Experiment 1.0

Monday, June 11th, 2018 7:37 pm

"Evan, If you don't give that back right now you'll be a dead man!" A boy with vibrant blonde nearly white hair wearing a bright green sweatshirt darts pasts me with a snapback hat in hand followed by an angry girl with milk chocolate colored skin and curly waist-length brown hair flowing behind her. I stumble back into the glass door to avoid her blindly sprinting into me. Not a very welcoming first impression, I think to myself. "Guys, cut it out!" A boy stands up from a table in the corner. His dirty blonde hair is parted and one side hangs nonchalantly over his left eye. "We have a new member of the team." He smiles and gestures toward me. The boy and the girl quit chasing each other and turn to me. I blush and wave my hand shyly.

       The boy with dirty blonde hair walks over to introduce himself. An unfamiliar feeling of nerve rises in my chest. I didn't know others would be here, I think. I'm horrible at introductions how am I going to screw this up now? "I'm Charles, that's Evan," He says while pointing at the other boy. "and that is Margret." The brown haired girl smiles and bows her head in acknowledgment, but the other blonde haired boy simply turns up his nose as if I am a bothersome stench. I frown already recognizing him and I will not get along.  Margret takes the opportunity to steal her hat back by tackling Evan and tearing it from his hands.

        Charles looks at me questioningly and his mouth is slightly ajar as if he'd asked me something. Then I realized he had asked me something and I was too caught up in watching Evan and Margret's catfight to notice. He repeats himself calmly without seeming to mind. "And your name would be?" Oh, duh. I never even told them my name. "U-Uh Alex." I shun myself for the embarrassing stutter. But know it's still an improvement.  "Is it just you three so far?" I ask to occupy the awkward silence that was only filled with grunts and insults as Margret and Evan continue to fight.  "Actually there is one other student here who arrived before us, but he is camping out in the dorms." Charles tone is so confident and precise I almost feel jealousy rising in the pit of my stomach.  But there is something else about him that stands out to me- something very comforting that makes this place seem like a potential home away from home.

        "W-" I hear a click as the door behind me snaps open for another student to enter. Her stature is exceedingly tall and she seems so skinny that her rib cage almost shows through her blue tank top. Charles walks over to greet her as well and I follow close behind him. The two shake hands as they exchange names. Was I suppose to shake his hand? I wonder beginning to understand how horrible I really am at conversing with other human beings. "My name's Lily, nice to meet you." That's way better than "U-Uh Alex." I think to myself with a frown. " I'm Alex." I offer my hand and for Lily to take. Her grip is gentle yet unapologetic. All five of us twist around at the sound of footsteps approaching. A tall man with a youthful beard and a white lab coat stands before us. "Hello, students. I assume you're here for the internship, am I correct?" I nod. "Great, I'll show each of you to your dorms then." The man gestures for us to follow. A woman holding a stack of papers waits for us at the corner. "Hello, welcome to our summer internship. I'm Doctor Wilson and this is Doctor Laurens. We'll have an official orientation tomorrow when the remainder of the students arrive, but for now, we'll just show you around a little bit and explain a few things. Okay?" The woman's voice was so calming that I almost forgot I'm over 7 hours away from home.

        "Here is a map of the building. Each floor is divided into sections based on their purposes." She hands out a paper map to each of us. "For now Doctor Laurens and I will show you to your dorms and the cafeteria. There are fruits and other foods if you would like a snack before bed." Doctor Laurens nods in agreement with her and looks down at his watch."The male dorms are on the left side and the female on the right. I'll take the boys to their dorms and Doctor Wilson will show the girls to their's." Doctor Laurens informs us. Lily, Margret, and I follow Doctor Wilson down the hall. The walk is quiet but oddly doesn't feel awkward. After a little while, she says. "Here is the main bathroom. There are bathrooms in your dorms, but this is where you will bathe or shower." We walk a little farther and she looks down at her clipboard. "Okay, I'm really quite horrible with names...but are you, Margret?" She asks and points at Magret. "Yup." Margret answers and the doctor pats her back playfully. "Then you must be Lily and Alex." She correctly states.

       The doctor continues on to the cafeteria. There are three separate sections and the room seems more like a restaurant than a cafeteria. My stomach rumbles as I imagine what their food must taste like. We each grab a fruit from the counter. I munch on my apple as she explains the map that seems more like a maze designed to trap you. After we finish eating she shows us to our dorms and hands us a key to each one of us before wishing us a goods nights rest. #314 Wow, are there really hundreds of rooms in this building? The door pings as the key unlocks it and I slip inside.

        It's a small but charming room. The walls are ringed in gray wallpaper. On the left side sits a creaky bed with blue floral sheets and pillows. In the right corner is an empty wooden desk next to the bathroom door. Two hooks are attached to the wall beside the door, I hang my jacket on one. In the left corner is a worn-down dresser that I slowly unpack my belongings into. After all of my clothes are neatly folded into the drawers and my books are stacked on the desk, I change into my pajamas and prepare for bed. Before I slip into the sheets I do one last thing. I lay Mr. Snuggles on the edge of my bed- my stuffed savior to ward off any potential danger or bad dreams. Though I already love this place like home, it is soothing to actually bring a piece of home with me.

I stare up at the ceiling and dream of tomorrow. Maybe I don't need to feel guilty about leaving Arty? As long as I can achieve what I came here to do... that's what matters. Would dad be proud of my decision? I suppose either way it's a little too late to change my mind.