Time came and went in my small room. Hera and I chatted about mindless things while we waited to go meet the others. Hera quickly became a very good friend. She was patient and listened closely. She asked questions too. I in turn was curious about her interests. Her family weren't as supportive as mine. They expected a lot of her, as she was the oldest. I found out she was older than me by two months. I wasn't surprised. Hera seemed very old for her age.
The sun had begun its final descent when Hera and I wrapped up our conversation. We walked out of my room without a second glance. The halls were beginning to fill with people coming in from their daily activities. I happened to notice my left neighbor going into her room. She was a little shorter than me with a crop cut and strong facial features. I didn't stop to ask what her name was and she didn't seem to notice me either. I hoped she wasn't a Fire. Hera and I reached the stairs with no interruption and continued our way down to the bottom floor. It was starting to get dark when we finally reached the fifth barrack. It isn't hard to pick out the overly excited Tria from the many Trainees roaming around the area.
"Hera! Maia! Over here!" Tria yells excitedly.
"We can see you easily, Tria," her cousin reprimands. "Your waving limbs were enough to attract our attention to your presence."
"Oh, hop off your serious train. We are going to have some fun!"
I did not like where this was going. I look to Clarisse and find she has a look on her face that I am quite familiar with. Clarisse, though never into relationships, was always into trouble. Jujo, her, and I always had a scheme going. I was never the one to come up with it, but I usually went along. They were fairly harmless pranks on classmates or neighbors. We only got in trouble twice for the whole five years we were planning and scheming. Clarisse declared the day before we left for Training, in fact, that that was a record. I can still remember Jujo's face when he realized that his only true friends were leaving him. I quickly shake the image out of my mind.
"Fun?" Hera questions. "What is that?"
Tria lightly slaps Hera on the shoulder. "Fun is this awesome thing which we are going to do tonight."
"And that would be?"
"We are going to a social event that the Center is throwing!"
"Why does this sound like a party?"
"Because it is!"
"No."
"Hera..."
"No."
"Oh come on, Hera," Zen says. "It'll be fun!"
"Yeah," Clarisse nods quickly. "It sounds like a lot of fun!"
The look Hera was giving everyone made it perfectly clear that that was the last thing she thought would be fun. Hera had a very modest personality from what I gathered. Her and parties didn't seem to go together. I couldn't see Hera going to a party. They are held every year by the Center. The Trainees always have a blast, some more than others, but I know it is supposed to be a great time. The leaders believe it to be a "good bonding experience that will promote better relations in the future." While the divisions may have music outside the Center with instruments made from hand and their own voices, the Center has technology. My curiosity is piqued.
"No," Hera says once again.
"Hera," I interrupt whatever Tria is about to say. "I think we should go."
I can tell by the way Hera's face looks that she's considering my opinion. Though I've only known her for less than a day, she trusts me. I can tell the wheels in her head are turning as she contemplates, but she's also waiting for me. She's waiting for me to justify my answer before she decides. She wants to see my reasoning behind this rather than hear her cousin trill in her ear about a random event.
