This is a Test

Ch. 3 - Part III - Day Two

Cashe arrived in the conference room first and sat at attention at the table. In front of him were his portable air tank and his tablet. Some maneuvering had been required to fit the air rig over the back of his chair so he was not completely uncomfortable, though he refused to show the slightest inconvenience. He sat frozen into place when he heard Dante and Miranda approach. Dante was narrating to her what she should do or say as meeting organizer. Cashe did not look at them, but he heard the conversation stop and their steps slow.

He understood that his appearance was disconcerting; that was part of the joke. He sat in his chair, hands clasped before him, air tanks on his back, with a gas mask on his head. Once again, his actions were completely logical. In case their superiors stated there was a breach, all Cashe had to do was pull the mask over his face, turn the valve on the tanks, and he would be "safe." He would show his sponsors that he was wiling to do the little extra to be the most efficient if events dictated so. Besides, he knew it would freak the others out, which provided him with much amusement.

If his seat amongst the dozen was considering in the twelve o'clock position, Miranda and Dante took the seats at four and five respectively. Cashe guessed that no one wanted to be in Seat Six across from his dead-eyed gaze into space. Cashe continued to stare blankly before him as Karina entered, choosing Seat Seven, followed by Lia, who Cashe correctly predicted in taking Seat Nine to be as far away from her co-workers as possible. While Cashe seemed to be looking at nothingness, he was keeping his eye on one of the monitors on the opposite wall where the time ticked away. Once eight o'clock displayed, Cashe blinked, clapped his hands, and scanned everyone's faces. "Shall we begin?"

Miranda looked back to the dorm hallway. "I think we should wait for Roger to arrive."

"We were supposed to be here at eight. It is eight."

"It only turned to eight. We can wait a little bit."

Cashe looked down at his tablet. It was ten seconds past eight o'clock, so technically, Roger wasn't late yet. Cashe nodded his assent and returned to his waiting pose. Lia tapped her tablet, Dante and Miranda conferred. Karina scowled at everyone. Cashe kept an eye on his clock.

8:00:57.

8:00:58.

8:00:59.

8:01:00.

Cashe looked up and clapped his hands once more. "Shall we begin?"

His statement startled Miranda. Obviously, she had lost track of time. Before she could offer more excuses on Roger's behalf, Cashe said, "It's eight-oh-one. We should begin."

"I'm sure we can wait more than a minute," Dante said.

"We all have work to do. We shouldn't have to wait for others to decide that meetings start on their time. It is discourteous to us. We are here. We are ready. We are waiting."

Miranda inhaled. "I'm sure he will be here momentarily. We don't want anyone to feel left out."

"Fine," Cashe acknowledged with a nod before turning his gaze on her. He had a well-practiced look, the dead-eyed stare where his face lacked any emotions to an almost lethargic level. It was the expression he used with people who would talk to him about things he did not care about. People would say that the look would creep them out, which was fine if it succeeded in shutting them the fuck up. He let his eyes droop to the point where he appeared half-asleep and watched Miranda.

Miranda looked back at him during the next few minutes, each glance more nervous than the next. Based on previous experience, he estimated she would break before the five-minute mark, but to her credit, she endured his attentions until seven past eight, where she said, "We probably shouldn't hold everyone up. First, we should go over last night's test. I'm sure we all feel a little sleep-deprived after all the commotion."