The ladies got changed, headed away from the Academy, and made their way toward the train station. While they waited for the next engine, Noble sent a message to Fort to let him know she would be a little late that evening.
Although he did not immediately respond, she was sure Fort would see the message. It was her husband's evening to cook anyway, so it was very likely he would be relieved to have some time to sort out his own thoughts over a pot of noodles before she got home.
The restaurant where they ended up really did have a little bit of everything. And that was a good thing. Because as soon as the ladies were seated, Noble's stomach growled in protest.
She had completely missed lunch. Although Awakened could go without food for longer times than mundane humans, that did not mean their bodies wanted to. And Noble's body was now vehemently objecting to its improper treatment earlier that day.
Sarai pressed her lips together to hide her smirk. She called over a waiter. Reading the nametag, she said quite seriously, "Larry! Please bring one of every appetizer you have. And hurry, or this Awakened here might die of hunger!"
Noble puffed out her cheeks before plastering on a smile when Larry looked her way. "If you would hurry, that would be lovely."
"Of course." The man left and returned immediately with a couple of salads, promising to bring more as soon as it was available.
After both of them had consumed a good portion of the leafy greens, Sarai set down her fork.
"I'm ready when you are."
Noble pushed her own plate away from her. More would be coming soon anyway.
"I am not sure where to begin, really." The professor had been mulling over exactly what to say since they left the Academy.
"Maybe start at the beginning? Tell me anything and everything you like." Sarai nodded her encouragement.
"The beginning. Right. Ok then." Noble took a deep breath. It was time. "You already knew my family fled North America when the Category 5 gate hit. I was young, but I remember it vividly. We settled into the NQSC, Father's job transferred here, and things settled into a new normal.
"You know, I almost made it out of the teen years without being infected by the spell. The day before I turned 18, though, I became exceptionally sleepy. You can guess how that turned out." The professor sighed.
"Every Awakened has been in that spot. Except for possibly the crazy legacies, it is terrifying." The lovely baker had been infected slightly earlier, and Sarai imagined that thinking she might actually escape the Spell only to be caught at the last possible moment would be much harder.
Noble nodded. "On a happy note, when I came out of my first nightmare and entered the Academy, a very handsome government agent did my initial interview about my experience in the Nightmare. I was very flustered, but he did his best to make me feel comfortable."
"Let me guess, that man was Fort?" Sarai smiled.
"I didn't find out until later that it wasn't his regular job. In hindsight it made sense. He was only a few years older than me and seemed just as nervous as I was. I half-think Dad chose him and somehow assigned him the job on that particular day because he knew that Fort was something special. I never got to ask my father, though." Noble trailed off for a moment as another plate of food was brought to the table.
When the waiter was gone, Sarai picked up the story. "You never got to ask him because he died, right?"
Glad not to have to say the words aloud, Noble simply nodded. "There was an accident while I was still at the Academy. I was barely able to attend the funeral in the middle of preparing to enter the Dream Realm for the solstice. It was a very bleak time in my life. If not for Teacher Julius, my mother, and a few others urging me forward, I probably would have given up. Everything looked so hopeless."
"I'm glad you didn't give up." Sarai held her friend in high regard. Things would not be the same without her.
"Me too. Rather than give in to the sadness, I worked harder than ever to push through the darkness to Awaken as quickly as I could. And I did. I have never seen my mother so relieved as when I hugged her after returning. I think she had already buried me in her mind because she looked like I had come back from the dead." Noble sighed. "I suppose in a way I had."
"All sorts of opportunities open up to you when you become Awakened." Sarai herself had been able to accumulate enough funds to open her bakery. That would have been nearly impossible to do otherwise.
The professor chuckled lightly. She took a sip of water before continuing her thoughts.
"All sorts of opportunities, indeed. Some are more appealing than others. For me, the most attractive opportunity was the man who gave me my interview after coming out of the Dream Realm the first time." Noble flushed.
"I don't suppose it could be Fort a second time?" Sarai winked.
"He says it was fate, but I think he pulled some strings to see me again. Since I was already a high-ranking citizen, there was not much help he could give me on that front. But when I mentioned I was considering going to Bastion as my anchor, he did tell me of his concerns. With his help, I was able to station myself at Ender's Deep. I cannot thank him enough for that kindness." The more she spoke, the more Noble felt the anger she had been feeling towards her husband dissipate.
"Did you begin dating after that?" Sarai began to dig into a pizza that arrived at the table. The cheese stretched as long as her arm before breaking off for her to eat.
"Goodness no! We weren't in the same place in life. He might not have been much older than me, but he had a job and a career already started. I was figuring things out. So I went to a University and we kept in touch here and there.
"I will admit I did have feelings for him that developed over time, but it felt like he was keeping me at arm's reach. At last, he asked me out on a few dates. They were perfect, yet incomplete. We would have deep conversations, but it always felt like I was missing something in his life.
"We went on like that for many months. A sporadic date, but nothing too serious since we were both very busy. I would always come close to asking what was going on, and somehow I could never bring myself to voice the question. He also often seemed on the verge of some great admission, but it just never came.
"So although we were never dishonest, it still felt like there was a wall between us that we had not overcome. Six months in, I decided enough was enough. I was falling hard for him, and I had the right to know what the man I cared for was holding back. I went to his apartment to ask him if he was seeing someone else. We had never explicitly said we were exclusive, and I needed to know where we stood." Noble paused and raised her eyebrows at Sarai. "If he was seeing someone else, I had told myself it was fine and I would let him go."
The other woman was now on the edge of her seat. "Well, what happened?"
"It turned out I was right. There was someone else in his life." The professor cut her eyes at her friend.
"Who? Another woman?" Sarai gasped.
Noble's lips curled into an ironic smile. "Oh friend, if only it had been that simple…"