Chapter 62| Lunch Break

Chapter 62: Chapter 62| Lunch Break

They were almost at the academic block when Zane checked his communicator.

12:20 PM.

"Dex," he said. "I’ll be heading off now. For lunch break."

"No deal man," Dex replied without breaking stride. "Was already heading off before you said anything." He glanced at Zane sideways. "We’ll see each other at the dorm later."

"Later," Zane said.

Dex peeled off toward the second year block. The easy energy carrying him down the corridor the same way it carried him through everything. Unhurried, unbothered, entirely at home in whatever space he occupied.

Zane turned.

Maren was two steps away. Bag over her shoulder. Already oriented toward the dormitory building direction.

"Hey Maren," he said.

She stopped and looked back.

"Wanna grab lunch together?."

She looked at her communicator. Then at him. Something moving behind her expression. Not the calculating stillness, something more considered than that. The specific look of someone running a quick internal check.

"It’s already that time?" she asked.

" It’s 12:20," Zane replied .

She held it for a moment.

"Sorry," she said. "I kind of have someone I dine with regularly. It’s already arranged." A pause. "Maybe another time."

Zane looked at her.

’She has a lunch arrangement,’ he thought. ’Hopefully not with some boyfriend of some sort.’

He almost didn’t ask. Then he did.

"With your bro? Some friend?"

Maren looked at him.

"No dummy," she said. "I don’t have one." Then she smirked.

Something settled in Zane’s chest that he wasn’t going to examine too closely.

"Alright,No problem," he said. "I’ll be off then. Take care."

"Take good care of yourself," she said.

He looked at her. ’Safe’. He exhaled.

She looked back.

Something in the air tightened between them that had been building since they made first contact. It was just present, still unnamed, sitting in the specific comfortable way that unnamed things sat between two people who had stopped needing to name everything.

They both raised a hand at the same time.

The specific simultaneous wave of two people who didn’t know of it was coincidental or calculated and had synchronised without deciding to.

She turned and walked toward the dormitory building.

He watched her go for exactly two seconds.

He caught sight of her fitted training gear. The way she walked. The specific controlled deliberate energy that apparently carried over from combat precision into every other context including leaving a corridor.

He looked at the corridor wall.

’One thing at a time,’ he thought.

He turned and headed toward the cafeteria.

On arrival, sera was already at their usual table when he arrived.

Today’s hoodie was burnt orange. Probably a new one. The collection apparently had no ceiling and no intention of acquiring one. Still oversized. Still doing the specific obstruction work it had been doing since week one. The kind that made every new hoodie feel like a continuation of a personal mission she had never explained and he had stopped expecting an explanation for.

She looked up when he sat down. Slid his cold coffee across without being asked.

"You’re later than usual," she said.

"The drill ran long," Zane replied.

"I ordered ahead," she said. Answering the question he hadn’t asked yet. "Figured you’d show up eventually."

"That’s generous of you". Zane said. Throwing a distinctive smirk.

"I heard about your drill," she said. She picked up her own cup. "Secondary practical facility. You had second years as sub-ins, instructor vale sure be doing some good work." She tilted her head slightly. "How did it go?."

"We scored zero points," Zane said.

"But you held the platform," she replied.

He looked at her.

"How do you know that?." he asked inquisitively.

"Word travels," she said simply. "Also Instructor Mori was watching from the east observation access. She mentioned it."

’Of course Mori was watching,’ Zane thought. ’She watches everything that involves her students in practical contexts. She’s been building the suit design around his combat style since the day after trials.’

"We held the platform," Zane confirmed.

"And you threw yourself over the railing," Sera said.

Zane looked at his coffee.

"That part was less planned," he said.

She laughed. Short. Genuine. The kind that didn’t announce itself and didn’t need to.

He picked up his coffee and drank.

The cafeteria ran its usual 12:30 PM energy around them fuller than the early morning, the specific post-drill noise of a building that had been through something physical and was now feeding itself before the afternoon resumed.

Sera stole a fry.

He let her.

She looked at him across the table.

"You look like something’s sitting with you," she said.

Sera looked at him across the table.

"Just the drill," Zane replied.

She looked at him for one more second with a eerie expression. Then nodded once and went back to her cup.

He drank his coffee.

She stole another fry.

He glared at her and let her.

Zane looked at his coffee.

Then the system surfaced.

『 BOUND TARGET QUEST — Time Remaining: 9 days 14 hours 33 minutes 』

’Nine days,’ he thought.’ The system for sure meant this’.

"Hey Zane, look over there". Sera said.’ Pointing in the right direction.

"Where". Zane said as he turned right. His vision only highlighted students dining in a normal cultured pattern.

Sera then stole the last fry from his plate.

Zane glared at her. "I see, that’s what you were after all along, cheeky girl".

"No,actually I wanted to show you something". Sera said smiling.

"Yes, I believe you," Zane said. His face with an expression of utter disbelief.

The afternoon session was in thirty five minutes.

He drank his coffee.

Sera read something on her communicator with her hoodie sleeves pulled over her hands the way she did when she was comfortable.

The burnt orange was actually a good colour on her.

Not that the hoodie revealed enough for that to be a fully informed opinion.

The system surfaced again.

『 System Note: You are noticing the hoodie colour. Progress of a kind. 』

’Not the time,’ Zane thought.

『 It is always the time. You have just nine days. 』

Zane put his coffee down.

’Thanks for the reminder ,’ he thought.

『 You are welcome. 』