Where had Leonel run off to now?
Kate checked her watch again. 12 minutes past 7. If Leonel was ever late to Friday night training, it would only be by 1 or 2 minutes. Fencing was one of his top priorities, was it not? She anxiously gazed at her watch. It was sleek and black, and for some reason, it felt like it was another entity entirely – consciously alive and making decisions of its own accord. She had bought her watch when she lived in Old England (though now it's called New England and occupied by the Unified European Nation – the main enemies of the American Empire), and she felt almost as close to the watch as what she did to her relatives while they were alive.
They're all dead now.
That is except for her younger brother, who was captured during the invasion of Great Britain in 2081, the greatest conflict since the Unification Wars of the 2040s.
'What could you possibly be doing right now, Ash? That is if you're even still alive,' Kate pondered, noticing stars revealing themselves in the faded dark sunset of this new era of peace.
She bought the watch in the winter of 2080, at the age of 9, walking down snowy streets and gloomy paths to find an old watchmaker, heading inside the cosy shop, and picking out a watch that matched her personality. It was a Stjärna watch, elegant yet simple, one of the cheapest clocks in the store but it was the most perfect in Kate's eyes.
Her watch delivered the time for her, almost comparable to a personal messenger from Cronos to herself.
Was her little polished black watch sentient?
Did it have thoughts?
Was it worrying about Leonel not showing up to fencing practice on time?
With her watch, Kate was not alone. She felt she had another source of intelligence wherever she went. It guided her, quietly, through everything she was facing. It was always something to fall back on. It was a constant in her life.
She gazed down at her shoes, deep maroon sneakers that contrasted with the polished wooden floor. Tracksuit pants that made noise when she moved. That feature that compromised her stealth wasn't her style, but she figured it would work for now.
When she looked up again, she saw Leonel standing there. His shining blue eyes and a silver sword in its sheath elevated the scene from a simple gym room to a fencing arena near the top of a skyscraper in the neon city of the late 21st century.
"Sorry I'm really late," Leonel rushed over, put down his backpack, and started putting on his protective attire. Kate did the same.
"I took way too much time in moving into NYSA headquarters," Leonel explained, "everything really has been happening recently. It feels like there's something really huge about to surface. I don't know, it just seems like something significant is about to take place for some reason. Like a change is approaching or something."
Leonel reflected on the week. Whilst he already worked at NYSA, he still was on the same playing field as everyone else applying for the NYSA Science Protection Units. Monday had Leonel in the final interview, competing against 80 others for a spot with only 25 positions. Tuesday was the waiting day, excruciatingly annoying as they only found out if they got in or not at 8:00 pm that night. Wednesday was his last day of work. There were some final things he needed to pack up, both at work and in his apartment. Leonel didn't tell his friends, but he didn't end up selling his apartment, he didn't have the strength. Thursday was when the 25 successful applicants were placed into 5 different units.
Leonel, along with Kate, Phoebe, Purity, and Juno, were placed in unit 5, the least qualified unit technically speaking – meaning they would have to prove their worth within NYSA's system, judged by the most powerful supercomputer in the world.
"My apologies again for being late," Leonel sympathised with Kate, "I made you wait 20 minutes…"
"It's completely okay," Kate interrupted, unsheathing her sabre, and pointing it towards Leonel, readying her stance to begin fencing, her eyes poisonous daggers and staring at him.
'What was Kate's plan of action,' Leonel thought in parallel to Kate's 'What will Leonel's strategy be?'
They stared into each other's eyes, trying to decipher the moves locked away in their minds, trying to gauge their strategy.
Leonel made the first move, swiftly striking forward through the light. Kate immediately recognised this as a simple trick from Leonel, an opening lunge that was effective against most fencers, but of no effect against a skilled swordswoman like Kate. She parried and counter-attacked, thrusting forward and putting Leonel on the defensive. Each of her dynamic strikes was blocked, and Leonel was looking for an opening in Kate's positioning.
'Where did he learn these defensive moves?!' Kate pondered, observing that Leonel usually tries to go straight out with quick and risky attacks because he's less experienced and that's usually his only chance of winning. Eventually, Kate broke through Leonel's defensive play, reaching him for a hit, and gaining a point.
They always did bouts of first to 10 hits, with breaks in between. In this location, the fencing club will host a larger practice on Wednesday afternoons, but on Friday nights, it was free for Leonel and Kate to use, as well as a pool on the top of the skyscraper, which Kate had a key to for reasons that Leonel hadn't been told yet.
Leonel dodged another of Kate's attacks. After opening out with his new defensive techniques, he fell back into his usual patterns. His dynamic fighting style was erratic, indistinct, and very non-traditional for fencing standards. He deflected one of Kate's strikes and lunged at her shoe, gaining a point. He managed to catch up, evening the scores at 9-9. Kate wasn't even slightly tired.
Kate never went easy on Leonel. She never purposefully lost or gave him a second chance. Leonel was grateful for the respect she gave her, this level of kindness. They had been friends not long after Kate arrived here from Old England, distraught and alone. Their bond was oddly unique, for a long time, for each of them, the other was the only person in the world they cared about – for Leonel was an orphan and felt isolated for a grand portion of his life. He had foster parents who supported him, encouraged his placement in the New York City Accelerated High School, and further encouraged him to pursue a job at the New York Space Agency. Whilst they lived in Maryland, they still supported him from afar, and he was very thankful for them. He wouldn't have his apartment without them.
Kate sidestepped a sabre swing and moved forward, putting Leonel on the defensive and pressing him into the corner of the gym floor. Leonel took a large step back, baiting Kate to take a step, and using that opportunity to launch himself at Kate, his sword reaching her chest before Kate's reached his.
10-9.
Leonel had won the bout.
"Good job Leonel," Kate exclaimed, "I'm proud of you!"
Her hand emerged to shake his. They were on the same side again.
"Thanks, Kate," Leonel replied, "I couldn't have improved without your guidance."
After a 10 minutes break, they did another first-to-ten bout. Then two more after that.
The scores were 10-8, 10-4, and 10-7.
Kate won all 3.
*
Kate unlocked the door leading to the rooftop pool.
The water was bright aqua, perpetually lit up by the influence of New York, and forever accessible on these nights to Leonel and his best friend.
The pool felt like it was from another dimension, despite its hues blending in perfectly with the surrounding scenery. For Leonel, it just didn't make sense how they had access to such a perfect spot in the world. It didn't feel fair. With his foster parents living in another state, he had to earn almost everything in his life. Every cent, every friendship, every moment was something he had to work for. But this? It didn't feel real. Bright lights of every colour accompanied the scenery, distant voices could be felt, and emotions from the city's night were visible on the streets and within the apartments. He felt he could talk about anything with Kate here. Oftentimes, the conversations they had seemed to transcend the space and the time they were in. And they always were something for both of them to look forward to.
A splash could be heard behind Leonel.
He turned around to observe the broken peace of the water's surface.
Kate emerged from the blue, wiping her eyes, and gesturing for Leonel to join her. He entered calmly and swam to the edge overlooking the world of a magnificent night horizon. Leonel could feel the delicate rotation of the earth, the supernatural presence of stars floating in the heavens above, and the undeniable warmth from the girl beside him.
"What do you want to talk about tonight?" Kate smiled. "Something philosophical? Like how we're just goldfish in the bowl that is this pool?"
"You never fail to tell me that one again," Leonel tried to hide his laugh behind a disappointed face representing the annoying state of the inside joke, then turned to Kate again,
"We should probably talk about the future."
Kate was unimpressed, "Well it is more relevant than your love life. Maybe we should touch upon the future, however, there's no rush. It isn't even midnight yet."
Their deepest conversations would occur after midnight when both Leonel and Kate were in a state of vulnerability where the only person they were comfortable enough to be around was each other. At the edge of the water, they would nurture conversations on any topic, from the simple interesting fact about the world to full-scale psychological discussions on their lives.
They paused for a moment, enjoying the silence and power of being 100 metres in the air, before Leonel slowly drifted towards Kate, and exclaimed,
"Catch me if you can!" touching Kate on her shoulder, and diving like a seal, metres down into the abyss.
"I like the way things are," Kate whispered frailly into the sympathy of the night sky, before diving down and going after Leonel.