Transgression (Prequel #1)

6 - Assimilate

He turned and took a few heavy steps into the gym. Alex followed close behind, rubbing the nape of his neck and letting out a stressed sigh. Once inside the gym, the door behind them was allowed to close and he took the first moments within to get an impression.

They entered the sprawling recreation room from the doors tucked away in a corner. The gym itself was a pretty standard size with a little extra room for additional equipment it seems. The floor was clearly ruined. Most of what remained of the basketball lines was nothing but soaked, warped wood that buckled and bowed up from the base floor, revealing the skeleton beneath. The bleachers along each long wall looked old as it is, but now had much more severe damage in the seating.

From where he stood, he could see open doors about fifty feet to his right on the long wall near the corner of the room. Two men were currently hauling long planks of warped flooring out the door and loading them onto the bed of a flatbed truck. A few more scattered workers were sprinkled throughout the open room; some collecting junk into trash bags while others were taking measurements of the floor in sections.

The walls seemed mostly unaffected by whatever caused this disaster. Every laminated motivational poster, scoreboard and enormous banners with the letter E, were untouched But some posters and flags made of plain paper were crinkled and falling down.

"So, how did this happen?" He asked Brian nonchalantly.

Jim, instead, turned to face him; hands firmly grasping his hips.

"About two weeks ago they were playing mat-ball. Apparently, one boy kicked the ball straight into a sprinkler head and busted it; the rest of them were set off and flooded the whole room."

"Wow. That's unlucky. . . What's mat-ball anyway?" Alex joked.

This time Brian answered, "It's like kickball but you play inside, and the bases are gym mats."

Alex's eyebrows raised, "I guess they won't be playing for a while."

"Ever." Brian scoffed. "Would have cost the school around twenty thousand for repairs. But we swooped in and cut them a deal for fifteen."

He nodded in approval, "Yeah, I'd say that's a good deal."

Jim chimed in again, seemingly growing impatient.

"Leave the business for the businessmen." He stated, "Now, as we stated already, you will come to work daily unless I tell you otherwise. You will be on time, all the time; we don't like to play games. You don't have to arrive with a smile, but it is required you show up ready to give it your all. Another thing; I shouldn't have to tell you that there is no smoking, drinking or any other substance abuse on the job. Additionally, if you show up to work with a hint of anything on your breath or person, you will be sent home and expected to stay there."

"You got it." He responded with a tight throat.

Jim squinted slightly; his flat expression wavered but reset itself. Then he turned to watch the few workers busy with their jobs; see what he could see from here.

"Alright, what's the task for today?" Alex asked.

"My men started early clearing out this trash and wood. After that, we will drag in all of the flooring and take measurements." Jim affirmed. The way he moved his hands showed he liked to gesture and point a lot, except right now his motions were lagging; weighted.

"Easy first day. What's after that?"

"Tomorrow I have some guys coming to fix the sprinklers, so we won't be laying the floor then. Don't worry we'll have something for you to do."