Sullivan, reclining while reading a dime novel he bought on his way to school one day, remained oblivious to the excited din of the classroom. The sound of students declaring their dreams and ambitions was merely the ambience to his ennui-induced perusal. As his eyes tired, he took a moment to listen in on distinct voices around him. One girl, Polly Parkson, explained to her girlfriend the trajectory of her life after awakening; a contingency she pronounced with certitude was how she would marry Marty Savage—movie-star—awakened—heartthrob. Farther back in the classroom, Jake Salitour, a scion of the Salitour family, a big-time awakening family, bragged about his summer plans, which included going to the tropics in his father's yacht. Closer in proximity to Sullivan was Herb Horowitz, a bespeckled scrawny kid who dreamed of being a rich, famous and powerful awakener, having multiple girlfriends and fighting villains and monsters. A sardonic smile spread across Sullivan's face. Everyone dreamt of becoming an awakener. Everyone had read the same dime novels as a kid of the poor youth climbing society to its pinnacle after becoming an awakener. Even the book in Sullivan's hands shared his classmate's dreams, but that is all they were, dreams. No one here would actually become some famous hero—well, except maybe Jake Salitour, but that was because he belonged to a family abundant in awakener talent and resources. No normal person, rather, would have that kind of luck. Sullivan knew that much, so instead of sticking his heads in the clouds with the rest of his peers he kept himself down to earth, far away from disappointment and failure.
Finally, after absenting the room for the whole class period, their teacher, Mrs. Hunt, re-entered. Her eyes were red-rimmed, and her voice choked.
"Students, Students," she attempted to gather the classes attention before almost breaking into tears. Thankfully Huck yelled, "Shut up, the teacher's tryin' to say sumthin'." Mrs. Hunt forbore breaking into a hysterical weeping and, pursuant to her duty, dismissed the class. Only a few students had retained an interest in Mrs. Hunt's personal life after she left the class to take a phone call earlier in the period. Painfully conspicuous was the distressed emotional state she returned to the classroom in and the suspicious duration the phone-call took: bad news about her pride-and-joy, awakener son, no doubt. As Sullivan shuffled out of class with the rest of his peers, he descried the morose and careworn look on Mrs. Hunt's face. It shook him for a moment from his earlier smug cynicism. But he retreated once more into it by reminding himself what a fool's lot it was to become an awakener and risk your life. As Sullivan walked along through the school's halls to the exit Herb quickly caught up with him.
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"Sull, you're taking the awakener test, right?" Herb asked quickly and excitedly, as any talk even marginally connected to awakening held his full sincere interest.
"I mean, it would be a waste not to at least pass the academic portion as we've been forced to take classes for it for four years now. But now that I think about it, why the extra work?" Sullivan answered with his usual sarcasm.
Herb, failing to pick up on his friend's playful response, confused their speculant fates in his head and argued, "But what if you have a really high aptitude for awakening? What if you have an A rank aptitude and you went your whole life without knowing?"
Herb's anxious response elicited Sullivan's arrogance, and he sneered in his heart at his friend's foolish optimism.
"Ok, Ok, you've got me there, what a fool I'd be to go my whole life without knowing I'm the next Marty Savage. Even if I'd have a better chance at winning the lottery, well, you gotta take that shot." Sullivan mocked while holding in laughter.
"That's right! And the odds aren't even that low. I mean, someone's gotta be picked and, and—" But the school's final bell rung at that moment and students flooded out of their classrooms to go home.
Herb recaught up to Sullivan after Sullivan had kept his pace while Herb stopped to make some profound soliloquy.
"Oh, yeah, can I borrow that dime novel you were reading in class. I haven't read that one before." Herb entreated.
"Hmmm... sure, but can I give it to you in good conscience knowing that it might divert your studying time, which might make you fail the academic portion of the awakener test, which might then prevent you from ever knowing your inner Marty Savage?"
Herb beamed when he heard his friend's 'concern.' "Don't worry too much about that. I could pass the test while blind folded. Hey, I'll bet you ten bucks that I'll get the highest score out of anyone in our class."
"Deal!" Sullivan responded quickly, foreknowing that he would soon win ten bucks.
Sullivan then grabbed him backpack from off his back and unzipped it, passing the dime novel to Herb.
"Don't feel the need to return it, I kinda know where this one's going."
