"Excuse me." Athena said hurriedly. She shunted past Mr. Wright and made for the bathroom.
"If you need the bathroom, I think Ms. Fey said it was-…" Mr. Wright trailed off, watching as she immediately located the bathroom without his help. "… OK."
Athena locked the door behind her, flinching as she realized that even the doorknob was a different one than she remembered.
She turned the water on and looked up to stare into the mirror. Raising a hand, she gave herself a firm slap across the cheek. When this failed to make any positive difference, she tugged her glove off and tried again.
Ignoring the stinging she could feel on her now slightly reddened jawline, she threw a splash of water onto her face.
Nothing.
She twitched. Fumbling with her neckline for a moment, she held Widget up to examine his display. The digital clock on the screen still displayed the date she had expected waking up in the morning, but she brought up an internet browser to double-check.
The office's internet connection apparently expected a different password than the one she knew. She made a strained noise somewhere between a groan and a yelp.
Down to her last hope, she opened the first aid cabinet next to the mirror.
And to think, for just a moment, it had almost seemed like her heart couldn't have sunk any lower. Even the expiration dates on the medical supplies agreed on the one thing she was afraid of.
(I'm a time traveller.)
Athena sank into an armchair. Mr. Wright, who had been standing in the middle of the room since she took her trip to the bathroom, looked a bit surprised by her apparent brashness, but settled into one opposite her as well.
"So," he said slowly, fiddling with his sleeve, "You're a lawyer, too, Ms. Simons?"
"That's right." Athena replied tonelessly.
(Guess I'll pass on mentioning that you helped train me.)
"How did you hear about Ms. Fey?"
Athena shifted in place, trying to think up an answer. To her surprise, Mr. Wright took the pause to carry on for himself, saying, "She defended me. A few months ago."
Athena looked up; this was news to her. "You were on trial?" she asked.
Mr. Wright nodded. "There was a murder at my university. I-…" he broke off, sounding hesitant to elaborate. "Everybody thought I did it, but Ms. Fey, she… she believed in me. She proved that-…"
For a moment, as he had been speaking, Athena had heard a rising note of happiness in his words, but it had vanished startlingly quickly just before he trailed off again. Months ago, -at least from her perspective- she had made a promise to herself not to use Widget's emotional analysis interface on her friends or co-workers without their express permission. It was an important part of her work in court, to be sure, but otherwise it felt like a breach of trust. Even so, possibly because of the trouble she was having connecting this quiet young man to the older and more experienced Phoenix Wright she was used to, her hand had twitched toward Widget at the sound of his words.
In an interesting coincidence, he seemed to take notice of the brightly lit screen at the same moment. "Uh… That's a nice necklace." he said. "I like it."
"Thanks." Athena said, managing a smile for the first time since her arrival. Mr. Wright's face brightened up a bit at this, as well.
At that moment, Ms. Fey returned.
"Made yourselves right at home, then." she said airily, taking in the sight of them in their armchairs. Mr. Wright suddenly looked guilty.
"Oh, I-…"
"It's OK, Mr. Wright." Ms. Fey went on, raising a hand. "Can't say I blame you; they are nice chairs."
She set a small folder onto a side table and sat down as well.
"I suppose this is normally the part where we'd have a job interview. I'm not really one for stiff traditions, though, so we can work that out later." she said. Turning to Mr. Wright, she asked, "How have you been?"
"OK, I guess. My courses are going pretty well." he answered.
Ms. Fey smiled. "Glad to hear it." she said before turning to face Athena. "Sorry, Ms. Simons, I'm being rude. I'm Mia Fey."
"Yes, I've heard a lot about you, Ms. Fey." Athena said. In a sense, this wasn't really a lie. Most of the things she had heard just hadn't happened yet. It was going to take some time to get used to that.
"Just 'Mia' is fine." the older woman replied. "Sorry if I sound rude again, but how long have you been a lawyer?"
"Just over a year." Athena answered. "I got my badge in Europe and came back here just after I turned eighteen."
Both Mia and Mr. Wright barely concealed shocked reactions.
"Eighteen?" Mr. Wright repeated, sounding amazed. "That's incredible!"
Athena blushed a bit more than she would have liked to.
"Well, that's Europe…" she said, averting her eyes a bit.
"So, you'll be nineteen now." Mia said. "I'm impressed. Even considering you studied in Europe, that would take real dedication."
This wasn't helping with the redness developing on Athena's face.
"I've still got the better part of three years to go, since I switched to law." Mr. Wright said.
"If you both decide you'd like to come work with me here," Mia went on, now with a knowing sort of smile on her face, "We might just be able to shave some of that time off."
Their conversation continued in this vein for some time. Athena, still wracked with worries over her situation, gradually became more and more careful about letting information about herself slip, but was able to find something positive in the experience as she became more engaged in asking Mia and Mr. Wright about their respective aspirations.
The point that came up as the discussion was nearing its end, when Athena probed a bit further into the subject of how Mr. Wright and Mia met, stood out to her in particular as she listened to the emotions underlying their voices.
"I hate to sound pushy when it isn't necessary," Mia was saying to Mr. Wright, "But I hoped you might have learned a bit more from your own day in court."
Mr. Wright was now steadily keeping his eyes away from Mia's gaze. His voice was still fairly even, but Athena could easily spot a hint of discomfort that she was unused to hearing from his older self.
"I just don't know what to think." he said. "I never would have believed that she could do something like that. I'd never seen her act like she did when you were cross-examining her, and I-... I wanted to believe that she wasn't really-"
Mia suddenly cut him off, saying, "Mr. Wright-… Phoenix, Dahlia Hawthorne is a serial murdering monster. She was only ever using you to hide evidence of her own crimes, and you need to accept that and move past it if you're ever going to get anywhere with the rest of your life."
Athena was taken aback. Aside from a few vague mentions, this conversation was the first she had heard of her employer's failed love life in his college days, and how closely it tied into his burgeoning legal career. Listening to Mia's firm stance on the subject made her suspect that the older attorney had some personal stake in the story as well, but it was beginning to feel too personal for her to wish to push any further.
In a spur-of-the-moment decision, she stood up. Feigning sudden worry, she said, "Sorry, Mia, I didn't notice the time. I need to get going. I've got a few things to take care of left today."
Mia turned, her face softening from the glare she had taken on while discussing Mr. Wright's ex-girlfriend. "Not a problem. Should I assume you're still interested in joining the firm?"
"I'll… keep in touch." Athena answered. "Thanks for your time."
"Any time. It was nice to meet you."
Athena was just beginning the walk to the door when Mr. Wright stood up as well. "I should get going, too." he said, not noticed as Athena suppressed a groan. "I can come back tomorrow, if you're OK with it."
Mia smiled. "I hope I see both of you again." she rose from her chair as well and approached the door with them. "Goodbye, Phoenix, Andrea."
Athena was a bit bothered to find that Mr. Wright seemed to want to carry on with their earlier conversation as they left the building together. When she excused herself, she had been hoping to leave alone and begin working out a plan for herself. It looked as if she would need it, after all, given that she had tried every tactic she knew of to wake herself up, and finally given up on her hope that this might all just be an especially detailed dream.
"I know I keep saying it," Mr. Wright said for what was indeed the fourth time, "But I'm just so amazed by how early you got your badge."
"Mm hmm." Athena answered, by way of a proper reply.
"If you don't mind me asking, was there a reason you were so keen on getting into law?"
Athena hesitated. It sounded as if Mr. Wright himself had a personal reason to ask this. Choosing her words carefully, she replied, "I… made a promise."
"Ooh!"
Athena was sure she visibly twitched. The enthusiastic little noise Mr. Wright had just made was easily the most uncharacteristic thing he had done since she he last seen her boss, back in her proper time period. Her eyes bulged a bit as he went on to dart around in front of her.
"What kind of promise?" he asked curiously, now walking backwards to keep his pace.
Something clicked in Athena's mind: Mr. Wright sounded almost exactly like Trucy. This brought up a desire to ask several key questions of her own, but that, of course, wasn't really an option. If Athena had her math right, wherever Trucy was, she was currently at most three or four years old, and wouldn't be adopted for quite some time.
Shaking these thoughts off, she answered, "A… promise to a friend."
Wherever Mr. Wright was walking to, it wasn't likely to be of much help to Athena. She wasn't completely certain where she would have gone had he not picked up their conversation on the way out the door, and had simply been following along since.
Mr. Wright, meanwhile, was looking surprised by Athena's answer to his question.
"To a friend, huh? You must value them a lot."
There was something under those words. For once, Athena wished that she could also have her co-worker Apollo's keen sense of sight to decipher some meaning from the look on Mr. Wright's face.
"I do." she replied.
Mr. Wright shifted aside again.
"Uh, this is my stop." he said, motioning to the front door of a nearby building.
"Oh-… OK." Athena replied. She waited a moment, hoping he would be prompt about entering.
Instead, he shifted in place a bit, before asking, "So, uh… Maybe I'll see you later? Were you gonna go back to Mia's office tomorrow?"
"Umm…" Athena considered this. Up to this point, she had mostly been stuck in the motions of feigning interest in joining the firm, but now that she was back outside and her personal schedule was essentially clear, she found herself at a bit of a loss as to what to do. "Sure," she said hesitantly, "See you tomorrow, Mr. Wright."
He grinned. "See you then."
He was on the front steps of the building when he turned back. "And, by the way," he said, "You can call me Nick. Most of my friends do."
The door swung shut behind him. Athena let out a sigh.
(Finally.)
She turned on her heel and began to walk back down the street they had come from. As they had been walking together, she had spotted a few passersby looking at them curiously. Probably something to do with Mr. Wright's insistence on walking backwards while talking to her, she figured.
(Nick.)
She'd never heard anyone call him that before; Pearl's nickname for him was the closest thing.
(Most of his friends, though? Guess they're the ones I've never met.)
It wasn't until she had spent nearly fifteen minutes aimlessly walking that Athena began to question what her current goal was. She couldn't go home to her apartment, after all. Whoever had occupied it thirteen years before her was unlikely to be all too keen on letting her use it.
There was a bench a few steps away. She sat down and removed her backpack. All she was carrying was her suit and a few other various work-related items. She had her wallet, though only her cash was likely to be of any use.
(I've probably got some coins that shouldn't exist yet, too.)
She didn't know what to do, which was an unfamiliar feeling to her.
(They don't just teach you how to deal with accidental time travel in school. How am I gonna get back? Assuming I even can, at least…)
She shook her head. She didn't need that sort of worry distracting her. There had to be some reason for her to be displaced in time. She needed there to be one.
(OK, Athena. You've seen plenty of Apollo's sci-fi movies. What did those people do?)
A place to stay would be a start. Home wasn't an option, and unless she magically found some source of income, staying in a hotel was out as well.
(Watch out, short-term goals. Here comes Athena Cykes.)
I'd normally make some self-deprecating remark about my posting habits down here, but hey, I actually did it in under a week