Lost

Chapter 3

I find the elevator and press the number eight. I quickly find my room. The room was an off-white color with a twin bed in the middle and a desk to right of the bed. The room was simple and was adequate enough for sleeping in. I sat on the middle of the bed and brought my knees to my chest. Why have they brought me here? Why did this happen to me? In that moment, I realize there is no one to blame except my mother. I look up at the ceiling and yell, “ If you had just stayed home with me none of this would have happened! We would be together if you stayed with me!” By now, tears were streaming down my face. “Everything was about money to you! All you ever cared about was money!” More tears streamed down my face. Screaming at my dead mother won’t get me out of here. I found the bathroom and washed my face. There was a knock on my door. I looked at my face, it was red and puffy. I groaned internally, and opened the door. It was the same man who asked me questions. His eyebrows furrowed in concern. “Are you all right?” He asked.

“Yes, I’m fine. What do you want?”

“I’ve come to give a tour of the compound.” Suddenly, I felt like a lab experiment rather than a human. I motions for me to come outside. I follow him to the elevator and he presses the ‘B’ button, which I can only assume to be the basement. “While you are here, you will be taking normal classes so that you can graduate high school. You are a sophomore correct?” I nod. “Okay, along with those classes you may be asked to participate in social experiments.” 

I tense at the word experiment, “You mean, like the one my mother did?” 

He hesitates for a moment, “Yes.” 

I take a sharp breath. “Am I required to participate?” 

“No, not all of them. Those that need a larger test you group, you may be required to do it or risk leaving the compound.”

“What will happen if I leave the compound?”

“You will be put in the foster system, unless you are eighteen, then you are left homeless.” I purse my lips and look straight ahead. “Here, in the basement, is where most of the experiments are conducted.” The rooms are divided by glass, so you are able to see everything that is happening in the room next to you. 

“It doesn’t look very pleasant,” I say, tersely.

“No, they are not,” He says absent-mindedly. 

“Have you ever…?” I trail off.

“Been in an experiment? Yes,” he stops there. “Now, follow me to the elevator. I will take you to the first and second floor, where the classes are conducted.” I nod and follow him.

The classrooms are carpeted in gray, with white walls and ceilings. Each classroom has approximately twenty desks, a desk for the teacher, a SmartBoard, and a white board. 

“How many students are there?”

“Currently, fifty. Now, I will lead you to the cafeteria.” I follow him to a set of double doors.

I let my curiosity get the best of me and ask,”What do you do here?”

“I’m a student.” He smiles at me.

I look at him, confused, “You look a little old.”

He laughs, “I’m only seventeen.”

“Really? Is it normal for students to take ‘newbies’ on tours?”

“Yeah, so you know someone and you’re not sitting in a corner by yourself.” He flashes me a grin. We enter the cafeteria. It was large with rows of long white tables and benches. 

“What’s it like here?” I look up into his eyes. I never noticed, but his eyes were a piercing green, and his hair was brown and shaggy. He was very good-looking

“Different.” He gives me a small smile.