Risen from Ashes

Act one, Part Seven: Have to Grow Up

A week earlier, before the mutation

Rockwell carefully looked over a statute of DNA, making sure that it was correct and firm too. He pulled out his tablet and wrote the progress down as well. Then he noticed one of the pairs was slowly falling down. He managed to hold it up and turned to his right. "Glue, please." He began, holding his hand out to the right.

Then glue was placed in his hand before pulling away. By his side is Ginny, back when she is a human. She is dressed in a teal shirt, jeans, and sneakers. At the same time, she was wearing a lab coat with the same logo as Rockwell and had her long blonde hair in a tight bun. She is new here at TCRI and was placed with Rockwell as her supervisor. She smiled at him as she watched him put glue on the pairs and hold it until it dried.

Satisfied with the results, Rockwell took a step back and examined it. "Thank you, Ginny." Rockwell smiled at her.

" Anytime, Rockwell," Ginny responded to him.

Rockwell only chuckled. "I told you, call me Tyler." He exclaimed. "We are co-workers and should be treated like friends."

Ginny nodded, looking down at the floor. "Sorry, sir." She apologized.

" Don't be." He then places his hand on top of her head and then gives it a good ruffle. He chuckled at Ginny's reaction as she tried to get his hand off her head and fix her bun. He turned back to his work desk and continued on his statue.

While he is working, Ginny hears whispers coming from two scientists in the same department as her and Rockwell. One is a male, and the other is a female. The two are older than her but younger than Rockwell. She listens to their gossip.

"Can't believe they allowed a kid in and worked with us." The male scientist whispered to his co-worker.

The female scientist nodded. "Yeah, tell me about it." She whispered back. "Maybe she bribed her way in."

"Or maybe she is blackmailing Eric to get herself in and work here." He replied.

She scoffed. "Kids. They think they are so mature but only fooling themselves."

"Hey!!" Rockwell shouted, arms crossed and glaring at the two. "If you two are done talking, get back to work!!" He ordered them with a stern voice.

"Yes, sir!!" The two scientists nodded and rushed off.

Ginny felt tears falling from her eyes. She is indeed younger than the people here with better degrees and more experience, but it never bothered her that she had to deal with it. But the gossip spreads like wildfire, slowly burning her like she is trapped in an endless forest with no way out of danger.

Rockwell noticed her distress and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Ginny?" He spoke calmly. "Hey, are you alright?"

She wiped her tears off and faced him with a fake smile. "I'm fine." She told her.

Rockwell sighed. Since Ginny was hired here, some of his co-workers here had not been so gentle with her. When tasked to look after her, he was the first to help her get used to TCRI work and the different ways of science here. He loves working with her and loves her attitude and her calm soul, like a water stream on the brook.

He patted her shoulder. "You know you can tell me anything." He stated. "I am your supervisor and your good friend. If those gossips get to you, I can report them to Eric." He added.

But Ginny just shocked her head and removed his hand from her shoulder. "I'm okay." She told him. "Those gossips are meaningless and false rumors. They don't mean anything." She turned around. "Let's get back to working on the statue." She makes her way to their table.