It was hard to believe he had already been at this place for a year. One long year of learning the ropes, the ins and outs of this place, and tests. Not like those tests he had always hated in high school, but tests for his 'special' abilities. Nothing had really changed since he had first walked through those doors a year ago. Elijah could remember his parents coming with him to drop their son off at some government facility for their project. They had discussed it at great length around the dining room table, the pros and cons, how this might be beneficial, all that stuff.<br/><br/>Elijah had just wanted more than anything for these people to figure out what was wrong with him. Weren't those with powers suppose to be enhanced from them? Not forced to suffer from the constant buzz of human voices in his ears and the ideas thrown at his own mind that did not belong to him! Elijah knew his parents were of the same idea. They wanted someone to 'fix' their son, bring back that cheerful person he had been before this had all started.<br/><br/>He had continued much as he had in high school. Headphones on, drown out the world, and mind your own business. Most had left him along, joining up with others to form cliquey circles. On occasion someone would try to talk to Elijah, but would be turned off by his seeming lack of focus, though he also knew it was also because he was deaf. It didn't take a mind reader to figure that one out.<br/><br/>Today Elijah had chosen his usual corner of the cafeteria. This room was usually one of the worst to be for him. So many people within such a small, contained area, it was maddening! Of course the same could be said about the whole facility. His food was relatively untouched, not having much of an appetite for it. It had long gone cold, but Elijah still halfheartedly pushed it around the plate. He sipped his apple juice, one of those things he could never get enough of, and watched a girl approach. He read her lips easily enough to know what she was asking. A quick scan of the room showed that there were no other open seats, and he couldn't just say no. So, Elijah made no protest when she sat down.<br/><br/>Judging by the way she was sitting with him and not with one of the other groups led Elijah to guess that she was new. He noted that there had been an influx of new 'students' to the facility lately, possibly contributing to the overcrowded cafeteria now. He knew he should say something, but that would mean having to take his headphones off, which meant dealing with a headache later. Slowly, Elijah pushed his headphones down so they were around the back of his neck, wincing slightly at the sharp increase of volume both to his ears and in his head.<br/><br/>"You're new, right?" He asked, trying to focus on her instead of on the hundreds of other voices fighting for his attention. "I'm Elijah." He said, offering his hand to her.