Emily runs into some classmates.

Emily didn't really respond to Camilla's question. She looked disinterested and sulked whenever her mother suggested something, until the word "Shopping" left Camilla's lips. If there was one thing that Emily could enjoy, even at a convention, it was shopping.

Emily's enthusiasm drained away quickly when she remembered where she was. Camilla guided her daughter down the aisles of the hall, between showroom booths and little stalls selling nerdy baubles. The comics, action figures, and toys just didn't hold any appeal for Emily. The high school senior's eyes slid past them the same way she ignored her younger brother when he was playing with his own toys. That only made Camilla feel like her own daughter was more mature than she was, and that wasn't a feeling that she liked.

They had been walking around for a little under an hour. Emily made little conversation, responding to her mother's questions with one-word answers or even less. Sometimes she only nodded or shook her head. There were plenty of rolled eyes, of course.

Camilla slowly came to terms with the fact that it had been a mistake to bring Emily here. Her daughter just wasn't like her. Emily took more after her fraternity-king husband, who had been a star on their college soccer team when Camilla had met him. And like Emily, he had never had very much time for these hobbies of Camilla's. "That's nice dear" had been a favourite saying of his in recent years.

But then, as Camilla was browsing the racks of Sailor Moon merchandise, she heard her daughter speak up, actually sounding excited for once. When Camilla looked up, though, she saw that Emily wasn't talking to her, but some strangers. They were five boys, about her age. Probably some classmates from school. They looked like the sort of people that Emily never would have talked to, outside of a situation like this. Camilla's people, the nerds, the ones girls like Emily never even spared a glance for. And all five of them were looking greedily at Emily's body, highlighted by the tightness of her leather suit and her fishnet leggings.