THE DELIVERER'S DESTINY

Chapter 3, Part 3 - Stephanie

Zusia, Desmond, 10416 P.C.

Even during the late-night hour, the city was alive with sounds and lights. Stephanie left the monorail car, her feet pounding the landing as she made her way toward the stairs leading down into the street. The monorail hadn't been as crowded as it often was during the day, but she still had to brush past many people to get to ground level. The street she entered was busy; lights flashed and storefronts were decorated with all the different sorts of products they were selling, boasting of discounts, twinkling with lights. Stephanie walked by with unseeing eyes, pulling her coat tighter about her slim form as she stepped around groups of chattering people. She was still unnaturally cold, and she was sure it had nothing to do with the chill of the night. She slipped away from the main market streets, following the back alleys until she found what she was looking for.

Noe's Diner, a glittering little eatery on one of the back streets, was her and Marcie's favourite place to eat out. The bell above the door jingled as she opened it and walked inside. The place was small, yet cozy, one of the warmest places in Zusia in Stephanie's mind. Despite the hour, many people sat in the booths, enjoying a late supper or dessert or drink. The little eatery was run by Noe, a man about ten years Stephanie's senior. He was always overly nice to the girls, a bit on the pudgier side — he liked food too much, he claimed — with dark skin and light eyes. When he saw Stephanie enter, he catcalled from behind the counter, his eyes shining with a smile his face never showed.

"Lookie lookie, back from her Test already."

Stephanie pushed herself up onto one of the barstools at the counter. "Already? It's practically midnight, Noe."

He snorted as he bustled about behind the counter — preparing her usual for her, she knew. "I didn't get back from my Test until three in the morning, sweetheart. Count yourself lucky you weren't the youngest of your year." He lifted an eyebrow, giving her a glance over. "It went well?"

"I guess." The dead man's face flashed in her mind. Do you like being a murderer? She shuddered.

Noe was oblivious to her reaction. He scooped ice cream out of the freezer, humming. "I remember my Test," he said, almost wistfully. "Them were the hard years, I tell you. My ma was so frightened for me, but pops said it done me good." He paused, the scoop in his hand floating above the bowl as his eyes stared off into space the way they often did. Making a clucking noise with his tongue, he flung the ice cream into the bowl. "Couldn't tell ya why he thought that. His boy became a darn baker nonethelesser."

"You've told me this story." Like thirty times, she didn't add. Noe seemed blind to how lucky he was to have known his parents. She didn't know hers. Neither did Marcie. In fact, next to none of the Trainees did. There were a few exceptions, but those were incredibly rare.

Noe dropped a cherry on the top of her banana split. It tumbled off the side. He tried again. "Well, here's to celebrate," he said, finally just taking the cherry and pushing it into the ice cream so it would stay put. "You're finally out of the system and into society." He placed the dish before her proudly.

Stephanie accepted the spoon he handed her and proceeded to knock the cherry to the side. She heard Noe sigh. "Tomorrow," she corrected him. "The graduation ceremony is tomorrow."

He nodded, his many chins bouncing. "Or, really, today." He tapped his watch and plucked a cherry out of a container, plopping it in his mouth. "Where's Marcie? Still Testing?"

"I guess." Stephanie had done her best to avoid thinking about Marcie and her impending Test. Knowing now what her Test had been like... she wasn't sure how Marcie would react to it. Marcie wasn't a cold-blooded murderer.