Zach laughed lightly. He drew them both into a hug and lifted them in the air. There were heated protests from Brielle, while Jacob giggled. After a moment, he let them down, but kept an arm around each of their shoulders. Brielle's lips were lifted in an annoyed pout, but her cheeks were pink and her eyebrows were relaxed.

"You should get back to class," said Zach, ruffling their hair. Jacob smiled and laughed. Brielle jerked away, acting mortified. "You should clean up a little before you go."

Jacob nodded, leaning into the side hug for a moment longer. He walked down the hallway towards a bathroom. Brielle shrugged Zach's arm from off her shoulders. Before she could walk away, he grabbed her by the underarm, holding her back.

"Thank you, Bri, for trying to protect Jacob," whispered Zach. "That was very nice of you."

"And look what it got me," said Brielle with a growl, tugging her arm out of his grasp. "A week of detention. I get blamed for punching that jerk, when he doesn't even get a warning for the crap he pulled. How's that fair?"

"It's not."

"I always thought adults were supposed to look out for kids," cried Brielle, her hands gesturing wildly. "But they're scared of us. Just because we're different. It's not fair!"

"I know."

"Why aren't they protecting us?" asked Brielle, her tone dropping. A soft, vulnerable light entered her eyes. "Just because we're different, does that no longer make us human?"

Zach put a hand on his forehead and let out a low sigh. "Being different doesn't make us any less human," he whispered. Zach squeezed her shoulder. "You know that."

Brielle didn't answer. She pursed her lips together and gave him a sharp nod. She turned away and walked back to her class with her hands shoved into her jean pockets; her shoulders were hunched over.

Zach rubbed his forehead, pinching the space between his eyebrows. 'How long 'til lunch?' With another tired sigh, he went back to his classroom. He sat down in his seat and stared at the board. He refused to look down.

There was new graffiti on his desk.

As the day progressed, he couldn't concentrate, too aware of the eyes that would glance back at him. In between class periods, Zach tried to avoid drawing attention to himself; those eyes never stopped staring at him. Phone notifications whistled, chirped, and chimed as he passed by clusters of students. The laughter wasn't subtle; the division was apparent.

Zach clenched his jaw and lifted his chin, slamming his locker shut.

He hated this. He hated that the students got away with this. They could bully them all they wanted and the teachers would never do a thing to stop it. The teachers weren't discreet about their enmity towards Zach and his five friends – and the students had latched onto this like leeches.

It wasn't long before they knew the truth. A group of six orphans living together under government control; there were twelve other such groups across the country. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who and what they were.

Even then, the teachers and students had no fears in treating them this way.

There was some consolation: it was against the law to reveal their identities to others. Though, this was only regulated online. Strict as it was, it didn't stop the students from gossiping quietly amongst themselves.

Lunch came. As Zach walked into the cafeteria, he saw Hikaru in the middle of the line. He waved at her and she smiled back, her features tense. The whispers didn't stop, but the uncomfortable twisting in his stomach faded. After grabbing his lunch, Zach walked through the path of tables, going to the very back of the room. Hikaru, Drake, and Sevati were already seated at the old table.

As Zach sat down, Brielle and Jacob joined them. The benches creaked with age. The cafeteria buzzed with voices all around them. Black marks marred the surface of the table – as usual. Sevati traced a finger over some of the marks with an impassive expression on her face. Brielle glared at her spot. Zach rubbed his eyes.

'Is this ever going to stop? Aren't they bored of this yet?'

"Lift your trays," said Hikaru with an air of someone prepared. She motioned with a hand while she pulled something out of her backpack. As they followed her instructions, she placed a red tablecloth over the surface, obscuring the individualized graffiti.

A brooding silence fell over the group. The food tasted like sawdust in Zach's mouth. Once, he tried to say something – anything to encourage them – but the crestfallen faces killed the words in his throat. Hikaru tended to Jacob's face with a first aid kit that she always carried in her backpack.

'How am I supposed to be a leader, when I can't say anything to cheer them up? I can't even give them any hope. I have nothing.'

'So much for the 'new' day.'

'But just a few more hours and it'll be over.'

They separated to their next classes without a word. It was during the next to final period when something inside Zach's pocket buzzed silently. He pulled the cheap phone out of his jean pocket.

'Unit Twelve, assemble.'