Everwood Hills Elementary ~ Autumn 2032

At Everwood Hills Elementary, the sound of children's laughter cadenced throughout the playground as they all indulged in their various games and activities. All of the children, except one: Ethelinda Kaminski. Like every other day, she sat alone on a nearby bench, eating the peanut butter jelly sandwich her Aunt Dessa had packed for her, watching all the other kids play, but knowing that, as always, no one would ever ask her to join in.

"Hey, Ethelin-dork!" Mindy Crawford, one of the "popular" kids sneered as she and her mob of friends approached Lynn.

Cautiously, Lynn waved in reply. "Hi..." she whispered shyly, wondering why the most popular kids at school were talking to her.

"Y'know, Lynn, I love that necklace you always wear. Can I see it?" Hayley, the queen bee of the popular crew asked as she took a seat beside Lynn, eyeing Sevastyan's locket with a hungry expression, like a dog being tempted with a bone being wagged in front of it's face.

Right when the request was made, Lynn instinctively grabbed the necklace, protectively holding it close as she shook her head. "Sorry Hayley, but I can't."

Hayley scowled. "Oh come on, it'll only be for a minute! I just wanna see what it'll look like on me. Don't be such a baby!" She hissed as she attempted to reach for the locket.

"I said no!" Lynn exclaimed, going so far as to shove Hayley's hand away roughly.

"Ow! Hey, watch it!" Hayler gasped, cradling her hand to her chest in an overly-dramatic manner. She glared at Lynn as she rose from her seat. "Pssh. And here I thought you were cool..." she commented lowly as she flicked what was left of Lynn's sandwich to the ground, walking away and rejoining her friends.

"Can you believe her?" and "Complete psycho..." were among the many words Lynn heard the others speak about her, but she paid no heed to any of it. Nor any attention to the fact that her sandwich that she had taken only a few bites out of, was now crumpled unto the ground, and she was still rather hungry. Her daddy's precious locket that contained a picture of her parents and a lock of her Mother's hair, almost all that Lynn had left of her parents, was safe. And that was all that mattered.

Little did she know just how keen Hayley was on snagging the gorgeous locket for herself. And the lengths she would go to to get it...