A Virtual Start - Chasing Normal, Arc 6

Scene 31: Another New Experience

Travis rubbed her eyes. How long have I been staring at a screen? The clock on the workstation said she'd been working on this particular background for forty-five minutes, but it felt more like a month. The background was nothing but a texture of simple shades and gradients that would be blended with others, but she'd done half the gradients wrong and had to re-do them.

She pushed her chair back to check out her work. The background was kind of pretty, in its own way.

"Whoa, speedster! Save it for the raceway." Nigel teased as she nearly collided with him.

"Sorry. Just trying to get a better vantage point."

Nigel looked at the monitor. "It's like a forest on one of First Health's drug trials."

Travis tilted her head. "Yeah, I guess it is."

Nigel leaned down and squinted at her, "Your eyes are bloodshot. Come on. Let's go grab lunch."

"Lunch is good." Travis agreed.

==

Noel was already at the table. Nigel sat down next to his normal chair, leaving Travis the seat opposite Noel. The table was quiet while they ate, Nigel continually casting amused glances at his brother, who responded with a warning glare.

Finally, Nigel broke the silence, "So, Travis, what are you up to this weekend?"

"Um, I'm hanging out with my girlfriends."

"All weekend?"

"No...just Saturday,"

"Isn't that fascinating?" Nigel smiled at Noel. "Would you look at the time? I have to not be here." And he left, faster than Travis had ever seen him move.

Noel shook his head at his departing sibling. Then, he turned back to Travis. "So, you're hanging out with the girls again."

She knew what he was really asking. "Yeah. They're going to show me around."

He looked thoughtfully at his emptying plate for a moment, "Do you want to go out?"

"What?" Travis wasn't sure she'd heard him correctly.

Noel chuckled, an awkward sound. "Sorry. That was abrupt." He took a deep breath. "Want to go do something that isn't in the virtual world? Maybe...after work Friday?"

Did he just ask me out? "I...um...sure?"

The embarrassment melted away, and Noel smiled. "Great."

He is kind of cute when he smiles.

==

"So," Will caught up with her as she was leaving the studio. "you're free."

"I'm free." She twisted the strap of her bag. "Sort of."

"Sort of?"

"Yeah. I think I'm going on my first date."

Will stopped, "Please tell me it's not that loser Nigel."

"Do you hate all of the animators?"

"Only the cocky ones," Will strutted for emphasis.

Travis laughed, "It's actually his brother."

"Oh! I don't really know Noel. He kind of keeps to himself and Nigel." Will fell in beside Travis. "When is this date happening?"

"Friday night."

"Oh, good. Then you're free to come underground Saturday night."

"I can't, actually. I'm spending Saturday with the girls." She chewed her lip.

"Oh," Will replied. Travis winced at the sharpness in his voice. "Okay, then."

"We'll find time, Will. I promise."

"Sure. See you." He headed off in the direction of the underground.

==

Friday evening found Travis pacing her room. Half a dozen outfits lay scattered about the room. The tablet, logged into the virtual world, was half-hidden under a top Travis was still considering.

How about the ruffled top? It's girly without being too dressy. Travis would never understand how Rose had memorized most of her tiny wardrobe.

Are you sure? Travis held out the top. Noel hadn't said where they were going or what they were doing, and Travis had little experience dressing for "anything". What if he wants to go rock climbing or something.

Noel's not the type, Gloria assured her. Pair it with those cute jeans and a pair of boots. You'll be fine.

Travis laid out the outfit on her bed, shrugged, and pulled it on. She was just finishing pinning up her hair when Lydia informed her she had a visitor. Wish me luck. She thumbed off the tablet.

Noel was waiting on her side of the common area, "Wow, Travis. You look great."

Noel looked freshly pressed, a complete change from work. She almost hadn't recognized him. "Thanks. You, too." She shuffled him out the door before her parents realized she had a date. She hadn't told them for fear of how her mother would react...or try to dress her.

Her books all talked about girls going to dances as their first date with their dream guy. Noel wasn't Travis's dream guy, and they weren't headed to a dance. Instead, Noel took her to an observatory park on the bay, and they walked and talked. It was a lot like their lunch times, but with less food and more walking.

But it also gave Travis her first real look at New Glory. "This area really is pretty."

Noel laughed. "I figured you hadn't been out here yet. It's hard to see the valley when you're in the city. The MegaCorps like to build up, but ordinances and assassinations have regulated the height of most buildings."

"Are there a lot of assassinations here?"

"Not as many as the MegaCorps would have you think, but people do fall off buildings from time to time."

"That's true anywhere," Travis looked out over the bay. "What are the lights over there?"

"That's the Whispering Crane Monastery. They founded this city...sort of." When Travis looked at him with a raised eyebrow, he continued, "They set up their monastery to give them a place to gather away from people while they were traveling. They just did it on a well-traveled path. People gravitated here and started putting down roots."

"So much for alone time."

"Yeah. They tried to do something about it, but it nearly destroyed the city. Now, they just hide up there on the peninsula." He pushed off the railing. "Not exactly date material, is it?"

"No, it's cool. Thank you for bringing me here."

Noel smiled.