Survival Of The Fittest

Licenses and permits. Permits and licenses.

Gear?

Goddamn. Morgan really wished he had thought this through a bit more.

((Morgan Dragosavich continued from Walk on the Wild Side))

Sitting in the George Hunter High library, Morgan Dragosavich sat at a table on the first floor, a book in front of him detailing potential hazards in the Winnepesaukah Caverns, and another that was more of a guide-book, detailing various kinds of spelunking equipment and what it was used for. Ordinarily, Morgan was more of a 'fly by the seat of his pants' kind of guy, but since he'd roped a couple of his friends in to this and it was for actual marks, some preparation would have to be done. Scrawling a note in his notebook that sat to the side of the other two books on the table, he frowned.

His penmanship sucked.

Making a concerted effort to clean up the messy scrawl as he wrote the next note, he felt his brain starting to gloss over a bit. He still had to call the permit office and get approval for a small trip into the caverns. Mrs. Yan had been very clear on making sure to do things properly, and if everything somehow managed to go off without a hitch but they ended up being guilty of trespassing, that might not look great to the powers that be.

Originally, he'd gone to his Mom with a bit of a hope that she'd take over and make the phone calls for him, but she'd seen right through him and had ended up giving him a lecture on how he needed to learn how to do things for himself if he ever expected to do well in college. Asking his father would have been an exercise in futility; Radko would inevitably have just told him to stop being ridiculous and to just write the damned research paper like everyone else.

Thanks, Dad. Way to be an asshole.

So here he sat, planning everything out as best he could. His friends would absolutely be of help in this, but there was something about presenting them with a feasible, well-thought plan that Morgan figured might surprise them. This whole scheme had been a half-cooked idea that he'd been joking about with Mikey a week or two prior, but until he'd rolled by the caves one afternoon on his bicycle, it hadn't really been a serious thought.

And here it was, a half-formed idea.

The other problem that presented itself was recruitment. Mikey'd be easy enough, he was always going on about sea life, cave critters, and the enthusiasm he'd seen in his friend's eyes when he'd brought it up was enough to know that there was no problem there. One slight issue might be with Erika. He'd texted her a very loose "hey wanna go check out the caves?" and she'd replied in the affirmative, but he hadn't mentioned that it was for marks, or that she'd need to take some photos.

He would probably need to let her in on that - sooner, rather than later. Whoops.

The final problem laid in finding a fourth person to round out their merry crew. Morgan had been thinking of people in his science class that he could ask. A lot of kids had already started their research papers, and so that precluded them from joining in as they wouldn't want to have wasted the effort. Morgan surmised that he could always ask Wyatt Carter to join them, but he could also dip his testicles in a deep-fryer and he'd probably have more fun with the latter.

What he could really use would be someone with access to a car. Lugging equipment on a bicycle wasn't ideal, and it'd be better for them all to go together. He wasn't sure that Mikey or Erika had cars, either. So who the hell could he grab from class who wasn't a rich asshole or a gloomy-gus dirtbag?

Maybe that one kid with the old Mustang? He seemed like a nice enough guy, and Morgan didn't remember him hanging out with anyone egregiously offensive. Johan? Jordan? Jonah?

Jonah.

That was it. He'd have to figure out where to find that kid.

He scrawled another note into his notebook, and then leaned back, taking a look around the library. He'd been sitting here for ages. Sitting still wasn't exactly his strong point, so this had been the struggle of all time. Maybe someone would appear and he could shatter the eerie silence that coated the library.

Or at least give him a reason to stop staring at books.

Ugh.

Yuki Hayashibara- Pregame Start

Yuki always loved coming to the library. It was a quiet enough place for her. That's why it was such an ideal place for her studying and tutoring sessions. It was her safe haven, away from the noise of the hallways and cafeteria. It was always there just in case she needed to think more clearly.

Yuki entered the library, book in hand. She was going to spend this lunch period like she usually did: reading. She walked to the front desk and slipped the book into the return box. The book was a copy of Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials. She was in search of Maze Runner: The Death Cure, the third book in the series. She had gotten into the series back in 2014 when the first book's movie adaptation was released and wanted to see if the books differed from the films.

The library was quiet, as usual. Aside from the one or two other students, it felt like the first floor was deserted. She searched the rows of shelves for the book. The books are arranged alphabetically, by author's name. However, she couldn't remember if they were alphabetized by first or last name. So, Yuki started her search under D's. She searched thoroughly for the desired letter and quickly came across it near the front of the first row of shelves. Her next step was to look for the name Dashner. However, she could not see the author's name on any of the books. Yuki moved onto the next aisle of shelves, scanning through the J's.

The library was quiet, boring. Normally, that was enough to keep Alton away, but once in a while he was drawn nonetheless by the whims of whim. Sometimes he even came to read or study.

Not today, of course. It was lunch, but Alton wasn't hungry; he might stop for a bite on the way home, maybe give a friend a ride, maybe treat them to a burger. Maybe he'd just do his own thing. It really all depended on how he felt, and right now he felt not introverted but in the mood for the company of introverts, that sort of serious and intense quality of actually listening to people that they had, and that was what had him cruising through the shelves, surveying those around him. There was little Yuki, one of the Japanese triplets, the smart one, he thought. She looked like she was looking for something, maybe something she couldn't find, maybe something she hadn't yet decided on.

"Hey, Yuki," Alton said as he passed close to her. "Finding everything okay?"

He didn't stop, though, just kept on moving right past her towards another figure he'd caught sight of just as he spoke. Yuki could turn and come along if she felt like chatting—actually, she'd be more or less dragged along in his wake if she even wanted to be polite and simply return his acknowledgement—and Alton could also approach his other target. That was efficiency, multitasking.

The boy who'd drawn his eye was off at a table, surrounded by books and looking around like a prisoner checking if the coast was clear to start tunneling out of his cell with a rusty spoon. Morgan was interesting, interesting indeed, the sort of guy who wasn't really about sitting around and letting nothingness creep up and engulf a day. Alton didn't think of him as an introvert, but he was discovering that maybe he didn't need introverts after all, or maybe Yuki would do, lending some balance to the whole situation. They'd be an unlikely trio. That was a ringing endorsement.

"Hey hey, Morgan," Alton said, coming to a stop behind a chair at Morgan's table. Alton rested his hand on the back of the chair, drummed on the headrest by rolling his fingers over it with a rattle louder than the voice he spoke in. "What's got you so studious?"

Something had to be brewing, after all. Alton was pretty sure Morgan was even less prone to the silent stillness of academia than he himself.

"Alton, hey!"

Morgan's response was louder than it should have been, and he knew it before the words were even out of his mouth. A stern-looking middle-aged library assistant shot him a dirty glare, and his hands immediately rose with embarrassment. Mouthing an apology her to her, Morgan turned back to his saviour.

"Whoops, shit. Right... library, quiet, et cetera."

His saviour - maybe an overdramatic way to characterize it, but it was a reason to stop looking at what the best selection of carabiners would be for the varying types of sedimentary rock found in Tennessee, and other such crazy shit that he probably didn't need to know. Wasn't like he was planning a journey to the centre of the Earth or anything.

Though that would be super cool.

Rubbing his eyes, he looked at the textbooks laid out in front of him. Alton wasn't in his class, so he didn't see the harm in sharing his grand plan. Besides, he was a pretty good guy, and if push came to shove, maybe he'd chum along for the hell of it if he didn't have anything to do. Everything was more fun in groups.

"Yeah, I... um..." Where to even start? "We've got this research paper to do for Mrs. Yan's class, and I'm not really feeling it. So I was thinking about it, and since I've been meaning to go wandering around the caves before tourist season..."

Morgan trailed off, his eyes caught on the girl looking through the shelves to the rear of Alton. One of the Hayashibara sisters, it seemed. She was cute, too - hell, they all were. The problem was, once upon a time in tenth grade, he'd asked one of them out.

He just couldn't remember which one.

Whoops.

His attention turning back to Alton, he blushed a little, and tried to drag his train of thought back upon the tracks and away from the girl hovering around behind Alton.

"... um, right. So, um, caves. I managed to talk Mrs. Yan into letting a couple of us skip out on the research paper if we went into the caves and did like, a photo essay. Categorize the species we find, take a few pictures, maybe we'll get lucky and find a fossil?"

Morgan flashed a cheshire-cat grin at Alton. He couldn't resist.

"Not that we need any more with Mr. McLellan waddling around, but hey."

Allowing himself a chuckle at the expense of the school's less-than-popular history teacher, he continued.

"Only thing was that Mrs. Yan told me that I had to plan things out. Find safety gear, make sure that I had a group with me... apparently I need a permit for liability purposes? There's all kinds of shit that I have to do." He grimaced. "At this point it might have been easier to just write the paper."

Shrugging, he slammed one of the textbooks shut with a flourish, earning another glare from the library assistant.

"Wouldn't be as fun, though. What're you up to; this is your lunch period, isn't it? Kind of a shitty spot to eat lunch. You can't make any noise!"

His voice raised slightly, for the benefit of the woman at the counter more than anything. Childish? Maybe, but it wasn't like this was a tomb, it was a library. Welcome to the 21st century, where people actually talked to one another.

Jeez.

Somebody had greeted Yuki as she was browsing the shelves, which took her by surprise. It was Alton Gerow, whom she recognized from math class.

"Oh! Hey," Yuki softly responded, "I'm just looking for a book."

Alton kept on walking towards Morgan, while she continued her search. She hadn't found the third Maze Runner book. In what could only be described as a cruel joke, all of the Maze Runner series was on the shelf, except the third book. Disappointed, Yuki walked away and followed to where Alton was heading. Yuki didn't want to read a book series out of order. If she skipped a book, she'd probably be lost in context or spoiled by new plot developments. She like to experience stories in a way that felt natural. Well, now she had to put off reading the next book until it was returned to the school library, or until she could find and rent it from the public library.

Alton seemed like a nice person. Smart too. If there was anyone she could talk to right now, Alton wasn't the worst option. At least she was somewhat familiar with him. As for Morgan, she had science class with him and has heard of him being a class clown. Other than that, she hasn't talked to him much. She was more of a bookworm than a science geek. She approached the table where Morgan had raised his voice. Apparently, from what she heard, Morgan was planning on going to the caves and doing a photo essay. That sounds like an interesting, yet also risky, alternative to a research paper. The only times she'd explore a cave was during one of her Dungeons and Dragons sessions. Yuki wasn't sure how she'd fair in an actual cave exploration.

"Hey, so, do either of you know if the library has a copy of the third Maze Runner book?"

"Sometimes I'd rather break the silence than add to the noise," Alton told Morgan, in response to the boy's query as to his purpose in the library. It was as good an answer as any and better than most. "And I'm not familiar with the series, but we'd be glad to help you look, right, Morgan?"

This latter comment was aimed mostly at Yuki, who had sure enough come along for the ride. Alton could of course already answer her to some extent: whether or not there was a copy of the book in the library's possession, if it wasn't on the proper shelves then it was checked out, misfiled, or sitting in the return bin waiting to be put back out. Yuki was smart, but sometimes smart people could lose track of the details like this, and that was when they needed a little injection of reality to set them back on track. Alton could help with that. Searching for a book wasn't particularly interesting on its own, but this particular combination held some appeal, the pursuit of a task that would let Alton at the same time secure further details from Morgan while also avoiding the wrath of the library assistants by virtue of having a legitimate purpose.

"The caves, huh?" he said, turning his attention back to Morgan even as he pushed off the chair again, the casual motion of his hand—light enough not to budge the chair a millimeter—granting him imaginary momentum, taking a couple steps back in the direction Yuki had come from. "That sounds cool. Essays are awful. Wonder if I could get Zhang to waive some homework for a project."

The idea held appeal at least as much as an excuse to set off on an adventure as to bolster his grades. Alton wasn't broken up about occasional dark spots in his academic record, especially when it came to science class, and he had some very accommodating volunteer tutors who were willing to help him through most of the grunt work in any case. Besides that, Caroline was an easy grader, always peppy and charming and good for a chat, willing to grant an extension here and there as long as he took lab safety seriously. Alton took lab safety seriously; he actually kind of liked the air the goggles gave him, and he'd never mess around with chemicals with a teacher in the room.

That science teacher need for safety was apparently Morgan's stumbling block at the moment. The boy had to get together equipment and permits, which sounded like a great way to ruin a fun excursion. Alton wasn't sure exactly what equipment was required, but he was imaging a mix of the intriguing (hardhats, headlamps, rope) and the stifling (non-slip boots, fluorescent vests, parental chaperones). He supposed sacrifices had to be made for the sake of receiving school-sanctioned reward, but where was the joy without spontaneity?

Alton mused for a moment. How would he have approached this sort of thing? And there it was, a flash of inspiration: take the trip first, play it out how he liked to handle such things, then ask permission and negotiate towards what he'd already done. Fake any details that didn't align.

Searching through the shelves? Hell yeah. Just the excuse he needed to get out of the stiff library chair. Nodding at Alton and whichever Hayashibara sister was sifting through the stacks, he smirked and shot them both a thumbs up. "Totes. Let's tear this place apart."

With two hands on the edge of the table, Morgan slowly pulled himself to his feet, wincing slightly as he felt his spine and some of his joints pop. He really had been sitting at the desk for longer than he was usually able to sit still, and the sedentary nature of research didn't agree with him - in any facet of his being. Stretching his neck a little, he walked over to the two as they ventured further into the library, leaving his books and bag splayed out on the desk.

"I hope so. I'm just so sick of the same old boring crap, month after month. Essay here, project there..." He glanced at the stacks, scanning the numbers to see if he could decipher the filing system. "... I always thought senior year was supposed to be a little bit more interesting, y'know?"

That was a broad generalization, one that he didn't necessarily mean. As far as life went, things were pretty good for Morgan. He had decent grades, his family lived a pretty comfortable life, and the weather hadn't been horrible. With college on the horizon, Morgan had been really focusing on trying to, well - focus, and make sure his grades stayed at an acceptable level. His father had been laying into Morgan recently about studying for the SATs, which sounded about as fun as multiple root canals.

So the hell with it! Less studying, more poking around in dark caverns.

Continuing to scan the shelves, Morgan's eyes lit up as he found what looked to be the Maze Runner series of books - naturally with all available but the third volume. Naturally. Barely stifling a chuckle, he turned to his peers and thumbed back at the stack. "In typical George Hunter library fashion, we have absolutely everything here, except the book that you're looking for!"

That was a presumption on his part, really. Morgan wasn't really one to sit down and read a whole lot of fiction, and so couldn't say with any true certainty whether or not the facilities were good for borrowing books or not. Missing an opportunity to crack wise, however, was not something that Morgan would ever do.

Search momentarily stifled, he relished in the opportunity to communicate with living beings rather than musty old books. Or clean, crisp textbooks for that matter. Maybe that was why he never came in here. It didn't feel enough like a library. Weren't they supposed to be old, dark, and full of character? Sporting dark nooks and crannies with ancient tomes, and maybe even a spider-web or two? Weren't libraries supposed to come with at least one secret passageway?

He'd been watching way too much Netflix lately.

"Have you guys ever been out to the caves? My whole idea is pretty much an excuse to go poking around out there." He smiled. "Gotta do it before we all head off to college and get stuck in some big city, anyway."

"I figured. Well, thanks for helping me double check."

It was nice of Morgan and Alton to help her look again for the book. Still no luck, but she appreciated them setting aside their time. Morgan continued to explain why he'd like to go exploring caves for his project. It's understandable that he'd want to break up the monotony of daily life and go searching through caverns. Although, Yuki would rather search through the cavernous library shelves than an actual cavern. However, Yuki did know someone who did something similar. Her friend Lucas Diaz was an urban explorer, but she wasn't sure if he'd like exploring a cave rather than exploring abandoned buildings.

"I don't think I'd be brave enough to explore any caves," she answered Morgan, "I'd much prefer to stay close to home."

Surely Morgan would have opportunities during his college years to go exploring in caves. Maybe during holiday breaks and weekend vacations. Speaking of college, Yuki wondered what courses she'd have to take in order to make a career as a writer. What kind of college would she have to attend? A technical school or a university? Also, where would this college be located. Could she stand to be away from her family if it's out of state?

Perhaps there was a point to Morgan's word. It is good to enjoy your youth before having to enter the real world.

"What are you going to go to college for?," Yuki asked Morgan.

"Mm, I get you," Alton said to show he was listening to Morgan's complaints about how uninteresting senior year was. He sort of got it, or he got what he thought Morgan actually meant: school was as always what you made of it, and if you coasted and played by the rules then it was tedious because it was designed to work for everyone, but with "work for" defined as "pull up to a basic level of proficiency sufficient to pass the standardized tests." What worked to teach Wyatt Carter long division was surely tedious drudgery for Yuki. George Hunter wasn't a bad school (Alton knew bad schools; he'd resigned himself to the tails-or-tails coin toss that was Hobbsborough or Bathurst), but it had its flaws, especially if you were a good bit brighter than average.

"I haven't gone to the caves yet," he added. "Sounds like fun."

He let the rest of the exchange flow around him like a stream diverted by a stone.

It was a shame that Yuki wasn't the sort for adventure, but he could understand that; different people liked different things. That was the beauty of people, really. Sometimes Alton would spend some real time with some homebody freshman and find out that they were the state champion of Chinese Checkers or something. Whoa, he'd say, I didn't even know there were championships for that sort of thing. Then he'd get to learn all about it, how there's some huge board game resurgence going on but a lot of it's different from the classics, how Scrabble players are all nuts, how even a small niche could be a lot more populated than he'd expect. He'd learn the game, get stomped a few times, maybe go to some tournament and marvel at the little intricacies, the subculture's rules and norms, the ways an alpha board-gamer was different from an alpha footballer and the more myriad ways in which they were very much alike. Then, when it got old, he'd move on. He'd say hello to his friend and keep up from time to time but drift on towards something a little more his style.

"We can also put a hold on the book," he said to Yuki, after she finished her query to Morgan. "Then when it comes back, they'll save it for you. It also might be in the back somewhere, if it was just returned."

He waved vaguely in the direction of the front desk and back offices with his left hand, but his eyes and his grin stayed fixed on his classmates.

Morgan blinked a few times at Yuki. College? Oh man. That was a loaded question. He'd put so much thought into where he'd want to move that wasn't Tennessee, but not very much into what he wanted to do. That was the simple answer, it barely scratched the surface of the truth of the matter.

"College? Oh, um."

The um spoke volumes. He shifted uncomfortably back and forth on the balls of his feet, and flicked through the shelves one more time as he danced around the question in his head. The subject of college applications had been one that had been popping up more and more in conversations with his friends and often he'd just dodge the question. To do so now would be rude, though, and it was an innocent enough ask. Besides, he'd been the one who'd brought up college. He turned back to Alton and Yuki and gave them an uncertain shrug.

"Something sciencey, it looks like. I- I'm not really sure yet."

He was saved from further explanation by Alton's diversion back to the case of the missing book, to which he nodded in agreement. The library staff were usually pretty helpful - that was, when they weren't shushing you or lurking about. Always lurking. His eyes glanced back towards the help desk for a moment. That library lady had it out for him, she always had. Always meeting his entry with a scowl.

He deserved it, of course, but still.

"All I know?" Morgan made an effort to lean back on the bookcase behind him. Leaning looked cool, and he sure didn't feel cool right now. This was a terrible idea, and several books shifted back, causing books on the other side of the shelf to tumble to the ground with a quiet thud. So much for the lean. Morgan straightened up, hoping nobody had noticed.

"I just want to get the hell out of Chattanooga. Maybe go and study somewhere cool. Like Italy. I could do Italy. Or Australia! They have huge, man-eating spiders!"

Naturally this was an exaggeration, but it served its purpose. Making a crack took him off the uncomfortable pedestal of his future plans and back onto an even keel. "What about you guys? I can't believe we're in senior year already, and everyone's gonna blast off in their own directions. You guys have your future all planned out yet?"

The last sentence was in air-quotes and with a put-upon, "adult" voice, but Morgan was genuinely curious. He knew most of his classmates probably had their shit together a little bit more than he did, but he was curious as to how much more. He'd bet money that Alton had a solid plan. A confident kid like him usually did.

"To be honest, I'm still looking into it," Yuki said to Morgan, " but I want to go somewhere that can prepare me for a career in writing."

Yuki had always enjoyed reading ever since she was a little kid. Naturally, that love of reading would inspire her to create her own stories. Stories which featured fantasy worlds and creatures like dragons, centaurs, mermaids, and the like. She also wouldn't mind stepping into the realm of science fiction sometimes.

Alton mentioned the library receptionist could hold onto the book Yuki was looking for once it was returned. That's when she realized she hadn't thought to ask the receptionist yet.

"That's a good idea," she said to Alton, "I'll check with the receptionist before I leave."

She paused, then spoke again.

"Do either of you atleast have ideas for your senior projects?", She asked both boys, " I was thinking of presenting a story idea I've had for a while now."

"My future?" Alton said. "My plan is no plans. Maybe college someday, maybe not."

He didn't bring up the reasons for his casual stance. Maybe the others knew, making a reminder come off as pointless or as gloating, and maybe they didn't, making an explanation awkward.

"I get getting out of here, though," he said. "I'm all about that. I'm thinking maybe I'll get into organized crime. I could pull together a project with gambling odds, play it off like it's just stats, get a head start."

The typical end of year projects weren't really Alton's style unless he could do something more interesting with them. Making posters was about half a step above gluing macaroni to construction paper. That was the sort of thing group work was for. Alton would often partner up with someone clever but perhaps not entirely socially astute. Then, the other person could handle the bulk of the research and composition, and Alton would take the reins come presentation time, smoothing over the script and bringing some dynamism to what would otherwise be boring droning.

"Writing, huh?" Morgan glanced at Yuki and raised an eyebrow. Writing certainly wasn't his favourite school-related activity, as evidenced by the steps he'd taken to try and get out of writing an essay. Still, if that was her bread-and-butter, power to her. His interests were mostly scientific, facts, hypotheses and the like.

Writing seemed too subjective.

"Is that something you can do in town, or are you gonna head out and explore the world?" A thought popped into his mind. "Plus, you've got your sisters, right? Are you guys gonna go and split up?"

Alton chimed in with his non-answer, leaving Morgan smirking at the boy's facetious quip. Crime, indeed. The guy certainly had the charisma of a crime-lord, but Morgan didn't figure the kid in front of him for the criminal mastermind sort. Especially when it came to violence.

Morgan suddenly realized that for all the times he'd chatted Alton up, he really didn't know much about him. Was he a violent person? He didn't think so, but... you never really knew sometimes. Morgan pushed the thought out of his head, and made a joke of it.

"Ladies and gentlemen, here we have before us... the next major crime lord in the United States. Coming to you directly from Chattanooga, Tennessee... Alton Gerow!" He grinned sheepishly as he remembered all-too-late to keep his voice down.

If he kept up like this, the library lady was going to have his head.

"I don't..." Major projects? Oh God, that's right. There were more classes than just science class. "Honestly, I hadn't really thought about it. This has kind of taken up all of my time. Maybe I'll... do a Powerpoint, or something?" He shrugged. One thing at a time was the motto of the week for Morgan right now, anyhow.

"I hope there is," Yuki answered Morgan.

Plus, you've got your sisters, right? Are you guys gonna go and split up?

She paused. After a brief moment of hesitation, she continued.

"Well, m-maybe," Yuki stuttered.

She hadn't even considered her sisters would want to go to different colleges. She hadn't had a chance to talk to them about it. Yuki kind of assumed they'd still be able to remain at each other's sides through college if the stayed in Chattanooga. She'd have to talk about it with them and their parents sometime later.

Exploring the world sounded like an epic adventure. More than Yuki could dream of. Though who's to say she needed to explore the whole world? She could just visit one country and take in the culture. Or take a trip around the United States and be done with it.  But either way, that would cost a lot of many to see so many places.

Yuki gave her attention back to Morgan.

"What will your Powerpoint be on?," Yuki asked.

"A PowerPoint has to really pop," Alton volunteered on Morgan's behalf. "Unless you're boring everyone on purpose so they don't realize you're bullshitting. I think it's good to sneak in some little jokes, make a few quick slide transitions to hide things. You ever see Fight Club?"

Alton wasn't too worried about having his name shouted around the library. He wasn't causing the scene himself, and he was pretty sure he could talk his way out of any trouble called down upon him in any event. And if that didn't work? Well, he wasn't doing anything here himself except socializing. It'd be no skin off his back were they forced to take it outside. He leaned back against the nearest shelf, casually, his back pressed against the books so lightly as to not budge them from their spots, his hands finding resting places on a lower shelf as he finished gesturing. He kept his gaze on the others, but more and more focused on Yuki.

What had his cogs turning was the girl's hesitation. Maybe she was sticking with her sisters? Maybe? Trying to sell them that line took some real guts. As far as Alton knew, acceptance letters were due to start rolling in any time now. Maybe he was wrong, since after all college was not on his radar at the moment, but he thought that everyone had had to finish applications some time over winter break. There were fees to be paid, endless forms to fill out, parents to involve, which was to say Alton was actually rather certain he wasn't wrong. So had Yuki really not spoken with her siblings about the whole thing?

His disbelief faded in an instant, however, never reaching his face, never entering his speech, which was instead focused on Morgan's predicament. The situation was obvious with a second's further thought. He'd noted it right when he saw Yuki. She was the smart one. Cast like that, it made a whole lot of sense that she might have beat around the bush when it came to college plans and her sisters.

She had a tough choice ahead of her if the other two didn't step up. What if she got into a good program and they didn't? She'd have to choose between staying with her family and doing what was best for her future. Would the other two feel pressured to rise to her example? Would she feel held back by them? Might there be some resentment bubbling within the triplet, or was Alton taking things too far, reading too much into a conversational nothing? That stammer, though, that had said something was unsaid. It didn't surprise him that Yuki would want to dodge such a potentially-turbulent topic in the company of those who were not her friends or confidantes. At the same time, a certain curiosity lingered and itched and mounted.