Evenings were usually spent either with Hall—or Chloe as she kept insisting Clarke call her—or Clarence. When he could, Clarke would check in on Clarence. He had taken to his new chance at life quickly and enthusiastically. He had gotten used to carrying around his textbooks while mopping the floor. Clarke would give the young man short quizzes, testing to see what Clarence had learned. He had a remarkable retention rate and would continue studying beyond his shift hours, spending hours with his nose in a book. Chloe said that if he kept at it, one day, he might be able to go from janitor to doctor.

“What were the causes of World War One?” Clarke asked.

“Uh…” Clarence thought, pushing his broom down the hall. “The assassination of… Archduke… Frederick? No, Ferdinand!”

“Because?”

“Because of Austria-Hungary’s rule over Serbia.”

“You’re forgetting the decades of trade and growing nationalism between the great powers prior to that.”

“Hey, give me a break! This stuff is hard!” Clarence said, angrily sweeping a styrofoam cup. “Besides, Doctor Hall said I could be a doctor here if I worked at it. Why would I need to know a bunch of stuff that happened almost a century ago?”

“Because anyone who truly wants to can study to become a doctor. It takes direction and experience to be able to develop knowledge on your own.”

“And learning history does that for me?”

“Yes. And history is one of my favorite topics.”

Time with Chloe was usually spent eating together in the cafeteria between shifts. The two of them would wax philosophically, often disagreeing in civil debate, or simply retelling stories. Chloe had led a difficult life, working as a full-time student in medical school while working part-time to pay for classes. Even ten years later, she was still in massive debt to her student loans. Still, having Clarke around was a nice reprieve. It gave her something to think about aside from work and her patients. Chloe liked to comment that Clarke’s presence helped calm her down in a stressful job in a stressful city.

To Clarke, a chance at dinner with Chloe gave him something to look forward to throughout the day.

“Yes, it’s stressful,” Chloe said over a hot bowl of tomato soup. “But sometimes, just having someone say ‘thanks for doing your job’ is all it takes.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Clarke said. “I haven’t had a regular job in over eighty years.”

“Oh? What did you do?”

“Coal miner. I worked with some good men in the dark mines of Welbeck. It was a good job, produced millions of tonnes of coal, and I was able to save plenty of men in the more unstable parts of the mine.”

“You look like you enjoyed it,” Chloe said, pointing out Clarke’s smile. “What happened though? Why did you stop?”