleni simply sat, returning the teacher's gaze until the man looked away in disgust.

As she had hoped, he ignored her for the majority of the class, except when she exclaimed out loud as a slimy substance suddenly slipped down the back of her clothing. Then he told her if she couldn't be quiet and learn he would be forced to send her to the principal's office.

She held her tongue and tried her best to ignore her discomfort. She couldn't stop the sinking feeling in her stomach however. She had promised herself she would not use the bathrooms at the school and would have to live with the slime in her shirt for the rest of her day. At the end of class, she took a good look at the girl behind her, hoping she could avoid sitting near her again.

The next class, biology, went much the same, minus the prank. The fact that she was paired with someone at a desk, and expected to work with them was almost worse, however. The teacher gave them an activity that required observing a specimen together, then jointly present their findings. Her partner ignored her, but she was the one scolded for not being cooperative.

In between classes was no respite. She was constantly alert, and sure enough the hallway went slippery at one point. She kept herself from falling by grabbing on to the lockers. The possibility that she could be physically injured in a way that would prevent her from dancing was her one true worry.

At one point in the hall between classes, a heavy-set young woman, her face done up drastically with make-up, intercepted her. Her eyes appeared to be slitted.

"Whatever you got it must be good if Summers keeps coming back for more. You show me yours and I'll show you mine?" Then she grinned and a long, blue forked tongue flicked out of her mouth. Eleni was stunned into to inaction, but fortunately the woman's friend called her back. The other woman had bushy light brown hair, pointed, tufted ears and tan skin that looked fuzzy.

"Really, Rachel, what are you doing? Get away from her!"

"Just having some fun, Doreel." Doreel glared at Eleni as the two walked on. Eleni gritted her teeth and made her way to her next class.

That class, the last before lunch, took on a similar pattern to the first: the teacher singled her out, and then happily satisfied to have proved her incompetence, ignored her. Eleni took notes as best she could and focused on improving her academic standing.

Lunchtime presented new challenges, however. She had brought food and had hoped to find a table alone in a corner or against a wall, but also near a door. It turned out that there were few tables unoccupied, and none close to the door. Further, there were no empty tables that weren't close to full ones, which made her nervous. Scanning the room, and trying not to get distracted by the clothing, or sometimes the lack thereof, she was about to settle for eating while standing by the exit when a voice called out her name. In surprise, she looked toward the sound to see a boy who looked vaguely familiar approaching her.

"Eleni! Hi! Remember me?" She shook her head. The pale boy was slightly taller than her and had black hair and bright blue eyes behind glasses with thick black rims. He looked disappointed at her lack of recognition but smiled wryly and took it in stride.

"Well, I supposed your foot got the best look at me in the end." Then she remembered. Months ago she had nearly run into this boy, and when sparks had started appearing around him, had planted a turning sidekick firmly on his chest before running off.

Remembering that didn't help her. She just looked at him, wishing there had been more time to learn names, faces and mutant abilities prior to the start of school. The boy was still talking. "Anyway, let's start again. I'm Travis Lensherr. G asked me to see how you are doing with school starting."

There were two pieces of information that Eleni struggled to reconcile. Lensherr was the name of the ruling family. In conversations with Matthew, he had indicated he avoided the family as a rule. To associate with them was to make a power play, and Matthew had no interest in those games. Eleni knew there was no danger of that for her, but also had no desire to be close to such a public person.

Yet, Travis had also said G had talked to him about her. And, apparently, he came to the Towers from time to time. Did G trust this boy? She had gained a certain amount of respect for the man, though she wouldn't go so far as to say she trusted him, yet. Maybe that was why he hadn't said anything about it to Eleni.

Travis was waiting, expecting a response, but Eleni simply continued to look at him. He started to look uncomfortable.

"Would you like to sit together?" he asked.

"I don't like crowds," she replied, as she started to turn away, "but thank you."

"I always have my own table. It would just be us." Eleni paused, not sure if that was a good thing. "I don't much like crowds either." When she looked back, the lopsided smile on his face appeared to be free of guile. There was also a hint of bitterness that she found she understood. That didn't make sense. Nonetheless.

"OK." The smile turned glad and Travis led her over to a table on the edge, with only one bag at it. Seeing that he had been true to his word, Eleni relaxed a bit.

Once seated, Travis started talking again.

"So, how are things going so far?"

"Ok, I guess." She didn't extrapolate. Travis looked faintly perturbed but didn't let it stop him. He got specific.

"What classes have you had?"

She gazed at him for a moment, then decided sharing the information couldn't hurt.

"History, Math and Biology."

"How did they go?"

"Fine. About what I expected." The back of her shirt was now caked to her skin from the dried slime.

Travis examined her for a minute, lips folded in, then nodded.

"OK. What do you have next?"

"Remedial Studies, for two periods." He blinked. "I didn't do very well on the placements tests." He took this in evenly. "Then Genealogy and Genetics." He grimaced at that one. "What?" she asked.

"Professor Fraiser is probably going to be one of the worst. He'll do something particularly nasty." That was when Eleni started to suspect that Travis did understand some of what she was up against. It still didn't make sense though. Help. From a Lensherr. She tried to shed some light on the situation.

"Why are you helping me?" Before he could answer, however, a young woman appeared at the table. Literally: with a sharp soundof air being displaced, they were suddenly three of them. Half standing, Eleni was grappling to regain her calm when her eyes caught the new arrival's face.

The girl was stunning. Her skin was dark, nearly black, and her face was constructed of well-balanced and delicate features. Her head was shaved bald, which only served to highlight the beauty of her features. And her eyes. The latter were golden and mesmerizing. They constantly drew the watcher's eyes to her face where they were once again reminded of her dark beauty. Eleni suspected the woman was aware of the effect her appearance had. She wasn't tall but held herself with a stiff pride that gave her a commanding presence. Now, she was looking down at Eleni in haughty disdain.

"Really, Travis, do you have to be so disgusting?"

"Come on, Ebony. She's got just as much right to be here with us as anyone. Why don't you join us?" Reseated, Eleni's gaze snapped to Travis, though she kept her expression under strict control. Her instinct told her she didn't want this woman knowing anything more about her than was necessary. The last thing she wanted was for her to join them at the table.

Fortunately, Ebony just gave Eleni one more piercing glance, and left the way she had come after telling Travis she'd talk to him later. Eleni didn't let her relief show, but Travis seemed disappointed.

"Don't mind Ebony so much. She's putting on a show because she doesn't know you. Her parents are both Xavierists," he said dismissively. Eleni forgot herself as the name rang familiarly in her ears.

"What is that name?" she asked, then froze. Internally, she cursed. She should have waited and found out from Matthew later. Fortunately, Travis didn't seem to find her lack of knowledge odd.

"Not a fan of politics, are you?" his tone was wry. "Well, you know the Superiorists of course, who subscribe wholesale to Magneto's mutants are superior, next step of evolution, mentality." Eleni nodded. She did know vaguely of them, although Travis' description was informative. "Then there are the Loyalists. Loyal, that is, to the Lensherr family."

"Your family," she replied pointedly, getting that matter out in the open. Travis winced.

"Yeah," he said slowly. "Well, it's not like they serve us hand on foot. It's a political distinction, and they will tend to support the family on political issues, even if it deviates from the Superiorist line. Tend to, that is. They can be a bit unpredictable." He grimaced at that, then continued. "Then you have the Xavierists. Named after Charles Xavier, they are open to things like living with non-mutant humans, more equality in the society, making things better for everyone, not just the people living in the UpMountain." His face twisted a bit. "It's not an easy thing to be in the UpMountain." Eleni thought it was probably a breeze next to being her in the UpMountain.

She observed Travis for a moment, then decided to get a better read on him.

"Why are you being nice to me?" Travis blinked, then considered the question.

"I don't care. About what they all think." He waved his hand at the other students in the cafeteria. "And, when G mentioned you would be here, I don't know, I just wanted to help out."

So, G hadn't exactly asked him to look out for her, but Travis had taken it upon himself to do so. Given how he was acting so far, she thought that was a good sign. She decided to see what other information she could get from the boy and started lining questions up in her mind. If he was playing her for a fool, she would find out soon enough and that would be the end of it. If not, she could use the help.

"So, this Genealogy and Genetics class. Do you have any idea of what the teacher might do?"

"Something that will guarantee your failure."

Travis was right on the mark. When Eleni arrived at the class after two torturous hours of one-on-one tutoring with a tutor who clearly didn't want to be tutoring her, she was dismayed to recognized Jenna Frost standing at the front next to a large man with tan skin and blue hair. The hazel-green eyes found her immediately, and a smile that was only so in name lit the woman's face. Eleni's stomach clenched.

She hadn't shared with Matthew the little threats Jenna was fond of whispering at her during dance class. Her removal of Eleni's scarf had been the most visible use of her powers, but Eleni knew there had been others and now pulled in her dancing when she knew the girl was watching and there were no teachers around, for fear of falling and hurting herself. The one blessing was that Jenna appeared only to be able to use her powers when she could focus solely upon them. So, if Jenna was also dancing or talking with her friends, Eleni knew she was safe.

The man noticed her and sneered.

"Ah, I thought there was a stink. Sit there." He gestured to a seat at the front corner by the windows. A corner seat was great, but Eleni didn't like being so far from the door. Nonetheless, she sat.

Before the class even started, the teacher, Mr. Fraiser, came over with Jenna.

"I am to understand, sewer rat, that you performed hopelessly in my subject. That is truly shameful, given our legacy and all the Montagne was built upon. I have asked Ms. Frost, here to provide you with tutoring to remedy the situation. I hope you appreciate the honor she is doing you in making herself available." The teacher glanced at Jenna. "Work out a time to meet between yourselves." He left. Jenna grinned down at Eleni.

"So, you'll come over to my house next Tuesday. It's only Open Dance that day: we won't be missing much."

"I want to do it at the dance school." Eleni didn't even like that, but there was no way she was going to this woman's house alone. Jenna sneered.

"I'm a serious dancer. If I'm at the school, I'm dancing. Madam P wouldn't like to hear that you think that the time you spend there is more flexible." Eleni thought of the times she had seen Jenna sit and gossip with her friends but made no comment on the woman's response.

"Then at Madam P's. In the evening." Maybe that would stop Matthew from coming to dinner.

Jenna's face twisted into anger. "Really how ungracious of you! I offer my time freely, and you make demands. You are in no position to do so! There is no way you can pass this class without my help. And there is no way you can graduate without passing this class," the dancer hissed. "When you are willing to study seriously, let me know! Until then, I'm afraid you are on your own, slut."

The last was said with such venom that spit flew from the woman's mouth. Turning on her heel, Jenna went to report to the teacher and then leave. Mr. Fraiser gave Eleni a nasty smile. Ignoring the sinking feeling in her stomach, Eleni took out her notebook.

MATTHEW

Matthew sat in the cafeteria and worried. It had been three days since school began and as he had expected he rarely saw Eleni in the building. When he did, it was from a distance and she was usually intent upon what was happening in her immediate vicinity, so she didn't notice him. He had resorted to keeping a distant monitor through the bond to find out if anything was seriously disturbing her.

"Hey, Summers." He looked up to see a thickly built man with beige skin, dark eyes and brown hair. Craig Munroe.

"Hi Craig," he returned. Craig was the only one of his former circle of friends Matthew was finding tolerable. Most of Matthew's peers had graduated now, of course, but there were a few students from the year below him with whom he had been familiar. He had initially joined a group of them for lunch; that had stopped when the pointed questions about Eleni had persisted

He didn't mind Craig's presence, however, as the young man joined him at the table.

"The party going to be at the Braddock's this Friday night. You in?" Matthew shook his head. Craig sighed. "C'mon, it doesn't hurt to have some fun."

"I am having fun."

"Sitting here looking like leper?"

"You don't have to join me," Matthew pointed out. It was easier to focus on what was coming through the bond when he was on his own.

Craig didn't leave but did stop talking and started eating. A moment later there was another addition their group.

"She is kind of pretty, I'll give you that, Summers." Calen Guthrie, brown-skinned with black hair, sat without an invitation and leaned towards Matthew. "So, what's she got that's so good? I'm betting it has something to do with her mutant powers. Eh?"

"Go away, Guthrie." This type of conversation had been what chased Matthew away from eating with the group.

"Mattie!" Calen said in mock hurt. "Look, if you're mad that I went on a date with Jenna last spring, well, you two weren't together and you can't blame me for trying! It's not like I got anywhere with her." Matthew hadn't known that and didn't care.

He had tried, the first day, to tell the truth: that he and Eleni weren't together, but that she was a close friend of his. The resulting laughter had echoed through the cafeteria, bringing others to their table, who were then brought in on the 'joke'. Calen's questions proved that that opinion still dominated.

A spike of fear from Eleni distracted him. He did his best to keep his face smooth and bent to his food with easily feigned irritation, but in truth concentrating on what Eleni was feeling. It was no use. As always, the brief feeling was replaced quickly by a void; a complete absence of emotions as she locked them away. He felt his own surge of dismayed frustration.

At the end of each day, he asked her how things had gone; she always replied that it was manageable and refused to elaborate beyond what she was learning in her classes. Madam P was having the same difficulty: Adam had asked Matthew for information because the woman had noticed damage on Eleni's clothing, but the young woman just dismissed it. Matthew hoped G would be able to learn more the next time the man came up.

Craig and Calen talked a bit through lunch, and Matthew joined in from time to time. When he finished eating, he left, taking advantage of the empty halls to get to his next class in peace.

Things went much the same over the next few days. Matthew was glad when, a week later, G finally came UpMountain again. Eleni was already sitting with the large man when Matthew entered the auditorium after changing.

"G, good to see you." He held out his hand, and his friend grasped it in greeting. Matthew sat in front of Eleni, kitty corner from G.

"Hey, Mattie, where the hell is the…South Slope?"

"Wha-? Why-? Oh." The mystery of G's mutant powers. The South Slope backed up to the military complex, and that was the branch of government which would be involved in such investigations. "Um…it's south." G rolled his eyes.

"That's the problem. With all your hamster tunnels up here, I don't which way that is! No such trouble DownMountain…" he shook his head at the deficits of the UpMountain. "Ah, never mind. I'll figure it out." Matthew was sure G would do everything he could to make sure that he didn't. He smiled.

"So, Elle here was regaling me about the wonders of school up here in heaven. Seems they haven't told her she's a goddess, yet. I'm disappointed."

"You've probably heard more than I have." He eyed Eleni, who turned her head away as if disinterested.

"Well, there's only one teacher that really has it out for her. So that's good." Matthew had heard about Fraiser's set-up and didn't blame Eleni for her reaction. After Jenna's prank from a couple weeks back, he wouldn't want Eleni to be alone with his former girlfriend either.

"Oh, yeah, the others are so welcoming." This came from Eleni, mildly sarcastic. G snorted.

"Just keep reminding yourself, they actually believe the shit they are saying to you. It keeps me laughing." Eleni looked at G, but whether she agreed or not Matthew couldn't tell.

When Eleni was called back to dancing, Matthew took the opportunity to quiz G, but was disappointed.

"She didn't share any details, but they're pranking her constantly. Or telling her what they think of her. Or looking at her like she's something cat dragged in. Or—"

"OK! I get the idea." Matthew grimaced and turned away from G, sinking further into his seat. He had gleaned as much from the spikes of emotion he felt throughout the school day. G leaned forward, placing his arms on the back of the seat next to Matthew.

"Mattie, you regretting asking her to come up?" Matthew shifted in irritation.

"No! I mean, look at her. This is so much bettefr than dancing in the Towers." Eleni was preparing to perform a piece with the other top dancers on stage. In Matthew's opinion she stood out head and shoulders above them. He loved watching her dance.

"But…," G prompted.

"But, nothing! It seems like it's not that bad, after all. I mean the fact that she doesn't talk about it is a sign, right? If it was really bad she'd tell us." He tried to sound confident. He felt G looking at him. The man didn't respond to his comment. They watched the dancing in silence for a minute.

"You trying to get her pregnant with your eyes?" Matthew nearly swore in his surprise and turned to his friend.

"Wha-? What's that supposed to mean?" G just raised his eyebrows in amusement and sat back in his seat.

"You tell me."

Later that night, Madam P brought up the issue of Eleni's clothes at the dinner table, something that clearly annoyed the young woman.

"We'll have to get you some new items." The dance teacher said matter-of-factly.

"Thank you, but it is not necessary. I take good care of my clothes."

"Yes," the teacher responded dryly. "I've noticed you are a daft hand at sewing. Your stoic attitude in the face of suffering would make you an admirable Cinderella. Apologies if I refuse to play the part of the abusive step-mother." Eleni's eyes flickered towards the ceiling, but she kept silent. "We'll go this Holday. My errands can wait. And after we can spend some time at the Atrium." That caught Matthew's attention.

"The Atrium! I haven't been there in ages. Would you mind if I joined you?"

"Of course not, Matthew! You are always welcomed." Madam P's response wasn't rushed however she did manage to cut Eleni off and leave her with her mouth hanging open. Turning to Matthew, the younger woman tried to dissuade him.

"Matthew, it's boring. We just sit there. Maybe walk around a bit."

"That sounds nice. What time do you think you'll be there?" He ignored the spike of irritation he felt through the bond as Madam P answered.

"I imagine we'll be done around lunchtime. Let's meet at noon, and I'll bring a picnic."

Eleni again tried to talk him out of it later as he prepared to leave. Adam hadn't stayed that night; he alternated nights at home with Jae. Matthew and Jae never ate together these days.

"I don't think that it is a good idea. What about the tabloids?"

It was true, other than school they hadn't gone anywhere public together since they had come UpMountain. Tabloids were forbidden inside both the dance school and the academic school. The only new opportunities had been the walk in the morning, and the papers had already exhausted that scenario. They had also talked up his staying the evening at Madam P's, but he didn't think that was a big deal. Just more of the same lies they had been printing before, and the story had gotten old.

Matthew waved his hand, dismissing her worry.

"The tabloids stories have dropped off. They're bored with this new situation. It'll be fine." She looked at him, doubtful, but didn't voice any further objections, and Matthew left feeling positive.

JAE

Jae Summers observed the young woman with cool light brown skin as she walked out of the school next to Matthew. A growl of disgust formed in her throat at seeing them together. At least they weren't holding hands.

The young cadet had been planning to take the opportunity to introduce herself to her brother's sick obsession, but his new girl kept her head down and got herself out of the halls quickly. When Jae had skipped class to visit the girl at the cafeteria, she had discovered her sitting with Travis Lensherr and abandoned the idea. Jae's mouth twisted at the memory.

A voice surprised her from behind.

"A total disgrace, isn't it Summers? Your brother has lost his mind." She turned to find Javier Damba standing at her shoulder. The man was a cadet, like her, but a year ahead of her in training. Students could join part-time any time after they turned 16.

She pulled her posture straight and gave him her full attention. He nodded in approval. "Have you met her? Now that she is UpMountain your brother has probably been bringing her home for some entertainment, no?" Jae shook her head as she responded.

"No, they keep it at the dance studio. I was just thinking about how to introduce myself." Javier spoke, sounding interested.

"Well, if you'd like, I can suggest some ways to give her a proper welcome. Get a few friends together. It will be a right party." Jae looked at the senior cadet. She ignored how her stomach went slightly sour at his tone. They were at school; he couldn't be thinking of anything that wasn't tame. She nodded, and when he tipped his head to the side, she followed him back into the hall, listening.