Day

After she left Tess's, everything kind of stopped. No one really knew what to do. We had all been there celebrating June's birthday after all, so what were we supposed to celebrate after the birthday girl had left? It hadn't helped my already overpowering curiosity that when she left she had been with a mysterious soldier dressed in all black. We had agents in Antarctica that dressed in uniforms similar to that but they were rarely out in public. There was also something about the soldier himself that made my skin crawl. But before I had a chance to say anything, she was gone. When I asked Tess about it she said that she didn't know anything about what was going on and no one else seemed to have a clue what the issue might be. Pasco and Tyler decided to leave right after dinner was finished and cleared away, saying something about having to stop by another Sector that night. After the two of them had left, Eden and I chose to stay behind and talk to Tess. It had been too long since we'd seen each other. I'd sat down in the living room with Tess but before I have the chance to ask her anything she begins to bombard me with questions.

"What was it like in Antarctica? Where are you an Eden staying? What do you think of June? And Pasco and Tyler? What time did you arrive? How was my cooking? I know it was probably a little bland but I'm a nurse not a cook." Her energy and the way her eyes are light up with excitement make me chuckle and I answer all of her questions with ease.

Except for the one about June.

"June is so…,"I pause to think of a word. Intriguing. Talented. Mysterious. Graceful. "Familiar, I guess. I feel that I may have met her before," I say slowly, trying to read Tess's expression but she doesn't show any emotion other than being attentive. I move on and continue. "She seemed really closed off tonight, at least when I was talking to her. You'd think someone would be a bit more cheerful on their birthday. I take it that she isn't normally like this?"

"Oh no," Tess says, shaking her head. "June has been one of my best friends for so many years now and I can personally tell you that I've never had anyone make me laugh as much as she does. She's such an amazing person. She's funny, a great soldier, not to mention totally gorgeous. But she'll be the first one to push you, too."

"Push you?"

Tess sighs, gathering her thoughts. "June is very dedicated to her work. For instance, if she actually had a mission at the moment she would have ignored her birthday and focused on that instead. It's been like that for a while now, but I know that her job means a lot to her. But lately she's been frustrated with the Elector because he hasn't been giving her any challenging missions to work on, but it's an issue that they need to work out."

I didn't know June had such a huge spot in the military. "Does June work closely with the Elector?"

Tess nodded. "You might say that. She's quite high in the ranking."

I frown. Tess is saying that June is a great soldier that works with the Elector, but at the same time she isn't getting that much work. In an attempt to sort out my confusion I ask, "Then why is she not getting missions?"

Tess shifts uncomfortably in her seat and her fingers lace and unlace over and over again. "Well," she starts uneasily, "the two of them used to have an affair, but that ended a while back. But I'd be lying if I said that it hasn't caused both good and bad things for June." For some reason, this fact bothers me. If June is the remarkable soldier that I've heard about there is no reason that she should be deprived of missions because of past relations. In Antarctica no dating was allowed with those who were in the same field of work, so I see an issue with their relationship in general. I set the issue aside for now and take the conversation elsewhere.

"In two days I'm supposed to have a meeting with the Elector about a position in the military. While we were in Antarctica I was a Commander, more specifically in charge of training beginners. The Elector and I both agreed that it would be pointless for me to go through the training system here in the Republic to get ranked, so instead we are going over the scores I already have and then hopefully find me a position. So I should be back to working soon."

Tess nods her head but I notice that Tess's attention seems to be somewhere else. I follow her gaze to see it's trained on Eden, who is sitting over at the dining room table reading a textbook about how to build airplanes. I turn back around and look down, smiling while feeling a little uncomfortable. Eden hasn't ever really been too interested in relationships but more so with his school work. I wish I could tell Tess this information but some things they need to figure out on their own. Who knows, maybe the outcome will surprise me. I stand up from the chair and Tess's attention snaps back to me.

"We'd better head home," I explain, and Eden stands as well, bookmarking his page. "We haven't had the time to unpack yet and tomorrow with be so busy that I know I'll regret it if we put it off. Thank you again for the meal and invitation." I give her a kiss on the cheek and she wraps me in another one of her air tight hugs. "I'll call tomorrow."

Walking home in the crisp air in the dim lamp light my mind wanders back to June. I hope that I'll see her again soon and that she'll be able to answer some of my questions, even if she had don't quite the opposite today. But then I have an idea. If she isn't willing to share that much about herself, I could always ask the Elector when I go to visit him in a few days. June can't keep her secrets forever.

After all, how bad could it be?

. . .

A/N: Hey! Sorry I couldn't update last weekend I was crazy busy. I hope that you all enjoy this chapter; it took me a while to write. I enjoy writing in June's perspective more just because there's more happening on that side of the story at the moment. I hope that you all enjoy what's going on so far!

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