12 years later
Sophie sat back in her seat and traced the long scar that stretched across her left palm. She had always wondered how she got it. When she was little, she had imagined that a villian had had something to do with it, but now she knew that in a city like Ordinary, exciting things happened as often as the moon turned green.
"Sophie," said a stern voice, "Aren't you going to read the 3rd chapter of the textbook to us?"
"Yes, Miss Hawkins," Sophie said, scrambling out of the hard wooden chair to root around in her desk. Where is it? She thought, It was here two weeks ago, and I could have sworn I fished it out of the lake yesterday.
Suddenly, the door burst open and a boy ran in. His ragged and torn shirt made it clear he didn't have a penny to his name. Sophie gaped at him as a realization hit her.
He was a Lesser.
Apparently Miss Hawkins had figured it out as well, because she gasped and shouted," Get out, boy! Get out, you filthy rat!"
The boy ignored her, tripping over his feet as he walked up to Miss Hawkins. "Pardon me, Miss, but I was just wondrin' 'f I could 'ave a crust 'o bread?"
Miss Hawkins stared at him for a moment before she fully regained her composure. "Did you hear me? Or are you too stupid to understand? I said, get out! Now go!"
The boy stood, standing in the middle of the room, and then sped out the door.
