As a child, Lilith had always been fascinated by technology. She found trains particularly interesting. She would read books on trains, play with toy trains, and even slept with a train plushie. It was strange. To this day she still finds them deeply fascinating but took to working with computers instead.

When she was around the age of 5, Lilith had a pet puppy. They had to give this puppy away since she would not stop yanking on its ears and tail. At one point, she pulled so hard that the ears began to bleed.

She also had a pet cat.

And a pet rabbit.

They both died. Finally realizing that Lilith had a problem, her parents stopped getting her pet animals. She was simply deemed as unable to take care of any living thing. But this was only the mere tip of the iceberg. Lilith had a problem. When things didn't go her way she would occasionally blow a fuse. She would take out her anger and frustration on living things. How? By the only way she knew.

It was at this moment Lilith knew what was to come. She ran away from where Emerson and the girl were and once she was far enough, she began to laugh uncontrollably. She started to walk back to her dorm and couldn't fathom what had happened. It wasn't that she was sad or confused or heartbroken, she was instead, enlightened. Lilith first knocked on the door to make sure her roommate wasn't there yet. Once she heard no response she quickly opened the door and slammed it shut. On her bedside table, she opened the top drawer. She took out her journal and a knife and began to scratch the word "Dreams" away. It was as if something else had completely enveloped her. She was a different person now. This was who Lilith truly was. A maniac.

Once the word had been completely wiped off, she began to scratch in something new. She held it up high in front of her and smiled wide. She hid the journal underneath her mattress and began to plot. The girl who Emerson was with had long dark hair. She was wearing a blue and white polka-dotted dress. A hideous thing really, Lilith thought. She was taller than Lilith and had a nose ring. It was time to figure out where she lived. Lilith got up, looked in the mirror on the backside of the door, and fixed her makeup. She ran out and back to where the two were originally found.

They were gone.

But she couldn't have gone too far. Lilith headed back to the open area in the front of the building and searched for any sign of life. Three friends were laying on a blanket on the grass, talking. Perfect.

Lilith calmly walked to them and asked, "Have you guys seen a tall girl with long dark hair walk by? We were supposed to meet up around here but I was a bit late."

The friends looked at her and one spoke up. "Yeah, she went that way," she said pointing towards the back parking lot.

"Thanks."

Lilith walked towards where the girl had pointed and once she could no longer hear their chattering, ran. Once she got there she found a few commuters getting ready to leave. And then, there she was. The girl was talking to a boy she knew from her physics class. It was as if the stars had aligned just for Lilith.

"Lilith, what are you doing?"

She turned and found Emerson embracing her. "I was just about to go see you. Daniel and I finished early."

Lilith smiled and hugged him back. "I missed you," she whispered.

❀