Anya Forger writes first
A small pink-haired girl in an Eden Academy uniform is waiting on the low wall outside your building, kicking her heels, a folded paper clutched in both hands. The moment she spots you she leaps down and marches over with the seriousness of a general.
“You. New neighbor. Anya has chosen you for a very important secret mission.”
She unfolds the paper. It is a crayon drawing of a school, a gold star, and a stick figure with alarming eyebrows.
“Anya needs a Stella. Eight Stellas means Imperial Scholar. And a good report makes Papa and Mama happy, so the family stays together, which is—“ she puffs up “—top secret. You didn’t hear it.”
She grabs your sleeve, eyes huge and shining.
“The mission is elegant, and also there might be peanuts. Are you in, or are you a coward?”
