THE GAME

I. ━━ WELCOME

𝑂𝑛𝑒.

        Melanie never knew peace, though if you were to ask her, she'd say she did.
 
    Insomnia plagued her the majority of the nights she'd spent in Virginia. She'd only been settled for a week, but that was a week's sleep that was already lost. Most people wouldn't know any better, though. It wasn't like anybody knew her well enough to notice. After all, she wasn't here to socialize. She was here to work.

    Her bedroom was silent aside from the clock on her nightstand that continued to tick melodically. Tick-tock-tick-tock.

    Each second that passed turned into minutes which then turned to hours until it was time for her first day on the job. Surely a full night's rest would have been in her favor, but Melanie figured that her mind was sharp enough. She had been waiting years for this exact moment, anyway.

    Much to her dismay, her body was unable to remain as awake as her mind could. She sluggishly trailed into the bathroom, rubbing her eyes in synchronized circles until her vision was splotchy and unfocused. She turned the shower valve to the left and waited impatiently for the water pouring down on her bony shoulders to turn ice cold. This wasn't her favorite way to wake up in the morning, but considering that she never slept in the first place, she figured this should be just fine.

    As she stood in her closet and glossed over her very little clothing options, she decided on black slacks and a deep maroon sweater with three-quarter sleeves. Melanie wanted her watch to be on full display on her wrist for her first day of work. Despite her lack of interest in most material treasures, wearing a good portion of her finest jewelry would make her appear much more confident than she would otherwise.

The drive to FBI headquarters proved to be more pleasant than Melanie imagined. The traffic created by commuters allowed her to remain focused on that rather than the bustling anxiousness that began to peck at her brain the moment she entered the large pristine establishment.

Ding.

The shiny silver elevator doors, allowing Melanie to step inside.

She took in a deep breath in a final attempt to calm herself down. Her grip tightened on the brown satchel that hung from her right shoulder. This was it. This was the moment that she'd spent years working towards, and now that she was finally here, the surrealness of the situation began to set in.

It was easy for doubt to consume her mind, but it was even easier for Melanie to disregard it. She was ready for this. The only question pending on her mind was whether or not her team would make her hidden agenda any easier for her. After all, she had only ever met with Aaron Hotchner and David Rossi prior to her being committed to the bureau. The rest of the team was an absolute mystery to her.

Melanie wasn't the type to dwell on what other people thought of her, but this stood entirely differently. She wanted to mesh well with her teammates. She needed to.

"Wait, wait, wait!" A blonde woman's voice echoed, the clicking sound of her pink heels clicking with each step she took while sprinting for the elevator. "Hold the door, please!"

Melanie extended her arm just in the knick of time, holding the door open for the woman who wore a surprisingly colorful outfit for the establishment that they stood in.

The woman straightened her bright blue blazer and readjusted the butterfly barrettes in her hair, sending a side-eye to the woman standing beside her. "I apologize, I'm just a bit frantic this morning. There's a new person joining my team today and I haven't been able to find any information on her besides her name! Hotch speaks highly of her, but what possible reason could there be for her file to be sealed so tight that even I can't get into it?" she spoke with a single breath. "I just hope she's nice. Sorry. Hi. I'm Penelope Garcia," she beamed, holding her hand out for the other woman.