Species XD-63

The other girls

Lola wasn't late. For something as life-changing as this, she couldn't bring herself to be late.

The designated pick up area was a warehouse a couple minutes drive out of town. It was a big, grey steel box with no windows and one sliding door. The car park outside had about twenty cars already there, something which Lola sought comfort in. She wasn't alone then. 

The form told her to bring all her bags with her, so she lumbered to the sliding door while dragging a heavy case behind her. Using what strength she had, Lola pulled the sliding door across and was temporarily dazed by the bright LED lights from inside. She made her way in and was greeted by a small waiting area, like in a doctors office. Inside the grey theme continued from the pens to the chairs. There were a few other women already waiting, their legs crossed and hands drumming on their thighs. And she knew why - the air was thick with tension.

Not wanting to stand by the door like an idiot, Lola sat down by the seat nearest to her. With the case tucked by her side, she was finally able to look at the other women. They were all young, under 30 and travelled lightly with only one small cabin-sized bag. Lola couldn't help but look down at her Grandad's old case which was at least 3 times the size as the others. They had been told to pack everything they needed. Perhaps these women didn't need much?

One of them caught Lola's eyes and held the gaze for a few seconds before looking away and shuffling her feet. She looked the youngest among the 20 or so women in the waiting area. No older than 20, definitely. The young woman only had a backpack with her and her phone which she clutched tightly.

He features were sharp but not too angular. Her nose straight and thin with a light dusting of freckles and two intense, hazel eyes. Deep brown hair was tied messily in a bun on her head. Lola could see that she was a pretty girl and it made her think about herself, again. All these women seemed different from her. They were pretty, travelled light and had an exotic grace among them. Lola had none of that.

Whenever she told people that she was blonde with blue eyes, they instantly thought that she must be cute. But if she saw her in real life, she's certain they would be disappointed. Her face was too round, her nose too straight and broad and she always thought her chin was too big. She took after her father heavily in looks and detested that. She would long to have her mothers hazel eyes and deep chestnut locks, but no. The genetic lottery had screwed her over when she was created, leaving her looking like this. 

People would say that she was pretty, but the words never truly suck in. Well, really she didn't quite believe in them. Some days Lola could look in the mirror and smile at what she saw, other days it made her frown. And she hated it. If Lola could just look in the mirror and be happy with what she saw, that would be a day for the books. But that day wasn't coming soon.

At that moment, a door opened to the left. Everyone's eyes shot up to see who had entered. It was a man in his late 40's with greying hair and pale blue eye dressed in a crisp, white lab coat. He just stood there, scanning the waiting area with a clipboard in his hand and a pen in the other. Behind him, another person appeared. This time a tall, slender woman with smooth mocha skin and a short black bob. She too wore the signature white coat and clipboard. The man took one step forward and spoke,

"Ms Julie Adame?"

The young girl who she had seen stood up with her backpack tightly in her grasp.

"You can leave your bag here, Ms Adame."

She did so, putting the bag careful on her chair before cautiously following the man.

"If you just go to room no. 3. I'll be right behind you."

And with that, the two descended down the hallway leaving the woman. She scanned the list on her clipboard and cleared her throat.

"Ms. Lola Briggs?"

Her head instantly perked up at the name and she could feel her heart begin to pound. It felt like she was at the doctor's, and that thought scared Lola more than anything. With wobbly legs, she stood up from the chair and apprehensively walked up to the lady.

"Please, follow me." Her voice was laced with a distinctive welsh accent, making her words sound almost sing-song like.

She nodded her head, feeling butterflies slowly bloom in her stomach. She always got tense at moments like these, especially if it's a stranger with a clipboard and lab coat. Never good signs.

Her strides were long and confident, leaving Lola struggling to keep up with her 'stubby' legs as they called them. The women turned sharply to the right and entered what was clearly a doctors office. It had washed out blue walls and white surfaced counter. The woman sat down on a white chair and gestured to a stool in front of her. Lola, wanting to get this over with, sat down without question.

The lady carefully placed the clipboard on the counter and put the pen back in a pot.

"Now, Ms. Briggs."

Lola watched the woman closely, noticing everything she did. You could never be too careful.

"I'm just going to ask some questions, okay?"

She didn't give Lola a chance to respond before she pressed on with the questions.

 And this woman did not hold back.

"Have you been sexually active in the past six months?"

Lola's face flushed a deep crimson. She was quite a shy person when it came to matters like that. Compared to her crude friends, Lola was practically a saint.

"No." she mumbled, looking down at her shoes.

"So you haven't been sexually active in the last six months?" The lady pressed.

Alright, rub it in.

"No." Lola replied, clearer.

"Okay. Now, have you had a history of any sexually transmitted diseases."

Lola shook her head furiously at that one.

"And have you been pregnant."

"No."

"Good. So, I'm just going to take a quick blood sample while you fill out an extra form."

The woman lifted herself effortlessly from the chair and rounded the counter, picking up a form and a pen.

"Here." 

Lola took it from the woman's grasp and placed it on her lap. It was a small form, only a few questions asking her things like what's your favourite colour? She began to scribble away when a sudden prick on her forearm caused her to still. Lola looked up and saw the doctor draw blood from a syringe jabbed into her arm.

The lady just smiled and chirped,

"Just a blood test."