Cate taps her pen rhythmically against the desk; her other hand playing with the golden chain around her neck—a gift from Indira. The woman had done her best to soothe Cate’s nerves before her first day, promising that everything would be fine and that she would do excellent. She wanted to believe her. Really, she did.

But her anxiety was off the charts.

This was her first time being back in a classroom in years. She was no longer stuck in her room, sitting at her computer desk all day and learning from prerecorded videos.

This was real, and it was terrifying.

It was no help that you tapped her on her shoulder in an attempt to introduce yourself, pulling her out of her thoughts and causing her to jerk back into reality—her elbow crashing into her water bottle that spills onto your shirt. She forget to screw the cap back on correctly. Idiot.

"Shit. Oh God, I am so so sorry—" She blinks rapidly, scooting back in her chair. Then, the two of them stand up at the same time. She leans down to pick up the bottle before making sure her gloves are secure around her hands. It’s almost like she’s trying to calm herself down from panicking or at worse, crying. "It’s my fault, I should have been paying better attention. I had no idea you were there, I swear." A pause. She swallows, blue eyes wide. "Are you okay?"

It’s just water, not acid. Cate knows that—but that doesn’t make it any better. At all.

Great going, dummy. It’s your first day around others like you and you’re already fucking it up.