"Hello-my-name-is-Choir."

"Hello, my name is..."

"Hello, my-name-is-Choir."

Whirr.

"Hello, my name is..."

"Hello, mon nom est - gyaaah!"

The tape player went flying, leaving Choir to sulk in the apartment's sole chair. Across the room it continued to play, running past the offending line and into further exercises in enunciation and basic phraseology. The lights were dim - a wonderful reflection of mood. Ever since Esper had been born-

She didn't especially want to think about that.

Very pale fingers groped for a packet under the seat of the chair. One of her little stashes, it was ryll - not kor, but good nonetheless. Good enough, at least.

Maybe, maybe she should save it.

How about no.

Standing, she walked over to the opposite wall and proceeded to trash the little tape player, white hair flying everywhere and mixing with airborne circuitry. The inane voice stopped. Then, and only then, did she rip open the packet and eat the ryll. The buzz was instantaneous.

She threw herself down against the wall, knees drawn up to her chest, and sat there for a long time. Somewhere in that time she began to cry.

At last she got up and left, not even bothering to close the apartment's door. She really had no idea where she was going - she didn't especially care where she went. The Corellian sun had recently set, and it was all she could do to stay on the sidewalks. Something was building in her - something not unlike disgust for herself.