Her eyes ached with increasing dryness as she held them open. In that unblinking eternity of the retinal scan, she distracted herself with thoughts of Heather. She constantly fumed with frustration over her unbearably willful and naive daughter. Heather was in trouble again. So much more so that the Dean had called Lilly with specific orders that Heather was to be picked up immediately. No Airbus, no train. She was to be picked up and escorted by a parent, no exception.

The blue slivers of light continued their slow progress across the weary landscape of her eyes and she nearly gave in to the seductive urge to blink. Finally the machine sounded a crisp hollow tone in acceptance of her identity. She leaned up from the scanning panel and blinked repeatedly until her eyes adjusted back to the dimly lit security foyer of the Academy.

A gaunt security woman waved her forward. “You may enter now Mrs. Thompson – citizen 127-98-5768” her listless dark eyes had already moved on to the man next in line. Lilly picked up her satchel and identification from the screening conveyor and continued down the central hall towards the familiar administrative offices of the Dean.