Humans are very confusing. Especially teenagers.

They all want to be unique, but they hate being different. They love being right, but they look down on people who know all the answers. And the best advice they have for how to navigate high school is to “be yourself,” but none of them seem to have any idea of what that means.

Noelle 0-3409-16 isn’t the only maton trying to learn how to be a human, but she is the only one with a chance of gaining legal human status. The subject of a university research program, Noelle is the first maton to be created as a baby and raised among human children, growing and learning the way humans do.

Her human peers aren’t always nice to her, and the program requirements can be overwhelming, but Noelle serves as a beacon of hope for millions of mata. Her completion of the program could change the world for all of them.

Honestly, though, she’d give it all up in a nanosecond for a chance at having even one real friend.