"Time's up!" Mr. Gregory called as he stopped his stopwatch. "Close your test booklet and hand it in to me."

Kenny closed her packet and stood. She sighed, both relieved that the test was over and upset that she didn't get to finish. Though it had taken her a while, the first part of the test hadn't been very hard. She was confident she had gotten all of the questions she managed to answer right. It was the second section Kenny wasn't so sure about.

The second section of the GEIM, the academic aptitude, was a peculiar assessment. Rather than asking Kenny what she knew about certain subjects or telling her to find the solution to equations she was supposed to have already learned, it told her what she was supposed to do before she got to the solving of any problems. There would be several pages of examples and step-by-step guides to teach Kenny how to answer certain questions and tell her information she needed to know. She would get a few minutes to read all of it, then a portion of time to work without the guide. Rather than testing my intelligence, she had realized only halfway through, they're testing my ability to learn.

Kenny hoped she had done well.

Kendall brought her booklet over to Mr. Gregory, and the man took the test from her. He placed it on the desk beside him. She stared at the administrator, waiting for instructions, as he checked his watch and opened up his thick lips so words could tumble out.

"It's a good thing you finished when you did. Lunch is about to start. You can go to the Dining Ha—wait, you don't know how to get there. You're new."

Kenny nodded impatiently. Three hours of testing had made her as starved as a grizzly bear when it wakes up from its hibernation in the spring.

"Go down the hallway, and make a left. There should be a blue door which you'll go through to go outside. The Dining Hall should be the building with children walking towards it."

At that exact moment, several pings rang out from the intercom on the wall, signaling that lunch was starting. Kenny followed the path Mr. Gregory had pointed out and made her way through the pristine hallways beside other groups of children. Few were in uniforms, as it was Sunday, so Kenny didn't look out of place. However, she kept her eyes to the ground, not wanting to bring any attention to herself.

"Man, I hate Social Studies," a boy next to Kenny moaned. The young girl's ears perked up, and she began to listen to him speak. "I've got a D in the class, and Mr. Kingsworth won't let me make it up."

"At least you don't have to take Algebra," another boy replied. This one sounded older, like he was Andrew's age. "It's horrible. I studied all night for my test, and I still failed it."

The younger boy laughed. "The only classes you can seem to pass are P.E and Training."

"I know. My parents are going to kill me when I go home for Christmas break."

By this point in the conversation, Kenny had already deduced that neither of the boys were gifted, when it came to schoolwork at least. However, they had mentioned a Training class, which baffled Kenny so much she nearly stopped in her tracks. Training? For what?

Then an awful thought dawned on her. What if the academy wasn't for children who were intellectually gifted, but physically gifted? What if this was a military academy? Had Ms. Greenwood sent the young girl off to become a soldier rather than get a better education? What if—?

Kenny's train of thought was interrupted before another what if question could plague her mind with more dread. She had bumped into something next to her, for she had been too focused on the ground to realize where she was walking. The whole hallway suddenly fell silent, and everyone stared at the young girl. It took her a moment to realize that she had walked into a someone and not a something, and that that someone was glaring right at her.

A boy only a few years older than Kenny but several inches taller looked down upon the girl like she was the scum of planet Earth. He owned pale blonde hair almost as white as his skin, and his blue eyes were like ice. He examined Kenny disdainfully, as if she were a disappointing specimen in an exhibit, before his thin lips curled upward into a mirthless smile.

"Well? Aren't you going to apologize?"

Kenny looked wordlessly at the boy, her cards all but forgotten in her pockets. His companions turned to stare at the young girl, analyzing her just as he had before. And when Kenny realized who the pale boy was walking with, it took all her motor control to keep her mouth from opening itself.

Gabriel was standing right there next to the young girl.

When he noticed Kenny staring at him in shock, Gabe smirked. "She's a Neo, Gene. She doesn't know who you are."

A what? Kenny thought, but she didn't have anytime to ponder over what a Neo was. The boy called Gene had begun to speak.

"She seems to recognize you, though, Einstein. Have you met this silent girl before?" Gene asked quietly.

Einstein's sneer melted into a frown, and he glared at Kenny. "No, of course not. I would have remembered meeting a mute."

Kenny's shock morphed into anger. Gabe knew she didn't like being called a mute. How dare he call her that, in front of all of his friends! Unless...this wasn't Gabriel. He didn't sign his words as he spoke them, and his attitude certainly wasn't as cheerful. But how could that be possible? How could it be that there was a boy less than two hours away by plane that looked identical to Kenny's only friend?

"You've irritated the girl." Gene chuckled. "She must know what mute means, and she doesn't like it. Well, go on, speak then! If you don't want to be called a mute, you have to prove you're not one."

Kenny looked down, her cheeks becoming hot, but she stayed silent.

After a moment, Einstein said, "It seems we've met a mute. Take note of this day."

The group behind Gene began to snicker and laugh amongst themselves. Kenny suddenly, blissfully, remembered her index cards. She quickly took them out of her pocket to find the one she was looking for. However, before she could find her response, Einstein swiftly grabbed the pack of cards and asked, "What are these?" as he began shuffling through them. Kenny groaned inwardly. This was the second time within a span of three days that someone had taken her index cards.

She would have to hold them with a tighter grip.

Kenny took another card out of her back pocket that she had made the day before. She thought Ms. Greenwood was the only one who would see the card. Give me back my cards, it read.

Einstein sneered after looking at it. "Why should I? You can't tell me what to do."

The boy raised the pack of cards over his head and told Kenny to try to get them. Kenny looked at her only form of communication in despair. Though Einstein was only a few months older than her (as Gabe was), he was half a head taller. There would be no way for Kenny to get to her cards without jumping.

"Come on, little mute. Jump for the cards. Or perhaps," Einstein added when he noticed Kenny's hesitation, "I'll just have Blaze set them on fire instead."

A boy Kenny assumed was Blaze laughed from behind Einstein. He was much older than Kenny, even older that Gene, and much taller, too. If he took the cards, there was no way Kenny would ever get them back.

Kenny shook her head, and Einstein got the message. "Don't want me to burn them? Then jump."

Kenny was just about to take a leap when someone called, "My goodness, leave this poor girl alone!"

A teenage girl stepped beside Kenny and yanked the girl's index cards right out of Einstein's hand. She handed the cards back to the young girl who promptly put them back into her pocket. Kenny didn't think she'd ever been more grateful to anybody before.

"Stay out of this, Color," Einstein snapped. It was clear he didn't like the female. In fact, Kenny realized, it seemed like none of the people around Gene and Einstein were very fond of Kenny's savior. They muttered crude things under their breath as the teen responded to Einstein's insolence.

"Why should I?" Color asked, looking down upon the boy.

"You don't belong here," Gene replied. He stepped into the conversation in with cool indifference.

"And you do?"

"Why don't you run along back to your Geeks and stay out of us A-listers' business?"

"Being an A grouper doesn't change the fact that you're less than half my size, Gene."

"Being a fourteen doesn't change the fact that you're a Geek, and you'll always be a Geek no matter what you do. I think we're done here. Goodbye, Color."

Color rolled her eyes and walked away from the group, taking Kenny with her. Just before they turned around the bend of the hallway, Einstein called, "And goodbye to you too, Hawking!"

It took Kenny several minutes to realize that he was talking to her.