In reality, the late summer day was supposed to get warmer later on, but all Soi Fong knew was that she would be cold until about noon.

It didn''t help that she was such a petite girl, she thought with a bit of a sigh as she glanced in the small mirror on her wall. She was only at about average height for her age, and just about every other aspect of her anatomy was compact and slender, giving her a rather cute but unremarkable appearance. Not that she cared too much about things like that, but it was times like this she wished she had a little more meat on her bones.

After changing quickly, she felt a little warmer than she had in her long sleepshirt, but the draft through her jammed window still chilled her to the core. Ignoring her discomfort, she walked through the open doorway to the worn and neglected stairwell, remembering to skip the termite-infested fifth step on her way down.