**DISCLAIMER:
All characters in this story are over 18 and purely creations of fiction. Everything depicted is intended to be consensual acts involving adults. This is meant to be a fun story with only a loose connection to real life. It is not meant to be realistic. This is meant to be read for enjoyment, so hopefully you have some fun reading it. Thanks!**
**This story was written for the 2025 Pink Orchid writing challenge**
Ruth stepped into the lobby of the research center with a confident stride and an energy that radiated a powerful conviction. She wore a charming and self-assured smile, one that could easily put anyone at ease and made Ruth appear overflowing with grace and warmth. Her eyes shone with certainty, telling everyone that glanced her way that she was exactly where she wanted to be. No one could have known from just looking at her that the young woman was in the scientific building for an extremely daring and audacious experiment. She didn't carry a single sign of concern or hesitation.
However the way she looked on the outside only partially reflected how Ruth actually felt on the inside. Her confidence wasn't completely fake, as there was a deep current of true excitement within her that grew with each step she took. But there were also strong waves of nervousness that churned underneath her self-assured exterior. Ruth had lived much of her life ruled by timidity and hesitation. She had only recently broken out of the shackles of meekness, and the habits of her younger life were hard to throw off completely. Even so, the more she put on a show of being outwardly confident the more she felt her worries decrease.
Ruth walked straight up to the front desk, grinning warmly at the secretary seated behind it. There were a good number of people in the lobby, but none were waiting in line which let Ruth get right to work. After checking her name off a list and getting signed in Ruth was given a mountain of paperwork to complete. The arduous task of scanning through page after page of incomprehensible legal jargon might have taken the eager spirit out of most people, but Ruth maintained her excitement even as she put down her signature for the hundredth time.
She had already gone through a great deal of onboarding through emails to the head researchers of the experiment she was joining, so Ruth was prepared for the need to do the extra paperwork. The researchers were a deliberate group, which made sense to Ruth. They needed to make sure to detail out every little thing and over explain every point to make sure their experiment could go ahead like they wished. This was especially important in experiments so extreme like the one Ruth was volunteering for, so they afford no laxity in their efforts to get everything correct down to the letter.
After finishing the paperwork and handing it back in, Ruth sat and waited in the lobby, glancing around at the others also there. The area had a combination of comfy chairs and seats as well as some tables. There was a mix of people in lab coats and suits chatting to each other over coffees as well as people in casual clothes just like Ruth. As she waited Ruth wondered if any of the researchers lounging around the area might be helping with the test she was about to do. This sent a tingle of excitement up through her body. It thrilled her even more to imagine one of the regular people being someone who was volunteering in the same experiment with her. She looked around, wondering who she might want the most to be paired with her.
Her daydreams were cut short as a young woman in a lab coat soon stepped into the lobby and called Ruth's name. Standing up Ruth gave her a confident smile as the woman introduced herself as Darla, one of the assistant researchers for the experiment. Darla gestured for Ruth to follow her and led her deeper inside the research center so that she could give Ruth the last steps of preparations for the experiment.
The room which Darla led her to was set up like a doctor's examination room, though with no exam table. Instead Ruth remained standing as Darla began to work on some small items at a desk. During this time Ruth considered the woman, wondering what she might be thinking about. She looked to be a little older than Ruth, perhaps 22 or 23 compared to Ruth's 19 years of age. That would mean she probably already graduated college, since the center they were at was not associated with any university or place of study and didn't employ any undergraduate students.
The thought of college, and especially the idea of finishing a degree and getting a job from it, made Ruth sigh softly and caused her bright smile to dim a little bit. Completing college had always been a goal given to Ruth, but one that had sadly been crushed by the tumults of her life. She had only managed to get through her first year of university before events beyond her control had taken her hopes away from her. Or at least she told herself that the events weren't her direct fault.
It had all happened quite fast. Her whole life had been planned out for her by her parents, and she had obeyed that plan to the letter for nearly all her life. Her childhood had been spent attending a private all girls christian school where she got amazing grades. Ruth didn't just strive academically, but she had excelled in a number of sports. She did everything she could to follow her parent's plan for her life, pouring every ounce of effort she had into succeeding. Ruth had spent so much time focusing on achieving every goal her parents set for her and obeying their large amount of strict rules that she never really had time for anything like a social life. And this was much to her parents' liking, who discouraged Ruth whenever she attempted to make a meaningful relationship outside the family.
Ruth did that all in an effort to gain her parents' approval, but even when she met their insanely high expectations they expressed their satisfaction with her sparingly and coldly. Still, all her work did at least get her a scholarship to the very prestigious and extremely expensive private christian college they had wanted her to attend. Ruth kept up her exhaustive work ethic all through her first year, achieving stellar grades and the attention of the faculty. Everything seemed to be working out, until it came crashing down all at once.
Thinking back on how her life had brought her to this point had made Ruth zone out for a few moments, and she only realized that the researcher was asking her a question after Darla asked it for a third time. Shaking her head and letting out another sigh Ruth collected her thoughts and focused back on the present.
"Sorry, I got lost in thought there. What were you saying?" Ruth asked the woman, giving her a soft smile.