"I need to go to this school," Eden said as they walked into the Headmaster's office for their interview. She barely acknowledged the strict-looking woman behind the Headmaster as Eden sat down in the chair meant for the interviewee.

The man at the desk, Titan Jones, nodded at her entrance but opened up her application file and began to flip through it.

"I need to go to this school," Eden reiterated. Making sure Titan had heard her. Her eyes were sharp as she watched the man flip through the file.

"Eden Calavera-Hilton?" Titan asked. When they nodded, he made a note in his notebook and then turned to introduce the sharp-looking woman behind him. "This is Lillian Hoops; you may call her Ms. Hoops."

"Hello," Eden said, waving his hand a little bit, unsure as to what Titan wanted from her.

"Hello, Eden." Titan leaned back in his chair, adjusting his tweed blazer as he settled into the seat. "Tell me about yourself."

She shrugged, "I've told you everything in my application. I'm 18. I want to study Women's Studies and Queer Studies. I spend most of my time baking and walking around the City."

Titan nodded. His arms moved to cross over his stomach as he spoke, "Okay, now tell me about your ability."

"Lies." Eden sat forward, on the edge of her seat. " I feel lies. In my body, I feel other people's lies. I can't lie without all my pain receptors lighting up. That's not normal. That's an ability."

"You know a lot about your ability," Titan said, his voice smooth and soft, something Eden wasn't used to hearing from the adults in his life. "When did it manifest?"

Eden shook her head, "I don't know. I've known about it for forever. At least since 8, definitely before that too though."

Titan tilted his head, his eyes betraying his interest and confusion. "Since 8? That's early for an ability to manifest. They usually come around 11 or 12–"

"Puberty," Eden said. "I know. I've been doing research into abilities and powers since I knew I was different. Abilities usually manifest around times of great upheaval and that usually occurs first in a child's psyche around puberty when hormones are fluctuating for the first time. "

"You're extremely intelligent," Ms Hoops said, her voice sharp and her arms coming up to sit on her hips. Her pinstriped outfit coordinated perfectly with the grey colour of her nails. "You learned all this on your own?"

Eden nodded, sure her eyes were starting to look a bit wild. "A lot of reading papers from like the 90's and scrolling through Reddit. A lot of powered people are looking for answers in forums and they're usually willing to talk to those who reach out."

"That's a lot of work to go through for answers," Ms Hoops said.

"Yeah well, when I need answers I go out and look for them."

Titan leaned forward, his eyes making contact with Eden's. It felt like she'd gotten a static shock all over her body, something she'd only felt while someone was actively lying to her. This must be Titan's power.

"Ms Hoops," Titan said, nudging her leg with his knuckle.

"Eden," Ms Hoops said, grabbing his attention. "My mother's name is Mae."

Eden's fingertips tingled, almost like a papercut or like tugging too hard on a hangnail. "You're lying."

"I hate 'A Midsummer Night's Dream.'"

The tug went away, her skin settled and returned to normal. "That's the truth."

The electric feeling subsided and, as Eden looked back at Titan, she knew he'd stopped using his power on her.

"You were right, your pain receptors fire when you're lied to." Titan broke eye contact with them, turning to Ms Hoops. "Thank you, Lillian."

Ms Hoops nodded in return.

"So," Eden said, tapping her fingers against the wood arms of the chair she was sitting in. "What does that mean?"

"School starts in a month. Move-in is a day a week before school starts. We'll see you then, Eden Calavera-Hilton."