remarked brightly, twirling her fork in a plate of chow mein. “I got a
little nervous when Alice Gallow decided to take you for a walk.”
“You and me both,” Alex
admitted. “I’ve had more pleasant experiences.”
“Anything you survive,
right?” Katya returned her attention to whatever she and Haley had been
discussing before his arrival. “So, Neal really asked you out? Like, right
there, in the control room?”
Haley blushed and
nodded, politely finishing a forkful of string beans before she answered.
“Yes. Like two minutes
after I recovered from my trance. There were at least ten other people in the
room, all experienced support staff. I’m sure they all heard it, too.”
“Oh my God.”
“Yeah.”
“That is...what the hell
was he thinking?”
“I don’t know,” Haley
said, shrugging helplessly. “We haven’t even really talked or anything. I
barely even know anything about him. I don’t know if I did something to give
him the idea, but it was super-embarrassing.”
Alex didn’t know Neal
very well either, except that he had been one of the many objects of Emily
Muir’s pity. The telepath was deeply socially awkward, and had a painful and
alienating tendency to blurt out the private contents of other people’s
thoughts, particularly when he noticed them lying. He seemed to think that this
was helpful, or at least morally upright, behavior. That was half of the
equation.
Haley Weathers was the
other half. Alex knew her vaguely, through her friendship with Sarah – who had
only recently forgiven him for his role in Emily Muir’s defection – but he had
the same opinion of her that everyone else did: Haley Weathers was incredibly
nice. Pretty, as well, in a sort of hybrid hippie-surfer fashion that reminded
Alex vaguely of experiences in high school and didn’t really do much for him.
Despite that, he had to admit that she was endearing in her apparently genuine
desire to look after the well-being and happiness of the people around her.
This sort of disposition, to a certain kind of lonely and socially maladjusted
guy, could appear flirtatious. And Neal Blum was very much that sort of guy. It
was a train wreck waiting to happen, and apparently it just had.
“Ugh. I bet.”
“Not that he’s a bad person
or anything,” Haley added hurriedly. “It’s just that, well, he’s not exactly my
type. And it was a really bad time.”
That went without
saying. Haley’s body remained at headquarters when she employed her Astral
Protocol, her ephemeral form accompanying the Auditors on the mission. Alex had
witnessed her waking up from her trance state a few times during the Program,
and prolonged sessions seemed to leave her profoundly disoriented.
“No kidding. What an
asshole,” Katya exclaimed, rolling her eyes. “Doing that shit when you’re on
the clock. You should complain to Rebecca.”
“Oh, I don’t think that’s
necessary,” Haley said, obviously flustered. “I don’t want to get anyone in
trouble.”
“Of course you don’t,”
Katya grumbled. “And that’s the whole problem.”
Alex was inclined to
agree. Haley and Sarah, along with a girl named Rachel that he barely knew, constituted
the female block of the stoner scene at the Academy – complete with an
affection for beaded jewelry, vintage clothes, and dubstep. Her disposition
seemed uniquely at odds with an assignment to Audits, but Alex figured she had
her reasons.
Of course, if Haley
hadn’t possessed a maintenance worker several days earlier and engineered the
equipment failure during their operation at the Anathema base in China, then
the whole mission would have failed, so Alex had no complaints. Whatever else
the girl might be, she was capable.
“What does that mean?”
“It means you’re a
pushover, girl,” Katya said, slurping up a noodle. “Why not just tell him off
and get it over with?”
“That’s…”
“What?”
“Not nice. I’m sure Neal
means well.”
Katya arched an
little nervous when Alice Gallow decided to take you for a walk.”
“You and me both,” Alex
admitted. “I’ve had more pleasant experiences.”
“Anything you survive,
right?” Katya returned her attention to whatever she and Haley had been
discussing before his arrival. “So, Neal really asked you out? Like, right
there, in the control room?”
Haley blushed and
nodded, politely finishing a forkful of string beans before she answered.
“Yes. Like two minutes
after I recovered from my trance. There were at least ten other people in the
room, all experienced support staff. I’m sure they all heard it, too.”
“Oh my God.”
“Yeah.”
“That is...what the hell
was he thinking?”
“I don’t know,” Haley
said, shrugging helplessly. “We haven’t even really talked or anything. I
barely even know anything about him. I don’t know if I did something to give
him the idea, but it was super-embarrassing.”
Alex didn’t know Neal
very well either, except that he had been one of the many objects of Emily
Muir’s pity. The telepath was deeply socially awkward, and had a painful and
alienating tendency to blurt out the private contents of other people’s
thoughts, particularly when he noticed them lying. He seemed to think that this
was helpful, or at least morally upright, behavior. That was half of the
equation.
Haley Weathers was the
other half. Alex knew her vaguely, through her friendship with Sarah – who had
only recently forgiven him for his role in Emily Muir’s defection – but he had
the same opinion of her that everyone else did: Haley Weathers was incredibly
nice. Pretty, as well, in a sort of hybrid hippie-surfer fashion that reminded
Alex vaguely of experiences in high school and didn’t really do much for him.
Despite that, he had to admit that she was endearing in her apparently genuine
desire to look after the well-being and happiness of the people around her.
This sort of disposition, to a certain kind of lonely and socially maladjusted
guy, could appear flirtatious. And Neal Blum was very much that sort of guy. It
was a train wreck waiting to happen, and apparently it just had.
“Ugh. I bet.”
“Not that he’s a bad person
or anything,” Haley added hurriedly. “It’s just that, well, he’s not exactly my
type. And it was a really bad time.”
That went without
saying. Haley’s body remained at headquarters when she employed her Astral
Protocol, her ephemeral form accompanying the Auditors on the mission. Alex had
witnessed her waking up from her trance state a few times during the Program,
and prolonged sessions seemed to leave her profoundly disoriented.
“No kidding. What an
asshole,” Katya exclaimed, rolling her eyes. “Doing that shit when you’re on
the clock. You should complain to Rebecca.”
“Oh, I don’t think that’s
necessary,” Haley said, obviously flustered. “I don’t want to get anyone in
trouble.”
“Of course you don’t,”
Katya grumbled. “And that’s the whole problem.”
Alex was inclined to
agree. Haley and Sarah, along with a girl named Rachel that he barely knew, constituted
the female block of the stoner scene at the Academy – complete with an
affection for beaded jewelry, vintage clothes, and dubstep. Her disposition
seemed uniquely at odds with an assignment to Audits, but Alex figured she had
her reasons.
Of course, if Haley
hadn’t possessed a maintenance worker several days earlier and engineered the
equipment failure during their operation at the Anathema base in China, then
the whole mission would have failed, so Alex had no complaints. Whatever else
the girl might be, she was capable.
“What does that mean?”
“It means you’re a
pushover, girl,” Katya said, slurping up a noodle. “Why not just tell him off
and get it over with?”
“That’s…”
“What?”
“Not nice. I’m sure Neal
means well.”
Katya arched an
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