The Wednesday, I go the office and I get shown around and we have an introduction to what we'll be doing here. They tell us we will be receiving an evaluation before we can be part of the research. Besides a few confused faces, no one seems to be bothered by it. We are also informed that after the evaluations have taken place, there will be a meet and greet for us to get to know each other. Since it'll be on a Thursday, we get Friday and the whole weekend off. The real work starts on Monday.
We are given times to for our evaluation, and thankfully I'm given a time today. Not before long it's my time to go in and to be honest I'm a little nervous. I step into the office and I'm greeted by a lady, probably in her mid-50's she has sparkling blue eyes and a very blond, greying hair. she greets me with a smile and gestures me to take a seat. Rather than sitting across from me at the desk she makes us sit on the chairs at the corner of her office, separated by a small round table. I know this to make me more comfortable and it works.
"Pleasure to meet you Miss Reed. I'm Miss West." She shakes my hand.
"Like wise, Miss West."
"Okay, so let's get down to business shall we." I reply with a quick yes and she smiles before looking down on her clipboard. "I hope you've been enjoying your stay so far."
"Yes. I have. Thank you."
"So I've been looking through your file and for someone who has just started her career, it's pretty impressive. I've heard some good things about you." I thank her with a smile and she continues. "As you know, during this research we will be studying people's reactions to certain situations as well as the impact it may have on the individuals. We have been busy with this research for a number of years and I'm sure you can imagine how important this is and how much work has gone into insuring its success."
"Yes mam."
"Okay now some of these events will be violent and disturbing. We choose the people who have the best capabilities and are able to deal with these situations professionally. Since you are a psychologist, I assume you can handle that."
"Yes, I assure you ma'am."
"Good now. If there are things that bother you or may trigger some reactions to you, please let us know before we start this research. A program will be given to you, then you can look through it in detail and let me know." She looks at me briefly for confirmation. "Now Miss Reed I hope you understand that you will be very busy during this period and it will take its toll on you, both emotionally and physically."
"Yes ma'am."
"Also I hope you're aware that whatever we do here is confidential and no one outside of this project may know what is happening unless we allow results and such to be released to the public." I nod my head and she smiles. She continues to tell me a few other details and requirements for my stay and after a few questions I'm good to go. we say our goodbyes and I exit.
I decide to walk around the facility so I can know where everything is and to get used to the place. This facility feels like a normal workplace but it has that clinical feel to it. I'm looking at some kind of poster when I bump into someone. A guy is standing in front of me with his eyes on the papers he just dropped.
"Oh I'm so sorry." Why does this always happen to me? Me and my damn clumsiness. I internally roll my eyes myself as I bend down to help him pick them up."
"It's okay." He says as he stands up and he extends his hand to me. He's attractive, not as attractive as Zayn but he's got he's own thing going. He's got the tall dark and handsome thing going. I think we're almost the same skin tone. He's grinning at me and I feel truly stupid. "Jim."
"Melony." I say in return, shaking his hand.
"You must be one of the new ones." He says as he straightens himself out. "Never seen you around."
"I guess I am one of them." I can't help but laugh. "are you?"
"Oh no. I've been working here for a few years now." He says looking around. "but I'll also be working on the research with you guys." He says and he looks extremely pleased with that.
"Well let me not keep you. Once again, I'm sorry."
"Don't sweat It." He says. He nods before heading to where ever he was headed.
Luckily they have organized a form of transport for the "New Ones" and it collects us and drops us off when we're done for the day. All you have to do is call the guy and you're sorted. By the time I'm done walking around and I'm sure I know where some of the buildings are, I call the guy to leave. I'm exhausted and there's no way I could know this whole place in one afternoon.
By the time I get to the apartment I'm beat from the busy day. My feet hurt and I just want to sleep. My body aches all over. One thing though is that I'm glad that the day went smoothly, besides me bumping into people, I went very well.
We were informed that these apartments have a common dining area where breakfast lunch and dinner will be served to us. even though there is a small kitchen in the apartment itself. I'm in no mood to eat though. I just want to lose myself in sleep. I strip my clothes off and I realize that I haven't checked my phone this entire day. I check it and find messages from my mom and bother, Cate, Trevor and a few other people. Most of them are just checking on me and asking how my first day here has been. I decide to open Zayn's text last.
Zayn: Morning baby. Good luck today. Let me know how it goes.
Zayn: You okay?
Yeah I decided to change his name back to normal after someone on the plane gave me a look after seeing his name.
Me: Hey. Sorry I was busy today. Everything went great thanks. Xx
Usually I would want to ask him about his day and talk for a while but my body just isn't agreeing. Sleep comes really easy to me and before I know it, I'm lost in my dreams.
The next day I wake up still a bit tired. Gosh, we haven't even started the real work and I'm already tired. I get out of bed and I go make me some coffee. After I'm done, I take a quick shower and I get dressed. I walk down to the dining hall- if that's what they call it and I get myself some fruits and yogurt. A few people are sitting there already and everybody's minding their own business. There are about 5 people in here and only two are actually having a conversation. I take a seat alone as I finish my breakfast. After finishing, the transport arrives and everyone heads over to the facility.
When we arrive we all receive a pass and we get assigned to our different stations, where we will be told more about our specific work. We all get assigned a 'leader' if you will, and to my luck I get Jim. Or in this case Dr. Jackson. Jim Jackson. He smiles slyly at me as he leads us to his department and I blush. Gosh. Will I ever live it down?
After another busy day we get to go home and freshen up for the get-to-know each other thing later tonight. Honestly. I think it's a great idea. It gives us time to get used to each other in a comfortable environment. Again, the transport takes us home and we all head to our assigned rooms. I decide to just wear my torn skinny jeans and a tank top. It's a bit tight, but then who cares? We arrive at the bar and everyone is starting to lighten up. People are talking and drinking with each other.
We form a group and soon, everyone is introduced to everyone and it's all laughter and jokes. The drinks keep coming but I decide to take it easy tonight. I do not want these people to see me anywhere near drunk. Someone whips out a phone and soon we're all lost in a frenzy of selfies and blurred pictures. Someone from the facility is there to take pictures and he's being dragged from one person to the other. I'm vaguely aware that me and Jim have a few pictures taken together and that we talked, the entire night.
I learn that they only outsourced six people for the research, the rest were already part of the research facility. We get to know our supervisors more and we bond with everyone else. They look like a great bunch and I'm excited to work with them. For some reason, we're on the dare game and I'm dared to line dance with Jim, or give him a lap dance. Since I said I don't feel like dancing, they thought it was a great idea. I try to get out of it but it's no use. I'm pulled up by a girl named Nicky and I give in.
We move to the dance floor and soon we're dancing. We're standing extremely close to each other. I don't know what to do until Nicky heads over to the DJ and soon we hear a country song blasting through the speakers.
"Line dance?" Jim asks and I can't help but smile as we step into place. we start the line dance and we're surprisingly in sync. After a few turns and kicks, Jim grabs my hips and spins me around. The boy can move; I think to myself. After a few moments, we separate and we finish the dance. Everybody claps and hollers as we make our way to the table.
"Who knew black people could line dance so well." Michael says, as he raises a glass. He and Jim are supposedly best friends. Have been for years. He like the rest of us, is also part of the research.
"Funny considering that you're also black." Jim hits him over the head as he rolls his eyes.
"Didn't say I could dance bro." Michael replies with a shrug. We all laugh and the rest of the night is a blur of dancing and funny stories being told around the table. at this point I'm excited to start this research with all these amazing people. No one is being a Debby downer, and it seems like everyone is enjoying themselves. This night couldn't have gone better.