She initially thought the reaction to sunlight was an after effect of removing her shawl: just a jolt out of the attention she was getting for baring a little more than she usually did.. that the old her ever would have.  But she started noticing she got a similar sensation out of standing in sun beams, and by contrast, started to feel smaller, less vivid as she walked the shaded and locker lined halls of the school.  It was still a larger feeling than she used to have, but in comparison to how she felt in sunlight.. it was like becoming Jessica Rabbit.  She literally felt more colorful, more vibrant, more.. exaggerated, in every way, than the world around her could be.<br/><br/>She decided to test this theory by standing in front of a window for a few minutes.  The sensation reminded her of taking a hot bath until her heart was racing and she couldn't sit still in the water any longer.  If a little of this was like becoming a cartoon, a lot of it was like being the only bright colored thing in a world fading to black and white.  She felt herself start to breath heavily, and stepped back into the shadows of the hallway, feeling the sensation fade rather more quickly than she would have liked, but finding the afterglow pleasing.  It was like a drug, and she was instantly in love with it.<br/><br/>"The weed girl is solar powered?"  she exclaimed to herself, laughing!  She felt a sudden fondness for Billy then.  If nothing else, that had been a good shot!  She turned on her heel, brushing back into the sunlight and purring slightly as she began to move past the windows in the hall.<br/><br/>That's when Cynthia came up behind her, accessories in tow.  Esther turned to look at her curiously in greeting.<br/>"Come to terms with the fact you'll never amount to anything?" said Cynthia.  And for a moment, Esther did nothing.<br/>It was a curious place to be.  Esther.. the old Esther, was quietly sure of herself.  She knew what it took to act, both in terms of skill and of sacrifice.  Cynthia didn't know what it took to be great, but she had an unusual amount of what she needed.  For that, the old Esther respected Cynthia, if only as a jewel in the rough, unaware of it's own value.  The old her would have smiled and shook it off.  Today, however, Cynthia looked different.  Prissy.  Bitter.  A bully, and a poor excuse for one at that.  While standing there, not offering a retort, she asked herself what was different.  Was it that she used to see her as a potential protege, someone to mentor?  Or was it that she'd actually been jealous of Cynthia.  That for all her short-sightedness and untapped potential, she had the ability to go higher than Esther ever would.<br/><br/>Esther was aware of the warmth on her arm.. stopped right in a sunbeam, didn't I?  She felt her heart start to beat with jubilation as the world's colors began to fade.  For a moment, she felt like god.  For a silly instant, she was sure if she reached out her hand, she could make Cynthia respect her..<br/><br/>"Nice costume." crooned Dorothea.  "Was the dollar store having a sale?"<br/><br/>..or she could settle for ending the little bitch that just insulted her dress.  Seriously?  Dorothea?  The only thing she had going for her was being so pliant that the insecure wanted to wear her.  That changed Esther's view of Cynthia a little more.  Is<em>that</em>what's holding her back?  Is she squandering herself that poorly, for Dorothea?   And for.. well, the friend on the other side.. she seemed different.  Like she was shopping for the right crowd to make her their bitch, but wasn't fully convinced she needed them.  Not yet.<br/><br/>As she thought these things, Esther felt her head cock to the side, her body feeling vibrant to the point of feverish as her anger, no longer repressed, became sweet tasting feeling on her lips, which spread into a wide and toothy grin.  The sunlight was filling her, and something unknowable was tempting her.. she gave in.<br/><br/>"It's your lucky week, Cynthia." Esther spoke, her teeth bared but her voice merry.  She felt like a train going off the rails.  "See, I told you this once.  You'll go places.  Big places.  Just as soon as you stop squandering yourself into being totally.. sickeningly, ordinary." Esther paused, gauging the reactions, noting that she herself had always been too afraid of reproach to speak like this.  "So, I've decided to give you a crash course in actually becoming somebody.  Lesson one.."  And her eyes settled like daggers on Dorothea.  Esther hated that girl, in that instant more than she should.  She imagined Dorothea dirty, ragged, covered in flies and filth.  A joke of a human being, a skank, a social pariah so intolerable that her very existence would offend and repel others.  Someone Cynthia would never be caught dead with.<br/><br/>"..get friends that aren't worthless."<br/><br/>(Esther rolled 2d12 for [Always Gets Her Way] to make Dorothea a social outcast, at least with respect to Cynthia.  Result: 2, 8!  Success!)