Kara awoke next morning to the smell of waffles.

That's odd, she thought to herself, swinging her legs over the side of her bed. Why does it smell like...oh. Bethane.

Kara pulled a pair of old grey sweatpants on under her big black sleepshirt, and ran a few half-hearted fingers through her hair as she walked into the kitchen.

Bethane was at the counter, wearing a black sport bra and a pair of red sweatpants that were tied about a mile below her waist. She heard Kara come in, and turned around with a smile, her thick blonde pigtails swinging around her face.

"Hey, Kara!" she said warmly, putting two waffles on a plate and squirting some syrup on them. "Isn't this fun?"

Kara looked at the waffles, all ready and made just for her, and burst into gleeful tears. It had been years since anyone had made her breakfast. Bethane, however, took it the wrong way.

"Oh, are these bad?" she cried. "Don't you like waffles? Here, I'll make something else."

"No, no, no," Kara said between sobs. "They're perfect! Everything is perfect right now!" Treating Bethane to a rare, rather wet grin, Kara took the waffles, grabbed a fork, and plopped down at the table.

Bethane furrowed her brow for a moment, then grinned as well. "Well, let's eat, then!" she said, running into the old guest bedroom. She came out wearing what looked like another sport bra, but Kara soon realized that it was supposed to be a shirt. She sat down across from the 15-year-old girl, and began to dig in.

"Mmmm," Kara said appreciatively, taking a bite. "I love Friday."

"Yeah," Bethane said, nodding. "I'll call daddy later and see how you're mom's doing, okay? You're probably worried sick."

Kara gave a sideways nod. "I'm used to it by now," she said. "Mom leaves, then comes back, and I take care of her, then she leaves for a few days again. But she's always back. Always."

Bethane sighed, looking piteous, something Kara hated with a passion. "I'm FINE," she said, rather harshly, and Bethane bit her lip.

"I'm really sorry," she said, running her fingers through her pigtails. "I'm really, really, really sorry...."

Kara realized how sincere that really was, and she allowed a light smile to play on her lips. "I have to go to school now," Kara said quietly, getting up and going to the bathroom. She changed into her black clothes and brushed her teeth and hair. When she walked out of the house, Bethane was still sitting at the table, her hands covering her face. Kara could not see her face, so she had no idea what she was thinking.

Kara wasn't sure why she cared. But she did.



Alice and Becca weren't there on the way to school, and Kara figured why. She could see Alice's ruined house far away, and people stood scattered around it, gazing in awe and wonder. It was sickening.

But it was Friday, so Kara really didn't care much about Alice's burnt house. She actually found it in herself to skip, something she rarely did, and sing, something she never did.

"I love Friiiiday," the solitary girl sang. "Oh, how I love Friiiiday...."

Her sudden good mood carried Kara all the way to school, where her heart sank and she stopped skipping. Alice and Becca were surrounded by all of their 'friends,' and Alice was hosting the pity-party of the century. Her voice carried across the blacktop to Kara's ears.

"...and then she comes running up with the matches, and I'm like, 'Kara, what are you doing?' But she just laughed, and started throwing them at my house, and it burst into flame! And she ran away before anyone saw her. I was so scared! I swear, when she gets here, I'll report her! That way, she can't get warned off. Some people like her, you know!"

"Eew, who?" Becca shreiked.

Alice shrugged. "Probably no one," she snorted. "I'm just guessing. Whomever it is, I hate them."

"I hate Kara more," Becca interrupted. Alice nodded in agreement.

"We'll get her and...omaigod, there she is. Becca, look, there she is!"

So they were blaming it on Kara. She shouldered her way through the gate to the blacktop, and walked with confidence toward the group of gasping, pointing girls.

"Hello, Kara," Alice said sweetly, stepping to the front of the group. "Been a while since last night. How are you?"

"Fine," Kara replied flatly. "Just...just fine. And what do you mean, last night? I don't know what you're talking about. I was at home, saving my mother from a seizure!"

"Yeah, right!" Alice shreiked. "I saw you throw the matches at my house, and you know it! I'll get you, Kara. You almost killed me!"

"I assure you," Kara replied, "had I actually thrown the matches at your house, I would have concentrated a bit more on my accuracy. I seem to have missed what would have been my prime target."

Blinking, Kara realized what she had just said. She hadn't meant it, and she hadn't even thought it, it had just popped out of nowhere! She was about to reply and apologize, when Alice retaliated.

"You BITCH!" she screamed, running at Kara with her hands out, ready to attack.

Kara, the real Kara, would have run. She would have screamed. She would have dodged. But she found herself throwing out her fist, and then Alice was on the ground, crying and clutching her stomach.

"Oh my God!" Kara whispered, kneeling down beside Alice in shock. "Oh my...oh, my God! Alice, I'm sorry! I didn't...I didn't mean...."

"I HATE you!" Alice screamed, tears streaming down her face. "Why are you doing this to me? What did I ever do to you?"

This time, Kara's response was her own. "What have you done?" she cried furiously. "What have you done? Well, let's see, do you think I appreciate being teased on the way to school every single day? I didn't set your house on fire, but I can't feel that much pity for you."

Alice stood, and stared with pure hatred into Kara's eyes. "I'm telling the police on you," she said breathlessly, clutching her stomach. "You'll go to jail. You'll get Ejected!"

Kara did nothing but scowl, and shoved her way past Alice and Becca and the others to storm into the school. "They can't get me in trouble," Kara muttered to herself. "I can't get Ejected. I didn't do anything."

Ejection was the worst punishment for crime. If someone murdured, or commited some other unspeakable act, they were simply, unceremoniously, sent out of the dome to suffocate to death. It was whispered that skeletons of lawbreakers were scattered all over the outside of the dome, but no one ever looked. There were no windows, and, quite frankly, They probably didn't care.

'They' were the scientists, though no one ever called them that. There were the scientists that did ordinary things, and then there were Them, Those who worked on the technology that kept the remaining humans alive. They were even more powerful than the law, and They always made the final decision one way or another. Most regular citizens paid no heed to Their existance, and some didn't even know that They were there. Kara, however, was fascinated by Them, and she often wondered how one became one of Them.

Her teachers always said that you had to be born into one of Their families to know anything about it, and that if you didn't join Them while knowing something about Them, you were Ejected without a second thought. They were secretive, and secluded, past the boundaries that no ordinary citizen could cross.

Kara shrugged the thoughts off. She was being foolish, she decided, as she climbed the big flight of stairs leading to the eighth grade wing. She really should be thinking of a new excuse for having no homework done.

Deep in thought, she suddenly felt her body collide with someone. Shouting in surprise, she stumbled and fell flat on her face. She heard a male voice cry out, and hands helped her up.

"Are you okay?" the boy asked. Kara brushed hair out of her face, and looked up to see another eighth grader. His long black hair was dyed bright blue on the ends, and he was dressed entirely in black, baggy clothes. His brown eyes were heavily lined in black, giving him a rather haunted appearance.

"Oh, yeah," Kara gasped. "Y-yeah, I'm fine."

The boy smiled slightly and nodded, walking away again. Kara blinked; how could the boy simply walk off like that? All the 13-year-olds annoyed her for that very reason; they thought too highly of themselves. Rolling her eyes, Kara trudged over to her classroom door, pulled it open, and flopped into her seat in the back, beside all the other people that the teachers had given up on.

The bell rang, and the teacher walked in, closing the door. "Please pass in your homework," she said, clapping her hands. She glanced over at Kara, and shook her head slightly, frowning. Suddenly, the door swung open, and Kara raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry," the boy she'd run into earlier gasped. "I...I got lost. This place is huge," he added, rambling as the teacher glanced at his schedule, which he'd handed to her.

"Ben Crystun?" the teacher asked, pointing to the schedule. Ben nodded, and, slouching naturally, strolled to a seat in the back. Now that he was to class, he seemed to be in no hurry whatsoever.

Kara followed him out of the corner of her eye, staring at his numerous facial piercings with a bit of jealousy (what made people avoid you better than a few good piercings?) then forgot about him as she took her notes throughout the period. In fact, she was totally absorbed in thoughts about nuclear fusion as she walked briskly to the door.

"Kara?" Ben called, making Kara's head jerk up.

"Yeah?" Kara asked, looking over her shoulder.

"Sorry," Ben said, "but...what direction would one walk if one wanted to get to room 314?"

Kara grinned in spite of herself. It made her laugh for some reason. "One would simply follow me," she replied, slowing down to allow for Ben's easy strolling walk.

"Fair enough," Ben replied, his big pants swishing around his feet as the pair walked down the hall. A friendly silence ensued, until Ben began humming quietly, a tune that Kara recognized all too well.

"You like Saint Elliot?" she asked incrediously. "I thought I was the only one in the world!"

Ben laughed. "I'm their biggest fan," he said. "See?" He rolled up his sleeve, and showed Kara a tattoo that read "Saint Elliot Rocks my Socks."

Kara burst into laughter. "You dip, that's temporary," she giggled, and Ben stuck out his tongue, revealing a silver piercing. Kara 'oooh'ed, and tried to touch it, but Ben hit her hand before it got anywhere close.

"Hey -- oh, room 314!" she said, turning on her heel. Ben grinned, and copied her. The pair marched into class, and immediately chose seats side by side.

As the math teacher started talking, Kara paid no attention. She positively glowed inside, but she wasn't quite sure why. Perhaps it was the thought that, whatever had happened just then, she had a friend.

Maybe.