Gadina laid on the bed silently, flipping through the catalogue she had about apartments for sale. She brought it back with her the last time she went into the city with Hanister. It was also what she had been looking for一 an apartment of her own.

She dropped the catalogue and lied back down. Ten minutes before the lights would be off. She stared at the bed frame of the upper bunk, anticipating the arrival of the night. The bed frame still looked the same as usual. Only after looking at the same exact bed frame for countless times will you be able to distinguish it from the other bed frames. For instance, the scratches on top, the pattern, how much it had faded and how it felt.

Nothing's changed.

Gadina told herself. At least it looked the same as yesterday. And yesterday looked the same as the day before that. She didn't quite understand why she was thinking about pointless things like this. Perhaps it was another type of withdrawal symptoms.

However, she had gradually stopped smoking before sleep or during early morning. In relative terms, she had been staying in bed waiting for the lights to go out more.

The piece of bed frame matched her remembrance, but the person laying on top didn't. Gadina flipped around, switching her position. Her eyes landed on the lower bunk of another bed. The lights were still on, yet Sally had already been sound asleep.

She watched Sally whilst thinking about Hanister.

Why do I care about her?

Ever since their last vacation had ended, she had been different. To be specific, she had changed ever since the last half of their training session began.

She was still herself, but compared to the past, Hanister had grown more focused and invested. As if something had suddenly captured her attention or she had found a new goal.

It was quite weird interpreting it like that, since she had always known why Hanister was here. So much so that on the first day they had met, she had stated her purpose in coming.

Perhaps it wasn't because she had found a new goal. It was just that her goal had become much clearer.

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Gadina recalled. If she were to refer to the entire training course as a race, the first half of it would be the time when contestants warm up and get to know each other. The second half, that was when the competition actually started.

The actual time when they started and sprinted.

She could still vividly remember the first time they had seen how the shells function, and the lesson where they learned how to operate a Shelling Bubble. The process that they called tuning. In all honesty, Hanister was a little behind the others in the beginning. She wasn't getting the hang of breathing patterns, and had only caught up after a few classes. Perhaps it was for this reason, she had felt nervous towards the upcoming concluding exam.

Gadina shifted her position once again. She had been wanting to ask her, but was not able to due to the fear of losing face. Given that in the past, she had always been the passive one. She never really needed to talk as Hanister would just go ahead and blabber.

Maybe I should ask her.

She thought about the current situation.

Hanister's shell-wielding performance might have been average, but she was outstanding with her control over the Shell Board. Even the instructors had referred to her as a talented Shell Boarder. Besides, there was no need for her to get worried over the exam. The exam results this time only concerns the order they would be enrolled into the troops, and most people wouldn't want to be the first to get sent off into a space station. The sooner they head over there would mean that they are getting closer to why they were training here originally — stepping into the battlefield to kill the enemies.

Even Gadina was going to throw the exam a little this time. This had been her original plan. If she could somehow put off the time when she needs to step to the frontline, why wouldn't she?

In short, as long as Hanister tries for even just a little, it shouldn't be hard for her to be enrolled in the first official batch of Chasers.

However, this could potentially not be what she was worrying about. It might have just been due to stress, worries over her family, or some other unknown reasons. Gadina sighed. Why was she concerned about all this for her anyway?

She stared at the pitch-black dorm room, recalling what she had said to Gordon a couple of months ago. She had indeed started caring for Hanister after being with her for a couple of months. It was only that the care she had wasn't enough to the point where she would accompany her through fire and water.

After all, they were only temporary friends who had crossed their paths. Like a shooting star that had tumbled across the night sky. It could vanish in a blink of an eye.

Soon.

Gadina told herself and slowly closed her eyes.

Soon we'll be on our own journeys.