Susan liked to think of herself as practical. It was a nice word. It implied neatly folded clothes stacked in a clean dresser and a smart quick-thinking mind that didn't get bogged down with problems. And this was definitely a problem. The "this" in question was a boy who would not leave her alone. He was about Susan's height, maybe a hair taller, and he had on glasses with thick round frames. Normally Susan would have politely, tactfully even, made the boy see she was clearly not interested. However, normally Susan was not pulled into Narnia at the call of a horn and then told that she was never to visit there again. Susan was, to put it in one of her delicate phrases, "rather put-out". This was an understatement, as getting banished from Narnia was not suited for delicate phrases. But Susan was practical, poised even. She maintained her composure long enough to force a smile at the boy and nod politely before turning in the opposite direction. A neat, clean break. Susan was very fond of neat and clean things and not so fond of breaking with them. Breaking off with Narnia was definitely harder than expected. Yes, Peter wasn't going either, but it was Narnia for heaven's sake. It was a second home, one that had been rudely snatched away from her for the second time, no less. She looked towards Lucy, still laughing over Edmund's lament over his lost torch. Yet, her eyes were full of wistfulness, for wanting something more than the dingy grey of the subway walls.

When had I ever been like that? Susan wondered. She seemed to have even been a practical baby. She remembered her mum used to tell her that even as a preschooler she had helped her fold the laundry, smoothing down each sheet she folded to make sure nothing was wrinkled. Even as she grew older, she had always looked after Lucy more than she focused on being a child herself. But, oh, how could she even give up Narnia? It was the one place where she could be both responsible and carefree. And now to never go there again, never to even see Caspian's face…

"Boarding school won't be too bad, will it, Susan?" Lucy's voice broke into Susan's inner ramblings. No, they weren't ramblings; it was merely a heated discussion. Much more practical.

"Of course not, Lu. I've been going for a couple of years already and I'm alright. Ruling a country ought to be much more difficult than learning in school." Susan gave Lucy a knowing smile, while she steeled herself in her resolve to be strong for Lucy. She mustn't let Narnia get to her. Not when she had Lucy to look after. The poor thing was probably tired from their journey and they still had to get to their school, which would be totally new for her. Susan remembered how scary her fist boarding school train ride had been. Of course, the boys were in another train entirely so she hadn't even had Peter there to comfort her. No, Susan always had to make due with comforting herself. It was perfectly natural that she felt some unease about leaving Narnia and going back to school. But this was the way things were and like it or not Susan would just have to deal with it.

"Well it's nice to know I'm a little bit ahead of all my classmates," said Lucy giggling. "And to think we've been in battle, seen nymphs and dryads and fauns, and-." Susan was about to shush her before she got out of hand. Lucy was definitely too old to fantasize about magical creatures and the like. But before she could a girl about Lucy's age in a school uniform with the same sort of twinkle in her eyes spoke up before Susan could.

"Excuse me, but are you talking about fairytales you've heard? They sound amazing. What is your name? I'm Clara." Soon Clara whisked Lucy away and Susan was now by herself. She suddenly felt very conspicuous all on her own. However she spotted some girls with the same school uniform and sat next to them. She didn't know them so she figured she might as well make some new acquaintances and make the best of things.

"Hello, I'm Susan. It's nice to meet you." It was quiet for a bit as the girls sized her up.

"Oh Phyllis, so good of you to join us," said Winnie, clearly the ringleader of the group. Oh no. They had seen that.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about," Susan said softly with a huge amount of embarrassment. Hopefully that would be the last comment.

"I'm sure that boy will be simply devastated without you. Did you give him the address at boarding school to write you love letters?" said one of Winnie's sidekicks. They laughed among themselves. Susan could hear snatches of their gossip and heard the phrases "dull, stupid girl" and "can't believe anyone would be interested". Susan turned her head away, suddenly angry. They didn't even know her! Yet, she had been…stretching the truth a little in her advice to Lucy. The girls at her boarding school often acted like this, catty and mean without any real reason.

"Excuse me," she said moving to another seat. Unfortunately as she was passing to another seat the train hit a bump. Susan fell, jolted by the impact, and crashed into someone behind her.

"I am so sorry," She said turning around. She blinked, and then repeated the action again for good measure. This could not be real. Yet it was, and standing in front of her was a guy who could very well be Caspian's twin. Susan had a moment of uncharacteristic emotion and was tempted to throw her arms around him. However, since he was not actually Caspian that would both be highly improper and not to mention exceedingly awkward.

"It's fine," he said. Even his voice had a slight Spanish accent, like Caspian's. "I am Francisco. And yourself?"

"I'm Susan," she replied with a smile that lit up her face. Perhaps some of Narnia's magic had trickled into the real world. "Might I ask where are you going?"

"Oh, this was all a mistake," he said with a laugh. His laugh was even better than his voice. It had that ring of triumph that Caspian's did. "You see, I was supposed to get on the other train, but I got on this one instead." Susan took note of his uniform which was the same as Peter and Edmund's.

"You go to Gloucestershire Preparatory Academy, don't you? Both my brothers go there. Do you know Peter and Edmund Pevensie by any chance?"

"Yes I do, but I don't know your brothers. Perhaps when I actually get on the right train I will meet them," Francisco replied flashing Susan a dashing smile. Both he and Susan laughed at that. And for the rest of the ride they sat together, talking like old friends. Susan felt very comfortable with this boy who she hardly knew. Somehow they made perfect friends.

And perhaps more than friends, she thought as he gently brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Susan didn't let herself get carried away. She was calm, and above all practical. If things would come in their time then so be it, and if not she would deal with it accordingly. Yet, there was one element that try as she might, Susan could not resolve with her sensible nature. The sheer coincidence of it all, the sparkle after reality had hit her like the dull brick of the subway walls, was not something that could logically be explained away. Everything about it was averse to her nature, contrary to all her set beliefs about reality. This was no laundry sheet that was folded smooth and flat. No, try as she might, the wrinkles of frivolity remained. It was, in short impractical. And so Susan, practical as she was, could only think of one word to describe it.

Fate.