The Missing Girl (COMPLETE)

Chapter 2

In my office, which no one was ever allowed to come into unless they asked, which I almost always said no to, I sat down at my black desk, in my purple desk chair, and started talking to my parrot, Max, whose name had absolutely nothing to do with my assistant, who I was NOT actually fond of. At least, that's what I told myself...

"Bunch of bumbling, loveable fools they are, aren't they Max?" I said, trying to be quiet. These gray walls were thin, and I wanted to seem tough. "Do you think I came across as too strong earlier? I yelled at Dr. Max because he lost my boat. That might have been too much."

My mom had started this project about 10 years ago, then she retired five years ago, leaving the job to me. I was never excited about the job. I had always wanted to be an actress, but when Mom gave me the job, she pretty much forced me to accept. In the first few weeks, I learned quickly that if I wasn't imposing, I would get pranked. Over and over. So I put my acting skills to the test. In a way, I was doing what I had gone through college for, just without the crowds, directors, cameras...

My job was not what I wanted to do with life because of one thing. Children. The project was sending young children to an uncharted island, completely without adults, and watching them to see what they do. We had found that they created a sort of order, something that they understood, that maybe we didn't at the beginning, but now do. I found this fascinating, that children would have order by themselves on an island, but I opposed this idea from the start. I love kids, so I did not like the idea of separating them from their parents when they were four. They spent 9 years there, slowly moving up the age chain, seeing other children come and go. But now it was all messed up. The boat was lost, and my people couldn't find it. We needed that boat to retrieve the children.

Just then, I heard a rapping on the door. "I'll be right out!"

I walked out of my office, seeing Dr. Max behind it. I closed the door and asked, "What?"

"We think we've found the boat."