Elli sat, quietly observing her empty plate as conversation swirled around her. Breakfast had been great; Teal was a talented cook. But for Elli, other than answering a few questions directed at her during the breakfast, it was an awkward meal that she had felt lost in the currents of unfamiliar lives carried by strange voices.

"Plate." A deep voice demanded behind her, startling her out of her zoned out condition.

She whirled to see Steve, the dark-haired teen who'd disappeared into thin air right before the meal, standing with a pile of plates balanced on the one hand and an expectant expression plastered on his naturally grumpy face.

"Oh, oh—thank you." Elli gave her plate to him, and it was plopped onto of the pile he carried, and then he moved on to Trevor to request his empty plate.

Tar leaned over, whispering. "Trevor's done eating; watch, he'll want us to go straight into the briefing."

Trevor's blue eyes darted across the tablespace, and he stood, clearing his throat. "Would the Core team please join me in the West Room?

Elli glanced around, surprised Samuel, Domina, Star, Armon, Magenta, and Wolf all rose in unison at Trevor's request.

"You too, String Bean." Samuel motioned for her to stand.

Ferris paused, mid-bite into a bagel smothered in cream cheese. "She gets a nickname? So jealous!"

"Don't be," Elli grumbled.

There was nothing cute about Samuel calling her too skinny. She knew that's how he meant it, aggravation boiled in her gut. She was never going to get used to the man.

"Oh?" Ferris tilted his head, watching her with mischief in his eyes.

"Don't you have an assignment to get to?" Samuel growled at the kid.

His target shrugged nonchalantly. "Already ran security sweeps and reset the grid for ya."

Ferris finished taking his bite out of the bagel, mumbling around a mouth full of food. "It's all good, Sam-the-Man."

"Ew... Ferris." Star scowled. "You could at least try to pretend like you weren't raised in a barn. Don't talk with your mouth full!"

He quickly chewed and swallowed, blushing the same shade as his hat. "Sorry."

"Come on," Domina interjected. "We need to get going."

Samuel nodded at the exotic woman, gently taking Elli by the elbow and pulled her from the table. She noticed, then, that he hadn't taken off the leather gloves he'd put on in the truck when they passed through the gate. She frowned, wondering why he hadn't removed them. Eating with gloves on must be uncomfortable.

"Later, Elli!" Teal gave her a mock-salute.

"See ya later." Ferris chimed in, waving happily.

Hailey also gave a wave as they passed by. Elli sheepishly waved and then glanced up at Samuel as he led her away. He glanced down at her, something flashing in those steel eyes, but he blinked, and it was gone, replaced by his usual cold gaze. Elli frowned again. She couldn't figure him out even if she wanted to, she decided. He was an aggravating enigma that she'd just have to put up with for a while.

As they left the cafeteria, Trevor met them at the door.

"How was breakfast, Elli?" He smiled that smile that had warmed her insides for countless mornings she dragged herself to class.

"Delicious." She answered honestly.

Samuel's hand dropped from her elbow, and he moved ahead of them to keep pace with Domina.

"I'm glad you think so." Trevor nodded. "Teal will be delighted."

"Trevor..." Elli chewed her lip, trying to sort through her thoughts to focus on something to voice. There were so many questions, so many things she wanted to bring up.

"Um, Samuel told me, in the truck on the way here, that you try not to read peoples' minds..." she fidgeted as they walked. "W-Were you reading my mind? Like, during classes?"

Trevor's smile wavered. "So, that's the first thing you want to know, huh?"

He ran his hand through his hair. "Elli.... Over the years I've learned how to filter out the thoughts of others. It's a kind of selective hearing, instead of listening to a crowd, I can zone in when I want to. In general, I do make it my policy not to interfere with other peoples' thoughts and try to respect their privacy. With you, I've only read your mind twice."

"Really?" relief rushed through her.

"Really." He laid his hand on her shoulder and gently squeezed.

"You have a strong mind. Even if I wanted to, I could only see your thoughts if you let me in."

"Huh?" the relief crashed into confusion. "What do you mean?"

His eyes held a note of sadness as he replied. "For psychics, like myself, reading other people's mind who possess psychic gifts is more difficult. Especially if they don't want you to... You've always been like a silent garden wall to me."

"Oh." She stared at him, not fully comprehending what he was saying.

"As time went on I found, beyond the mission, I wanted to learn more about you; but to do that I had to go about it the old fashioned way. Research, talking to you, things like that."

He laughed. "It was quite refreshing, getting to know you that way."

Despite herself, Elli found she was blushing; She prayed he couldn't see it in the dimly lit hallway.