Getting his way

Chapter 16

Chris sighed, lighting a cigarette as he looked at the horizon. The wind was pretty strong, but feeling it against him made him feel rather more alive. Besides, feeling something bigger than him gave his problems some perspective; i.e. they were actually tiny, though they felt insurmountable. However, he barely had time to clear his thoughts before a set of coordinates popped up in front of his eyes. Sighing, he shook his head, but the numbers stayed in his vision. He rolled his eyes, then pinched the ember off and got into the car. Fine.

Plotting the numbers into the car's interface, he leaned back and closed his eyes, finally free of the numbers. He might as well take the opportunity to meditate for a little, even though he didn't usually do so. And thusly, the little car that could puttered off to whatever godless place the Organization wanted him at.

//

While Chris was experiencing the day in slo-mo, Kate was in the highest gear, still shaken up over the confrontation by mrs. Holm.

She had trouble concentrating on the teachers´ lecture, and had noticed some people had glared a bit when she came in late. She tried to shake it off, though, tried to take notes and keep focused, but it felt like whenever she'd written something down, she then looked up at the teacher and found that she'd missed an entire blackboards worth of notes.

That's how it went for three hours, Kate playing Tom who tried to catch on to Jerry, but never quite catching up. Everyone packed up almost as soon as the lunch bell rang, but Kate fervently tried to write down whatever bits and pieces she remembered the teacher saying, before finally giving up and throwing everything into her backpack again.

The teacher was still cleaning up his blackboard, and she sheepishly went up, in part to apologize for being late and partly because she just liked the teacher. He was a strikingly intelligent mid-fifties man with almost completely white hair. He knew almost everything about his subjects, but was easy to distract, and sometimes made jumps because he assumed everyone was as knowledgeable as him, sometimes to his class' detriment. However, he was also exceedingly nice, and she knew he wouldn't mind a few questions. Just to make sure she was completely on board.

He gave her half an hour before he suddenly looked at the clock, exclaimed "I had a class twenty minutes ago!" and scrambled to go. There she was, alone in a big auditorium, and she felt alone in the entire universe. What a shitty day it had been so far. As she put her backpack on and started to walk towards the schools exit, she pulled up her phone to text Chris that she was done. However, instead she'd already received a text message, which she read as the sliding doors opened, hitting her with a burst of fresh air.

C: //Gone on a mission. Love you lots. Stay safe//

Kate bit her lip, then glanced up as she heard her name being yelled. Her face lit up as she saw Claire leaning against the hood of a car, and instinctively ran up to hug her as she choked back some tears.

After a solid 30 seconds of girl on girl hugging action, Kate finally pulled back and dried the few tears that had escaped. "I didn't know if you'd be able to make it." Kate whispered, and Claire smiled as she put some of Kate's hair back behind her ear. "Of course we'd be able to make it. Who else can put up with you?" she teased, then grabbed her hand. Glancing over her own shoulder, she smiled at Ash, who was sitting behind the steering wheel. "You ready to go, babe?" He just nodded, and Kate waved politely.

"He's in a bad mood. Really, that Chris, always waiting until the last second to make plans." Kate's smile fainted when she mentioned Chris, but she tried to get it back up. Didn't reach her eyes, though. "So, what do you want for dinner? Any preference?" Claire asked, and Kate shrugged. "You're the guests in my house. It's only fair you decide."

Claire smiled, then started babbling like a brook about different foods, which was a welcome change for Kate, who got in the back. However, she was soon joined by Claire in the backseat, to Kate's surprise. "What? You don't think I'd get any moment possible to be with my best friend?" she teased, and Kate shrugged, but she couldn't hide this smile. She'd missed her.