Summary

Chapter 1, titled “A Golden Morning,” opens with Sai standing in line at the Three Onions Cafe where she is waiting for her order. She is 12 years old. Like all the other young Assistants, she is wearing the uniform that identifies her as someone studying a trade. The purpose is to put them all on the same level, but Sai knows this is a joke because of the many things that make one Assistant stand out from the others, such as dirty shoes or disheveled hair. Sai tries to discourage interactions by being shy. One of the girls shows off her new lineal – a chain with one link for each generation of ancestors the family could trace back. Each child of the upper class receives a lineal when he or she turns 13 years old. Sai is relieved when her order is ready so that...