While Mira was waiting to begin her match, Beth was in her living room with her crew chief Mike, going over her tech budgeting and schedules. They did not really need to do this in person, but Beth considered him a friend and liked to have him over once in a while to get work done and watch a few matches.<br/><br/>There was pizza, salad, and cans of soda on the coffee table, with Beth sitting on the couch and Mike on a nearby chair. Beth was looking at her computer tablet, considering what she was seeing. “So, what’s with this new Firebrand line of plasma cannons? Any promise there?”<br/><br/>Mike shook his head. “I don’t think this is a case where we want to be on the bleeding edge. It’s an experimental design which went through a short development cycle, and I think they’re exaggerating how well these things have been stress tested—I looked at the numbers and they just don’t reach the strain of actual combat situations.”<br/><br/>“Alright, so we’ll pass but keep an eye on that—there’s bound to be some early adopters, and we can see how they—” There was a beeping sound from Beth’s holovision display.  “Mira’s match is starting in a minute,” she said, turning on the device to watch the proceedings.<br/><br/>“You sound tense over it,” Mike noted. “A lot more than you’ve ever been with your own matches.”<br/><br/>“I have to admit, I’ve fallen for her pretty hard. I’ll be completely crushed if she loses this one—she’s so intent on making it in the MBF and I don’t want to see her hurt.”<br/><br/>“So things have gotten serious?” he asked, surprised.<br/><br/>“If you mean the rumors going around, not so much—it was a really nice date, but it was just a date. And Mira’s obviously a bit old-fashioned, so it looks like we’ll be taking things a lot slower than I used to in high school. Maybe that’s better for me as well...”<br/><br/>“How are you feeling about this, if you don’t mind me asking? It’s a huge step for you.”<br/><br/>“I know. It’s been hard—there’s always something to remind me of Melissa. I can’t relax completely around Mira because I have to focus on not bringing the conversation around to that. There’s still this nagging little voice inside of me telling me what I’m doing is wrong, that it’s too soon, that I should feel guilty. But all that goes beyond just romance—even if I’m going about my day normally, sometimes I’ll see something and think, ‘I should mention that to Melissa.’ Then I remember and it kills me.” She shook her head sadly.<br/><br/>“You’re the only one who knows if you’re really ready to move on,” Mike told her. “I wish I could say something more helpful than that.”<br/><br/>“It’s alright. All I can say is that so far, my excitement and infatuation over Mira far outweighs the hurt. I just hope I still feel that way down the road...”<br/><br/>He nodded, and then the start of the match was signaled. Beth grabbed a slice of pizza and watched with interest—regardless of all the emotion riding on this, she still liked watching a good match for its own sake.