I was glad to put my bag back in the locker. I heard Gilpatrick walking away, raising his voice to shout orders.

I used fingernails to comb my hair back, then began braiding it. I had to look in the mirror to make sure I’d gotten all of the stray strands.

Hi me, I thought, as I made eye contact.

How to describe that feeling? Something resembling relief and a sinking feeling at the same time. It was a small feeling but still one that I would carry with me for the rest of the day. That day would be a little bit worse because of the moment, but it would feel more stable for the reminder, too.

I had a good two years of experience to draw from, in figuring that out.

I’d stopped braiding my hair, I realized, and I’d started holding my breath without realizing it. I exhaled, closed the safe, spun the dial, closed the locker, and walked out onto the floor of the building, resuming the braiding of my hair.

Forward. Breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. Moving on with the day.

I caught up with Jasper as he joined the group.

“I’m driving, apparently,” Jasper said, wangling the keys in front of me. “And keeping you company. Gilpatrick explained the situation.”

“Good,” I said. I pointed in the direction of the bus. We started walking.

“You’re friends?” one of the new guys asked.

Still braiding, I looked over at Jasper. “Enhh.”

“You can tell she’s really diplomatic,” Jasper said.

“Work friends, kind of?” I said.

“We don’t hang out,” Jasper said. “I’m not sure what we’d do if we did. We don’t have anything in common.”

“We got stuck together for jobs and errands enough times we became familiar with each other,” I said. “We get on okay. Jasper’s cool. Just don’t ask him about the tattoo.”

“Tattoo?” someone asked.

“I’ll explain when we’re driving,” Jasper said, smiling.

We reached the bus. It wasn’t pretty. A half-size school bus, rust had been mostly scrubbed away and it had received a paint job in black with white sides. The emergency exit at the back had been redone so it was the main way in and out, and a passenger seat had been added at the front. There was an area for supplies and bags to be stowed between the wheels at the right side.