"He won't be here long, just a few days. Both Omega and Beta have no free rooms, and the lab is undergoing some...reconstruction. So, be nice. And Blake, make sure mister Windsor doesn't do any more damage. We all know what he's like with strangers."
Benson said, stood by the door with his hand on the shoulder of someone new.
With the events taking place yesterday, they were able to ask for gifts early, and received them that Friday morning. Xander sat happily on the sofa, gripping his large stack of paper, pens and pencils. He had so much he wanted to write down already, and he was certain it would help clear his mind. Emi was happy too, holding her new blue dress tightly, practically bouncing with anticipation, waiting for Benson to leave so she could get changed.
"I can't believe this..."
The new boy spat, turning his head to the side.
"Come now, don't be like that." Grinned Benson, grabbing his face and forcing his eyes forward, "These are who you should be looking up to. Consider it an honour to use this building for the short time you can. And, since I expect you to get friendly with everybody, why don't you introduce yourself?"
"Ugh..." The boy growled, crossing his arms and closing his eyes tight, "...my name's Tanner..."
"That'll do, I suppose." Sighed Benson before pushing the boy forward, who almost fell flat. Once regaining his balance with a little embarrassed blush, Tanner leaned against the wall and continued to avoid eye contact, "Now that's outta the way, I've got some new information on Monday's test." Benson began, grabbing everyone's attention.
Eden leant forward, clasping her hands together, "Do you know why they're doing it? What it's for?!"
"...not particularly. All I can really say is that this is going to be leagues above what you're used to. It'll be hard, real hard. You may be used to handling each other, but there'll be forty other buggars in there fighting for their lives. Strangely enough, there will be no frequencies either. So, you'll either have to hope your switch comes out on its own, that you can survive with your own abilities, or have to kiss your ass goodbye."
Xander had been trying his hardest to not think about the upcoming test. So as he gripped his paper harder, staring down at the ground, he simply couldn't repress that sickening throb in the pit of his stomach.
The mysterious Em had told him he would survive, but how could she possibly know that for sure?
Xander wasn't even sure if she actually existed yet.
After wishing them luck, assuming he wouldn't see them again until Monday, Benson told Tanner to be polite once more before he left.
Tanner himself was clearly uncomfortable, standing tense, without moving a muscle.
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Tanner." Eden forced a smile, hoping a friendly welcome could help him relax, "You will be using the second to last room for your stay. If you need anything, feel free to ask. We'll all be happy to-"
"I don't need any sort of help from you. Any of you."
He spat, snapping his head forward to glare at her.
Nobody was sure what to say, so a short moment of discomfort passed before Eden turned to the others, smiling again.
"Now, I'm sure we're all feeling nervous about the test coming up, but we have to remember that nothing here as changed. So long as we stay calm and continue as normal, I'm sure everything will be fine. I'm going to sort out the new kitchen equipment, dinner will be ready at six on the dot. We're having homemade lasagne. You could help me if you'd like, Emi?"
"Actually, I wanna go in the garden for a while."
Emi grinned wide, her eyes glued onto her new dress as she made her way to her room to change.
