Amidst Our Broken World

Chapter 2 - The Assistant

He was dressed in all-white, from his smooth button-up shirt to his long slacks. Light, blonde curls draped gracefully over his forehead. He had his hands on his back, and though he had a slightly bent welcoming posture, his slim height was still evident.

I dared to glance at his face after my brief but thorough observation of his appearance, only to be pleasantly surprised with fair features. He seemed to be in his twenties. However, when I looked into his eyes, I found no trace of hospitality. All I could see was indifference.

"This is Y/N, our new lab assistant." Uncle Martin's voice interrupted my surveying of the man. "You are to take her to her new quarters and show her around."

The blonde gave him a brief nod.

Uncle Martin turned back towards me. "Well Y/N, this is where we part. I hope you'll settle in well to your new 'home,' and I will see you tomorrow when your work officially starts."

"Okay," I reply, feeling a little nervous at the fact that the only person I knew here would be leaving me. "I'll see you around, Uncle Martin."

"Doctor Brenner." Uncle Martin's voice suddenly grew serious. "Call me Doctor Brenner."

My heart dropped for a second at the abrupt change in his tone. I'd never heard him talk in such a stern way before, and I certainly didn't expect him to use that kind of tone with me.

"Sorry Unc- Doctor Brenner," I stammered, still startled. I could have sworn he shot somewhat of a wary glance at the blonde assistant.

He flashed me one last Uncle Martin smile, a smile I had seen many times and memorised throughout my childhood, and left.

Realising I was now standing alone with the assistant, I turned my attention back to him. His previously blank stare had now somehow grown even colder than before. In fact, his entire expression was radiating with animosity.

"Follow me," he finally said after a pause. It was almost like he wanted me to notice his hostility towards me.

Not even bothering to suggest helping me with my two heavy luggage bags, he led me down the hallways in silence. I wasn't complaining; I didn't want to talk to him either.

The overhead lights were bright but not enough to light up the entire width of the halls. Maybe it was because the sides near the walls were poorly lit in comparison, creating a sort of ominous feeling, but I tried to walk in the center as much as possible.

We stopped at one of the doors. There were labels next to each of the doors that had what I assumed were its inhabitant's last names on them, along with a number on the door itself.

Six. That was the number on the door in front of me. The label adjacent was empty.

"They haven't engrained your name onto your room label yet, but this is your room." The assistant pushed the door open.

I frowned. "Isn't there a lock?"

"No," he answered curtly, "there's no need for one."

Furrowing my brow at his reasoning, but not daring to question again, I stepped into the room. It was quaint, with everything I needed, packed in a small space where I could move around very conveniently. My bed was in one corner, a sink and mirror were placed in the other corner, and next to them was the bathroom.

Peeking inside the bathroom, I was surprised to be met with only a toilet and a roll of toilet paper on the side. "Where is the shower?"

"There is a shower room for all the orderlies in the left wing," the assistant replied.

My eyes widened at the thought of having to shower next to not only a bunch of strangers but also around the blonde man. Then I quickly realized that the shower rooms were probably gender-separated.

I scolded myself, What an absurd misinterpretation, Y/N. How on earth did you think he meant for everyone to shower together?

"Are you alright?"

I jerked my head in his direction, startled. "Y-yes," I stuttered, suddenly aware of the blood rushing to my face.

He gave me a weird look, but decided to continue on with the introduction. "These are your private quarters which you will reside in mostly during the night for rest." Walking over to where the foot of my bed was, he resumed, "Your uniforms are inside your closet for you to wear sparingly. Laundry days are on every Sunday, so choose wisely for how long you'll wear a set of uniform for."

I guess I brought clothes for nothing then. I thought to myself as I heaved my two luggages onto the bed.

The tour consisted of the canteen, where all lab personnel were allowed to have their meals in, except most of the scientists and guards, or any of the staff who didn't stay at the lab in general, would have breakfast and dinner outside.

I wondered why only us interns had to stay at the lab. But then again, it would be a hassle to find a place to live, even if only temporarily, in a town where I had no relatives other than my uncle. And Doctor Brenner made it clear that his house could not accommodate for more than one person. Maybe he had a strict landlord or something.

After showing me the shower rooms, the blonde assistant walked me down the corridor past the rooms of the other interns. As we headed back towards my room, I questioned why he hadn't taken me to any of the other floors. I mean, work didn't officially start until tomorrow, but shouldn't I at least get an idea of where the department I was going to be working was at?

"Um, excuse me?" He stopped to look down at me. I suddenly felt small compared to him. Not just physically, but also experience-wise. He seemed to know his way around the lab very well, and this introduction was definitely not his first rodeo.

"Yes?" he asked flatly.

Reminded of his unrequited hatred towards me, I recomposed myself into sounding somewhat confident in the presence of my superior. "Aren't you going to show me around the labs as well? Like on the other floors?"

"That's not my job," he replied. "You'll receive instruction on where to go tomorrow during roll call."

Seeing my confusion, he added, "It'll be at 9 A.M., right after breakfast."

The blonde gestured into my room as he opened the door for me. "Enjoy your free time. You have a busy week coming up."

Still thinking about how oddly basic this tour given by my new colleague was, I entered my room.

It was basically a reflex for me to show gratitude towards people who did things for me, no matter how trivial or how unlikeable they were. So I turned back to the figure who had began to retreat out of my room.

"Thanks..."

I trailed off awkwardly. Shit. What was his name again?

He seemed to recognize the predicament I was in and gave me a moment to ask for his name.

But I didn't. I didn't know what got into me at that moment. The three words could have been so easily said: "What's your name?"

Perhaps I wanted to get back at him. For being so cold and indifferent and impertinent towards me this entire time. He acted like he was so above me.

Maybe that was it. He only saw me as a greenie. A newbie. Someone he could easily talk down to.

I felt my gaze harden as I ended my sentence.

"You're welcome, Y/N." The blonde assistant returned my cool expression at once and closed the door.