**Saturday, December 7th - 5:30 AM CST**
The O'Hare departure lounge at 5:30 AM was a special kind of purgatory—fluorescent-lit, coffee-scented, and populated by the kind of people who either loved morning flights or had made terrible life choices. Haruki strongly suspected they fell into the latter category as he watched Noa stare at her boarding pass with the expression of someone contemplating whether it was too late to fake a medical emergency.
"It's just a two-hour flight," he said, settling into the uncomfortable airport chair beside her with two cups of what the coffee shop optimistically called "premium blend" but which tasted like caffeinated regret.
"It's not about the flight duration," Noa replied, accepting the coffee with the grateful desperation of someone who'd been awake since 4 AM. "It's about what happens when we land. In three hours, we'll be at Harvard, presenting our research to some of the most prestigious psychology faculty in the country."
"In three hours, we'll be sharing work we believe in with people who are genuinely interested in learning about it," Haruki corrected, though his voice carried its own undertone of nervous energy.
"Where's Sana?" Noa asked, looking around the departure lounge. "She was supposed to meet us here twenty minutes ago."
"She texted that she was running late because she had to repack her carry-on three times to fit all her backup electronics."
"Please tell me she didn't bring her portable printer."
"She didn't bring her portable printer. She brought a portable scanner instead, which she claims is more essential for digitizing documents we collect during the tour."
"That's... actually probably useful."
"That's what I thought. Also slightly concerning in terms of how much equipment she considers necessary for academic travel."
Before Noa could respond, they heard the unmistakable sound of someone moving through the airport at maximum efficiency while muttering rapid-fire commentary about travel logistics. Sana appeared around the corner of the departure gate, pulling a suitcase that looked like it had been packed by someone who'd read every travel advice article ever written and decided to implement all of them simultaneously.
"I'm here, I'm ready, I have boarding passes and backup boarding passes and I may have accidentally packed enough electronics to power a small research facility," she announced, settling into the chair across from them with the breathless energy of someone who'd been running on pure adrenaline since 4 AM.
"Backup boarding passes?" Haruki asked.
"Digital copies on my phone, physical copies in my bag, and screenshots saved to my laptop in case of total technology failure. I don't trust airline systems to maintain data integrity during high-stress travel situations."
"That's... thorough."
"That's anxiety management through comprehensive preparation. Did you know that 23% of flight delays are caused by technological failures that could be mitigated by passenger-level redundancy planning?"
"I did not know that, and I'm not sure it's actually true," Noa said gently.
"It might not be true, but having backup plans makes me feel more in control of situations where I have no actual control."
"Fair enough. Are you ready for this?"
Sana looked around the departure lounge, taking in the early morning travelers, the flight information displays, and the reality of their impending departure.
"I'm ready for the research aspects," she said slowly. "I'm excited about presenting our computational findings and meeting linguistics faculty and exploring collaboration opportunities."
"But?"
"But I'm terrified about the social aspects. Six weeks of constant interaction with new people, unfamiliar environments, and unpredictable social situations."
"We'll help you navigate the social stuff," Haruki said. "That's what teammates do."
"And you'll help us navigate the technical presentations and data analysis," Noa added. "We all have different strengths."
"That's true. I'm good at research and terrible at small talk. You're good at relationship dynamics and public speaking. Haruki's good at academic networking and making people feel comfortable."
"So together, we cover all the essential skills for academic touring," Haruki said.
"Theoretically."
"Theoretically is the best we can hope for until we get some practical experience."
The gate agent's voice crackled over the intercom, announcing that their flight was beginning boarding for first-class passengers and frequent flyers.
"That's us," Noa said, checking their boarding passes. "Dr. Richardson upgraded us to business class for the longer flights."
"Business class?" Sana looked genuinely surprised. "I've never flown business class. Do they really give you warm towels and real silverware?"
"I have no idea, but we're about to find out."
As they gathered their carry-on luggage and joined the boarding queue, all three felt the weight of transition—from planning and preparation to actual execution, from familiar Chicago to unknown adventures, from graduate students to touring academics.
"Last chance to back out," Noa said, though her tone suggested she was joking. Mostly.
"Last chance to admit we have no idea what we're doing," Haruki added.
"Last chance to acknowledge that this is either going to be amazing or a complete disaster," Sana finished.
"And?"
"And we're doing it anyway."
**Saturday, December 7th - 8:45 AM EST**
The business class experience turned out to be everything Sana had hoped and more. She spent the first thirty minutes of the flight systematically documenting every amenity with the thoroughness of someone conducting ethnographic research on airline hospitality practices.
"The orange juice is freshly squeezed," she reported to Haruki and Noa, who were seated across the aisle. "And they have actual cloth napkins instead of paper ones. This is like flying in a very small, very expensive restaurant."
"Are you going to analyze the entire flight experience?" Noa asked, amused by Sana's detailed observations.
"I'm documenting it for future reference. If we're going to be doing academic travel regularly, I want to understand the various service levels and their impact on travel stress and productivity."
"That's actually smart," Haruki said. "Though I think you might be overthinking the napkin situation."
"Quality textiles contribute to psychological comfort, which affects cognitive performance. The napkin situation is more relevant than you might think."
As the plane reached cruising altitude and the flight attendants began their beverage service, the reality of their situation began to sink in. In less than two hours, they would land in Boston. By afternoon, they would be at Harvard, presenting their research to faculty who had been studying relationships and psychology for longer than they'd been alive.
"Are we really qualified for this?" Noa asked quietly, voicing the question that had been lurking in all their minds since accepting the tour invitation.
"Define qualified," Haruki replied, pulling out his laptop to review their presentation materials one more time.
"Experienced enough, knowledgeable enough, confident enough to represent our research at the most prestigious universities in the country."
"If qualified means we have decades of experience and unshakeable confidence, then no, we're not qualified," Sana said. "But if qualified means we've done solid research that offers genuine insights and we're prepared to share it honestly, then yes, we're qualified."
"Dr. Patel said we earned these opportunities through good work, not luck," Haruki reminded them.
"Dr. Patel also said that even prestigious universities are filled with normal people who are genuinely interested in learning about our research."
"So maybe the question isn't whether we're qualified, but whether we're prepared to do our best and learn from whatever happens."
"I can live with that definition of readiness."
"Good, because Logan Airport is appearing outside the window, which means we're about to find out what we're really made of."
**Saturday, December 7th - 11:30 AM EST**
Logan Airport was everything O'Hare was not—compact, efficient, and populated by people who seemed to know exactly where they were going and how to get there quickly. The trio emerged from their gate into the controlled chaos of East Coast travel culture, where everyone moved with the purposeful intensity of people who had important places to be.
"The energy here is completely different from Chicago," Sana observed, pulling her carefully organized luggage through the terminal. "More focused, more urgent."
"More expensive," Noa added, looking at the price tags in the airport shops. "Twenty-five dollars for a sandwich that would cost eight dollars at O'Hare."
"Welcome to Boston," Haruki said, consulting his phone for their ground transportation options. "Dr. Richardson arranged for a car service to pick us up and take us directly to the hotel."
"A car service? Not a taxi or rideshare?"
"Apparently, when you're touring academics presenting groundbreaking research, you get car services and business class flights and hotel rooms that don't smell like industrial disinfectant."
"This is a very different experience from normal graduate student travel," Sana said.
"This is a very different experience from normal graduate student life," Noa corrected. "Three months ago, we were eating ramen for dinner and sharing research space with undergraduates. Now we're flying business class to present at Harvard."
"Do you think we'll get used to this level of treatment?"
"I don't know. Do you think we should?"
"I think we should enjoy it while it lasts and remember that it's connected to our research success, not our inherent worth as human beings."
"That's probably a healthy perspective."
"That's definitely a healthy perspective. Also, I think our car service is here."
A professional-looking driver holding a sign with their names approached them with the kind of polished efficiency that suggested he regularly transported people who flew business class and stayed in hotels with actual amenities.
"Dr. Sakamoto, Dr. Hoshizaki, Dr. Kiryuu?" he asked, though they were clearly the only three people in the arrival area who looked like nervous academics carrying research materials.
"That's us," Haruki confirmed, still slightly startled by being addressed as "Doctor" despite not having completed their doctoral programs yet.
"Welcome to Boston. I'm James, and I'll be taking you to the Marriott Cambridge. The drive should take about twenty minutes, depending on traffic."
As they settled into the comfortable car and began the drive from Logan Airport toward Cambridge, all three pressed their faces to the windows like tourists, taking in their first glimpse of the city that would be their home base for the next few days.
"It's so historical," Sana said, pointing to buildings that looked like they'd been standing since the American Revolution. "Everything in Chicago was built after the Great Fire, so most of our architecture is relatively recent. This feels like traveling through time."
"It feels like traveling through academic history," Noa added. "How many famous psychologists and researchers have walked these streets?"
"How many famous psychologists and researchers are we going to meet in the next few days?" Haruki asked, checking his phone for messages from Dr. Richardson about their Harvard schedule.
"According to the itinerary, we have dinner tonight with three faculty members, presentations tomorrow to the psychology department and the business school, and a lunch meeting with graduate students who are working on related research."
"That's a lot of academic interaction in a very short time."
"That's the entire tour. Intensive academic interaction with brief recovery periods for travel and sleep."
"Are we ready for intensive academic interaction?"
"We're about to find out."
As their car pulled up to the Marriott Cambridge, all three felt the familiar mixture of excitement and terror that had characterized every major milestone in their research journey. The hotel looked professional and welcoming, with the kind of understated elegance that suggested they were definitely not in graduate student accommodation territory anymore.
"This is really happening," Noa said, looking at the hotel entrance and the Harvard campus visible in the distance.
"This is really happening," Sana agreed, gathering her carefully organized luggage and checking her phone for the detailed schedule she'd created for their Boston visit.
"And we're really doing it together," Haruki added, feeling grateful for the partnership that had made this entire adventure possible.
"Together," they agreed, and walked into the hotel to begin the academic tour that would either establish their careers or provide material for very interesting stories about the time they thought they were qualified to present research at Harvard.
Either way, it was going to be unforgettable.
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*End of Chapter 19*