Just as they had figured, the time passed really quickly. Nina and Amy had packed everything they needed and everything that they couldn’t carry easily on the train, Edward had arranged to have driven to the dormitories. They were both pretty nervous. They were finally going to have the chance to be on their own, this was a huge step for them.
Nina was also especially looking forward to it. She was going back to Central which meant she might get to see Adrienne again. Walking over to the table beside her bed she opened and drawer and took out the piece of paper that he’d written his note on. Nina had kept this her secret since the exam. She actually thought about calling him so he’d know she’d be there. How would she explain that call though? No one knew about Adrienne and it would raise a lot of questions that she didn’t exactly want to answer. Tucking the paper in her pocket she decided to wait until she actually got to Central and got settled to call him.
“Nina, are you about ready?” asked Natalie as she opened the door to Nina’s room.
Surprised, Nina turned around quickly, her cheeks flushed slightly. “Um… Yeah… I’ll be downstairs in a minute,” she managed in reply.
Natalie noticed that Nina seemed to be unusually unnerved. “Is everything alright?”
Nina forced a smile and a laugh. “Yeah Mom, I’m fine. I’m just nervous, that’s all, you know, leaving home, being on my own, that sort of thing.”
“Alright,” Natalie said, not completely convinced but she thought it best to let it go. If Nina really wanted to talk about it Natalie knew she would have. “Just hurry up OK?” she said as she closed the door.
“Right.” Nina sighed heavily once she was sure her mom was really gone. That was a close one; if she had come in a minute earlier Nina wasn’t sure she’d have been able to act well enough to convince her mom. How did Amy do this all the time? She actually felt terrible lying to her mom like that, even if it was only a little white lie.
Grabbing her suitcase, Nina hurried out of her room and downstairs before anyone else came to get her. She didn’t want to go through that again.
When Amy and Nina got to the train station to board the train, the entire family was there to see them off. Natalie and May had put together a bag of goodies for them to eat on the train. Just as they were getting ready to actually board, Edward pulled them aside for a moment.
“Be careful girls. They haven’t caught the person who’s been abducting young women and I won’t be there this time to protect you. So you know too, Mustang’s arranged to have military police guarding the dorms and the school but you won’t have personal escorts this time.”
Amy and Nina nodded. “We’ll be careful Dad,” Amy said.
“If anything happens let the Military Police know right away though OK? Don’t try to be heroes or anything. I know you can handle yourselves but I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.”
“We will Daddy,” Nina replied with a laugh.
“Yeah Dad, we may be like you but not THAT much like you,” Amy said laughing as well.
Edward put his arms around them both and hugged them tightly. He couldn’t help but to laugh as well. “This is the one time I hope you’re right,” he said softly. Edward didn’t want to see his girls in even half the danger that he and Alphonse had been numerous times when they were younger. Things were happy now and he wanted to make sure they stayed that way.
It wasn’t until the train whistle blew that Edward let them go. Amy and Nina waved to everyone and dashed onto the train just before they closed the door and started to pull out of the station. From their window they continued to wave good-bye until they were out of sight.
Nina and Amy settled into their seats, sitting opposite each other. “Finally,” Amy said letting out a long sigh of relief. “I don’t know about you Nina, but I couldn’t wait to get going.”
Putting her hand over the pocket she’d put Adrienne’s note into, Nina smiled. “Yeah, for once I actually agree with you,” she replied. Her expression turned a bit soft and happily distant.
Amy caught sight of that expression and grinned almost wickedly at her sister. She knew that look. “Oh? I figured you’d be all torn up to be away from Uncle Alphonse,” she said teasing her. “You have something other than books waiting for you in Central?”
Nina blushed heavily. “What? No! I… well…” Nina stuttered as she looked away from Amy turning her gaze out the window.
“Quit lying, you were never any good at it,” Amy said poking her.
“I’m not lying!” Nina shouted turning back to her sister. She blushed when she realized her shout had made the few other people in the car stare. She put on an embarrassed smile and slouched down in the seat making herself vanish out of their sight. “I’m not lying,” she repeated, this time much softer.
Amy just shook her head and laughed. “Nina, we have the same face, I can tell from the look on it that that’s not true. Now come on, spill it. Did you actually meet a guy and not tell me about it?”
“No…” she said though she didn’t exactly sound convincing.
“You did! When? Come on Nina, give it up. Who is he? How did you manage it? Details Nina, I want details!”
“You’re not going to give this up are you Amy?” Nina asked with a sigh.
“No way in hell,” Amy answered grinning.
Nina just shook her head. “Fine, you’re right but you have to promise you won’t laugh and you have to swear you won’t tell anyone.”
“You got it, now come on, start talking already,” Amy replied impatiently.
Nina took a deep breath. “He’s Dr. Rothstein’s son Adrienne. He sat next to me during the exam and we had a chance to talk for a little bit before the exam started. It’s nothing really.”
Though she had promised not to, Amy couldn’t help it and she started to laugh. “It figures an egg head like you would fall for another egg head’s son. Let me guess he’s as nerdy as you are right?”
“He is not!” Nina protested. “He’s a really nice person and he’s good looking and he doesn’t think my wanting to become an alchemic doctor to help people is stupid or silly.” Nina took a deep breath and sighed it out slowly.
Amy sat back and crossed her arms, grinning slyly. “You’ve got it bad for this guy. You sure that’s a good idea? I mean it’s not like you to get distracted by something as, how did you put it once when we talked about? Oh yeah, now I remember, you called it frivolous and nothing but a useless distraction.”
Nina sighed and looked out the window again. “I know, I know. It’s completely irrational. I barely know Adrienne and yet…” she said as she lowered her head a bit.
“You can’t help but think about him…”
Nina nodded. “Yeah, ever since the exam I’d find myself out of nowhere remembering the way he smiled or the way his long braided white hair fell down his back, even the way his voice sounded when he talked.”
Amy leaned forward and put her hand on her sister’s knee smiling softly. “So it finally happened to you too huh?” she asked with a chuckle. “I know you probably won’t believe me because you know how much I like Fuhrer Mustang, but I really do feel that way about Riley. Yeah, I like Fuhrer Mustang and all, but I actually admire him more than anything else and that had nothing to do with why I fell for his son…” She expected Nina to protest more or argue with her or something but she didn’t.
Nina just chuckled a bit. “Yeah I guess it has. Oh but just so you know, I’ve known that all along about your feelings for Fuhrer Mustang and for Riley…,” she replied softly.
“Huh?” Amy said looking surprised.
“I’ve known all along, like I said.”
“Then why…?”
Nina laughed. “Why? That’s an easy one; it’s just so much fun to pick on you. It’s one of the rare things I can actually pick on you for…”
Amy stuck her tongue out at her sister. “You’re awful, you know that?”
“No more than you twin sister.”
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