Max felt significantly lighter as she walked up the steps to Blackwell's front campus grounds. Chloe had believed her. The two girls had parted with the promise to meet up at Two Whales diner the following morning.

Dusk was falling and a few students were about preparing for the day's end. The lamp posts were lit and moths buzzed around them. Here and there a couple of fireflies flitted about. A familiar figure was seated at one of the campus tables. Max headed towards him gladly.

"Hi Alan," She greeted as she came close. The boy looked up from where he sat writing and Max was taken aback at the calculating apathetic look in his eyes. But it lasted for merely a moment before his usual pleasant countenance replaced it. Max passed it off as a lack of focus.

"Hey hosh. You look better than this morning. Did everything work out with your friend?"

"Yeah… I guess it did in a way," Max answered taking a seat opposite the Brit. "Chloe was pissed."

"Rightly so. You did ignore her for five years and delayed contacting her once you returned."

"I know… Chloe made sure I knew. She changed so much… been through so much. It's frightening to see how she turned out. I blame myself. If only I had contacted her when I left…" Max laid her arms on the table before resting her chin on the wood. "It was an insane day, Alan."

"I can imagine. Even I still can't fully accept that you can time travel. But you didn't arrive looking like a soggy cat so things couldn't have gone that badly."

"Chloe knows. I told her." Max confessed. Alan studied her for a moment before chuckling.

"I bet you had a dandy time getting her to believe you."

Max smiled wearily. "Yeah. She thought I was tripping."

"So how'd you do it?"

"I didn't. It was that freak snowfall that convinced her. Did you see it?"

"Of course. I think everybody here saw it."

"What do you make of it?"

Alan laid down his pencil with a thoughtful frown. "I don't really know, hosh. It happens the same day you get your powers, so coincidence perhaps? Or it could be the Military dicking around with their new weather control toy."

"They have something like that?" Max asked surprised.

"They have a lot of hidden technology, Max. And some, the common troops don't even know about."

"You said you were in the Army… what's your story? You said you'd tell me."

"I did, didn't I?" The Brit laid down his pencil and shifted himself into a more settled position. The papers on which he was writing he picked up and neatly stacked before putting them away into a folder. A crumpled roll of paper lay nearby and Max reached for it curiously when Alan snatched it with an almost startled air. She was left staring slightly frightened and bewildered as Alan stuffed the discarded paper into his jacket.

"Uh, I'm sorry… I didn't mean to pry."

"It's alright, Max," Alan hastened to say, seeing her timid demeanor, "Just something personal to me."

'You can always rewind time and distract him' her mind whispered eagerly but Max quickly shut it down. She couldn't deny she was curious to what Alan wanted to hide but she wasn't going to abuse her power on one of the few good friends she had. 'He won't even know. You can always rewind again and it never will have happened' her mind spoke again. Thankfully her unscrupulous thoughts were forced to recede as Alan spoke:

"Right, where was I… Yes, the Army. I remember nothing of my early childhood. I can't even remember how I survived. I was just a waif roaming the streets doing… trying to survive I reckon and then one day I found myself in front of a pub staring in through the open window. I was starving. If there's one thing I remember the most vividly during that day, it was that empty gaping ache in my stomach. That's when I met Sergeant Mendez. He was with some friends laughing it up inside when he looked in my direction. He said that back then, I was the most miserable ragged child he had ever seen."

Alan paused a moment and raised a hand. He stared at it reliving some memory and a chuckle escaped him. "I suppose I was… I was a living skeleton." He raised his eyes to meet Max who was gazing at him in shocked sympathy. "Hard to imagine ain't it? Seeing me now."

"That's…" Max couldn't find the words to express her feelings. Alan merely laughed and gave a wave of his hand.

"So he left his seat and came towards me." Alan continued the story. "I tried to run. Seeing this huge man heading towards me frightened me out of my wits. Of course it was useless. I collapsed before I even made five steps. He picked me up gently and ushered soothing words and brought me inside. The owner protested but one look and a few words silenced him."

"You know, Max," Alan said thoughtfully. "I take back what I said earlier about my hunger being the most vivid memory of that day. No, it was the steak, Mendez ordered for me. That steaming, juicy, fried, hot piece of meat just covered in some bubbling sauce… Oh Lord… I attacked it like a tiger." Alan's voice grew distant and longing as he recounted the scene, "and then one of Mendez's friends came back. On learning about me he took away my food, exclaiming that it was crazy to give me solid substance," - A chuckle - "I began wailing like a brat and the man was helpless on what to do. In the end I got my meat back. Mendez patted my head and declared that he was going to take me with him much to the shock of his companions. But there was no arguing with giant man. The few days that passed after that passed by in a confused blur. I was taken to a hospital and then to several other places and then finally to the airport. You see Mendez was US citizen serving in the Army and he was in England on leave visiting a close friend. Mendez took me back with him to his outfit. There was a general uproar but somehow against regulation I was allowed to live in the base. I pretty much became the pet of the whole camp."

"How old were you?" Max asked. Alan cupped his chin in thought.

"Don't rightly remember anymore, hosh. I don't think I was ten yet though. I literally grew up with the Army. Everyone there was like a family; a giant mix of fathers and brothers, if you count the officers, uncles as well. The Company's commanding officer took a great interest in ingraining the good old British qualities in me. Bloody Hell I don't even know what he meant to this day except call all Americans: Yanks. Tch-heh. Major McGuffin was his name. He was English by birth but he never felt at home there. The old chap ended up moving to the US and enlisting there. He also taught me proper language. He would have none of the swearing so often used by the grunts. Having grown up in the Army I naturally wanted to join it. I went through Boot Camp at fifteen. A fair bit of subtle threats, recommendations and finger twisting was made on my behalf but lo and behold, I did it; the youngest soldier to enlist and graduate in this age. I was assigned back to the outfit I grew up with. Everyone there welcomed me back joyously. McGuffin even ordered an orderly ceremony but the boys soon turned that into one riotous party."

Alan stopped speaking. Max was suddenly of how dark his face had become. Night had crept up on them unawares. The photographer shifted and looked about uneasily. It must be around 7 PM now. Technically it was curfew time and all students were required to be in their dormitories. The grounds were deserted though light still shone from the Academy. Still no official body was around and Max was curious to learn more about her friend.

"Wow, that sounds like a very interesting life."

Alan burst into laughter at her remark. "It does sound that way aye? But take it from someone whose experienced it; Army life is far from exciting. You're always taking orders and doing just about every maintenance and utility task you can imagine. And combat…" Alan's voice grew soft with something Max couldn't identify, "yeah combat is a relief from all that until you actually experience it."

"Di-did you…" Max ventured slowly.

"Did I fight?" Alan concluded her sentence. He gave her a look. "Yeah but not in the Iraqi War. My company was pulled from the official roster and integrated into a special Task Force. I saw my share of combat then. It's how I got this scar and why I am here now. I-..I wasn't…It was a shock for me. I lay bleeding and half comatose under some rubble."

Alan stared ahead; his gaze going past Max into nothingness. His voice grew flat as he recounted the memory. "Gunfire and screams and the hissing of our enemy and then someone was throwing the rubble off me. I momentarily regained enough focus to see Mendez frantically digging me out and shouting my name. He carried me away from the fighting. I spent a couple of weeks recovering from my injuries but… I needed time away to heal from what I experienced. I had severe mental trauma so Mendez requested leave for the both of us. That's why I'm here now."

"That sounds terrible," Max said sympathetically. A pang went through her. "Does this mean you will be leaving Blackwell?"

"Perhaps," Alan responded slowly. "You see for my case I was given the choice to resign or return whenever I feel ready. However if I wish to return after resigning, I will have to serve the full term again." The Brit leaned back with a sigh before continuing: "You know, Max. Mendez and I went through several areas trying to find one that suited us and we hit on Arcadia bay. A small town far away from the cities. It was peaceful and quiet so we took up residence here. Mendez insisted on me attending Blackwell since I never had an official education and he thought it was more than time that I experienced teenage life. I didn't want to at first but in the end I thought it might be a nice change. As I am still part of the Military, HQ was kind enough to pay for my tuition and here I am."

"So you'll be staying then?" Max asked feeling lighter at the news. Alan smiled at her.

"Until my year at Blackwell is complete. After that… well, I'll just see what comes next."

Alan suddenly twitched and smacked down hard on his arm. "Blood sucking buggers," he muttered. "I think it's time to leg it, before the mosquitos swarm us."

Max stood up and awkwardly played with the strap of her bag. "Goodnight Alan."

Alan didn't respond immediately being occupied with something in the direction of the building that housed the school's swimming pool. "Yeah legging it sounds good," he murmured standing up. Puzzled Max turned to look towards the direction he had gazed at and she promptly agreed with him. David Madsen was on patrol. The two hurried to the dorms where Alan bid her goodnight and disappeared inside the boy's section. Max was quick to vanish into her area of the sanctuary. The hallway was empty though the door to Dana's room was open and light shone brightly from it. She sneaked past casting a quick look in; Dana was seated at her laptop in pajamas. Another day's end she thought as she lay in bed. She fell asleep anticipating the coming morning with Chloe.