1. On the bookstore cafe by the window, Noah set the small compass down, then picked it up again, as if testing a decision. 2. The room offered plenty of noise, but none of it covered the quiet inside Noah's head. 3. Noah remembered the promise tied to a last-minute move, and how easy it had been to speak it. 4. Now that promise had teeth; Noah felt anger rise and refuse to leave. 5. Noah tried to trade fear for a plan—count steps, breathe slow, keep eyes steady. 6. A stranger's laugh floated by, and Noah flinched anyway, betraying the effort.