If I knew the way to less alone

Then it wouldn't sink me like a stone

Find the words to save

I wasn't born to fade

-Everyone Is Gonna Love Me Now by Ingrid Michaelson

"Guess what," Reggie said, plopping her tray down across from Kate. "I have not one, but two great pieces of news."

"Oh, yeah?" Kate asked as she watched her friend sit down in front of her.

"I just applied for an open position for the new top secret lab."

"What?" Kate asked, surprised by the abrupt news.

"I know, it's not really a top secret lab when everyone knows about it, but I heard they're working on some kind of special bomb that is suppose to be what wins the war. Annnd, I also heard because of that, they pay better than those working the line by a whole quarter."

"But you would just leave the blue shift?"

Reggie looked up from her plate at Kate's somber tone.

"I'd still be on the blue shift. I would just be working in a different section and have longer hours."

Kate gave her a skeptical look.

"And with better pay…" Reggie added. "Did I mention the better pay?"

Kate pushed the cold peaches around on her plate.

"Look, I don't know about you, but I don't plan to be working in a factory forever. This war isn't going to last forever and when it ends, I have big plans of my own."

"You do?" Kate asked, looking up intrigued.

"Yeah, I want to be a writer," She beamed. "I want to be the next Tolstoy or Austen. To write the next great novel and inspire the generations to come with my words and sweet subtle subtext."

Kate smiled warmly at the younger girls' enthusiasm.

"Don't you have dreams that don't consist of this dank war machine?"

Kate nodded. "Singing. I'd love to make a go at it singing."

"You got the pipes for it," Reggie said. "So see, I'll write a best seller and you'll top the charts with your voice as well."

"Sounds like a great plan, except for one thing," Kate said, sighing. "…I'll miss you terribly if you aren't working the line anymore."

"Well, see you haven't asked me about the other great piece of news that I have."

"Okay, then. Out with it, Tonto."

"They have another opening in the lab and I've put a good word in for you."

"What?" Kate asked, surprised once more.

"It'll be perfect," Reggie explained. "We'll still get to work together and we'll be doing something that is actually going to contribute to the war. It'll be better than the mind-numbing repetition brigade of the line."

"It's not so bad," Kate mumbled. "And we do make a difference. We all do our part, no matter how small it is."

Reggie regarded her friend for a moment. "Yeah, I know. It's just… what does the line have to offer you now?"

Reggie's gentle question struck a chord with Kate. She knew what the other girl was getting at.

"I'll think about it," She finally offered as she stood up with her tray and made her way to the disposal area. She wasn't sure she was ready to leave the line yet. It would mean she wouldn't be on the floor with her friends. She would have longer hours and would no longer take the same lunch breaks with them. Something about that seemed wrong to her. She already missed them enough when she was standing in the same room, what would it be like when she didn't even have that anymore?

As she made her way across the canteen, she passed Vera and Marco as they smiled and quietly chatted while eating lunch together. Vera reached over and placed a hand on top of Marco's as he made some corny joke, making Kate smile at the tenderness.

Kate looked to Lorna as she passed her mentor standing by the door, looking over her crew while holding a coffee cup in hand and talking with Mr. Atkins. Lorna nodded to the older man as they discussed the production time being lower than ever.

Finally, as Kate stopped and sorted the plastic utensils from her tray and placed them in their respective conservation barrels, she let herself look over to Betty and Gladys' table. Carol sat by Gladys as the two chatted on what Kate presumed to be about hairstyles as Carol held her hair up behind her, showing off some style she surely saw in one of her magazines. Gladys smiled and nodded as she offered advice while tucking stray strands behind Carol's plastic hair clip.

Betty's laughter caught Kate's attention and her eyes fell onto the blonde sitting just to the left of Gladys. Betty's shoulders shook as she laughed at something Arlene had said across from her. The corners of Kate's mouth twitched upwards as the warm sound reminded her of a time that seemed like a lifetime ago. When she use to sit across from Betty and was lucky enough to play the composer of that same a beautiful sound. The sound was so bittersweet now. Lovely to hear, even as she stood outside the moment, but also tortuous to know she couldn't hear it more often.

It was also the last reminder that her friends had moved on. They all had lives and friends of their own to get them through the day. She could stand all day in the same room and they wouldn't need her to make their lives any better. Not anymore. Maybe it was time for something different for her as well.

"Reggie?" She asked, coming back up to the other girl's table. "So you say this lab job pays more?"

Reggie looked up and smiled at her friend.

"You ready to do something other than being a spot on the line?"

Kate nodded and answered simply.

"I'm ready to do something more."