Just A Glitch

Six Days To Plan

I'd spent hours sipping tea instead of my usual coffee before anyone noticed the small change in routine, although, once it was noticed the whispers didn't seem to stop. It was rather funny that most of them were just whispered jokes about how the Queen of Coffee had seemingly given up her throne, but there were a few that whispered things less playfully innocent.

I'd heard a few whisper that it was just another sign that I was suffering from a mental breakdown, having seen signs of it ever since the whole AI incident started. After all, I was still the only one who knew the truth and that meant trouble for a bit when I had first asked about the "red-haired AI" changing looks since all of them only knew of the black-haired one.

Just as worrisome was how much people began to avoid me, leaving me to wonder if they thought me dangerous or if they were just avoiding me in case there was any backlash if I was fired. Even if I knew my boss wouldn't fire me, it had the workplace growing tense at times, the handful of less friendly people somehow making the whole building a stressful place to be.

Perhaps it was time to request some time off. I'd managed to build up quite a bit of vacation time and maybe things would be calmer once I got back, allowing the rumors to hopefully die off if I wasn't there for them to subtly taunt. I just hope the boss was willing to let me take that much time all in one go.

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Well, I'd had to break it up some due to various meetings I was required to attend and tests I had to be present for, but I'd still managed to end up with an insanely long vacation. I would be able to enjoy more than enough time away from the whispers, even the boss saying how they felt it would help the recent tension dwindle, shaking their head as they muttered about the ugliness of jealousy.

Now that I had so many weeks free from work, especially with my paychecks still coming in due to the vacation pay I would be getting, I just had to figure out one thing. What the heck was I going to do with all that free time? I hadn't had a vacation in years, not since I'd gone on a trip with Arthur back when things were still good between us. That was a totally different place, so it's not like I could just do the same things I did then and I really wouldn't want to anyhow, since it would just have me thinking of him again.

Maybe I could bring my timeline with me and have some travel planner figure out some things I could do without missing the days I had to show up to work. Of course, I'd have to be careful not to end up in one of the shadier agencies. Bertram went on trips every now and then, something he had no problem requesting time off for, no matter what was going on at the time. He always claimed he worked his best when he was in a good mood, not that many could tell the difference in his moods. Maybe he knew of a good travel agency I could use.

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Well, I hadn't expected much from the place I'd finally found, Bertram refusing to share information on his chosen agency, and not much is exactly what I'd found when I entered. It supposedly had a great reputation according to online sources, but all I saw inside the place was something I would expect when going through back alley doors.

The sleazy looking guy sitting at the lone desk had not encouraged me to stay, the looks he gave me simply giving me added reason to turn around and leave before I could even browse any of the brochures they had stacked on the cheap looking tables lining the side wall. At least I had managed to snag one of them before leaving, even if I had no clue what it was for.

Glancing down when I finally crossed the street and felt far enough away from the place to avoid being seen if the man looked outside, I read the heading of the small piece of cheaply printed paper. 'Come To Camelot' it said in obnoxiously bright yellow print across the top, with smaller black print underneath stating that it was, in fact, Caerleon in southern Wales, the place that it is believed Camelot was based upon.

Of course, these days it was known as Chester and sat on the northern outskirts of Newport. But I doubt the person who had written up the pamphlet cared about those details since they had failed to print that tidbit, leaving it for unknowing tourists to find out the hard way. Luckily, this was an area I had read about a lot as a child, enough to have memorized certain facts that many wouldn't bother with beyond looking it up once or twice before moving on.

Anyone expecting to see the modern idea of Camelot would be vastly disappointed, since that version is based on Winchester, England, a place rather far away from Caerleon. Well, I had plenty of time! Perhaps I could pay a visit to each of the places and finally see both of the areas I had read so much about! I had a meeting in six days, so I could take the time until then to plan the trip, allowing me the full two weeks afterwards before the next meeting took place to enjoy the sites and sounds of the distant lands.

And maybe, just maybe, I would catch a glimpse of familiar red hair and green eyes if I looked hard enough.