& 02

CHAPTER 1 - THE EMAIL

Our scene opens in a sleepy suburb at a seaside town in the southern coast of California. In the late hours of a Tuesday night Jessica, a young soon-to-be college Freshman, is found watching Netpix on her laptop with heavy eyelids slowly closing the gap into dreamland. The laptop screen had been showing the same text for several minutes now

"Are you there?"

with a prompt to continue watching. Of course the sleepy little redhead was already slipping away and didn't care what was on the screen in her dreary state.

Suddenly a sharp bell sound from her laptop made her jump, snatching her away from the soothing embrace of sleep. The notification pane at the bottom right displayed a headline to an email:

"Job Opportunity - BioTech Labs"

. In her drowsy state, she didn't have time to catch the snippet of info below the headline in the notification, and shuffled her hands to the laptop keyboard and to open up the email. Jessica and her older brother came from a well-to-do household. Both parents being the first in their families to have a 4 year Bachelorate degree and holding with that the expectation that their children would also follow this new family tradition. There was an unspoken agreement between the siblings and their parents that their college fees would be taken care of as long as they maintained a decent GPA. However, this meant they had to strike out on their own after graduating from High School and it meant finding a job to support them once they left the nest. This agreement had been laid out in advance since before Jessica and Kyle were pre-teens.

Kyle was a couple years ahead of Jessica and had great success venturing out alone into the world. Being the more athletically minded of the two, he had managed to secure a collegiate sports scholarship, and lifted a good portion of the burden their parents held when it came to financing their education. It also meant he didn't have to find a job to support himself since his parents happily footed the bill for maintaining that scholarship, and thus he could focus on his athletics. Jessica, however, wasn't so lucky and only had this summer to get ahead on her finances before her schedule filled with exams and orientations.

Reading the email, Jessica gathered a few things. First, the email made no qualms about clarifying compensation, as the position advertised clearly listed a whopping $75 per hour and a minimum of 40 hours a week guaranteed, with overtime available accompanied by double pay. Second, this was a position for human trials, and the applicant for this position would be subjected to strict rules for participating, complete with NDAs. Third, and lastly, the interview would only be held for one day at a set time, and there was only one opening available for the position: tomorrow at 1PM.

Jessica hadn't secured employment for the college yet, but with pay like this, she could easily work this summer making a great little nest egg, then just skate by on a slacker's job to take care of necessities when school started. Originally she had planned on taking this last summer to enjoy her youth before plunging head first into adulthood, but this seemed like a once in a life time opportunity and it was moving fast. Questions began to swirl in her head, like what she would wear to the interview, what would she treat herself to from the first paycheck, how long would it take to get paid. All questions that would have to wait for an answer, except for her attire. She sprung from the bed and opened up her closet to begin looking for something to wear.

"Well, it's a formal setting I figure." she mumbled to herself, thumbing through her hangars. Jessica's outfits were mostly things you would wear to the beach or a concert; only a few items, such as what she wore to her Grandmother's funeral, or to prom last year were any bit formal. The prom dress was a shimmery thing that contoured her petite body nicely, with a thigh cut on the skirt that hit just above her knees, and a frilly top that held a padded bra which pushed her small chest up and out to give the appearance of a larger bust. It was flattering, sure, but way too flashy to interview for a lab position.

The other set was a power suit with black dress pants, a pair of black flats, and a V-Neck tank with a button up dress jacket, both black. "Sorry Grammy, but I need this job." Jessica grabbed the outfit and tried it on, slipping off her hoodie and shorts she'd worn to bed and shimmying into the suit. Slipping on the flats and looking into the mirror, she reached up and pulled her hair into a lazy knot in the back and did a little half spin to gauge the outfit. The black dress pants really hugged her curves with the perfect crease formed under each cheek, she had long legs and a cute bubble butt, and they only accentuated those features even more. Jessica's lips curled into a smile as she'd remembered vividly how she caught one of the men at her Grandmother's wake that had held the door open for her staring at her ass while she walked away.

The memory slipped from her mind as she looked back into the mirror. She looked professional, no doubt, but there was something more to be done. She bit her lip and furrowed her brow trying to figure out what the look needed. "Oh!" it hit her as she let out a whisper of exclamation. It was the flats. Digging into her closet once more, she looked for a pair of heels to compliment it, and came up with a pair of black closed toe heels with a gold buckle on top and a 2 inch lift in the heel. Slipping off the flats and into the heels, Jessica steadied herself in the mirror and did her dance once more. The improvement wasn't dramatic but it certainly added curve appeal, making her butt pop even more as she did a brief walk in the mirror watching the heels give her the subtlest bounce to each step in her butt.

Satisfied with the outfit Jessica took the suit off, being careful not to lay it so any creases would form, and climbed back into bed making sure to set her alarm in the morning at a decent hour. With it being a week day and having no vehicle herself, she would have to rely on her brother to get her to the interview. She knew catching him earlier in the day before he has a chance to slip away would be the best route to take.

Jessica woke up to the noise of her alarm going off. Within seconds of hitting the button she rubbed her eyes and pulled strands of ember hair out from around her face. She rose quickly with wide eyes once she'd remembered the email and the interview. Getting there early would be essential to success with only one open position. Slinging off her clothes she skipped into the bathroom, squinting into the bright lights above the mirror. She'd forgotten to take her makeup off last night and saw raccoon eyes from smeared eye shadow and liner staring back at her. She leaned over into the shower, throwing the curtain back and flipping the lever over to hot. The sound of running water and the spittering of the shower head as hot, steamy water began to run filled the room. Jessica took out a makeup removal wipe from the cabinet below and wiped off as much of the makeup as possible. Now her blue eyes stood out so much they appeared to glow as bright as her freckle-dotted pale skin.

She leapt into the shower and continued her ritual cleaning in a brisk manner, turning off the shower head once done, and tossed her dirty clothes into the bin while moving to her bed wrapped in a towel around her head and body. Jessica grabbed her favorite lotion smelling of lavender and honey and poured a dollop into her skin to begin massaging it in. Within minutes, she'd finished and was getting dressed when she heard noise in the kitchen. She looked at her phone for the time: 10AM. Time was beginning to run short. With a head of wet, red hair, she threw the suit on and rushed into the kitchen, clasping the last button on her pants with the tucked in tank. She found her brother cleaning up dishes from his morning breakfast in a pair of dress slacks and a tucked in dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

"What's this all about?"

she wondered, but quickly dismissed it.

"Hey, do you think you have time to take me somewhere, in like an hour?" Jessica asked her brother. Kyle was equally as dismissive as he focused on scrubbing.

"Yeah sure, but I got somewhere to be myself so can you be ready sooner, Say ten minutes?" Jessica thought about this for a moment, figuring she would be way too early for the interview, but decided it couldn't hurt. She had no idea how many other people had received that email and would be waiting.

"Okay, I'll get my things. Thanks!" and with that she turned back and paced quickly to her bedroom to finish getting ready. Blow drying and straightening her hair, re-applying makeup, adjusting her bra, all of the necessary items checked off in her appearance. Jessica grabbed her small white purse with a golden clasp, her phone, and made her way to the kitchen just in time to hear her brother crank up his SUV in the garage. Making her way through the garage door and climbing up into the vehicle, Kyle was busy putting in the address on his phone and Jessica fastened her seatbelt and reached over to Kyle's sun visor and clicked the garage door opener. The late morning sun shone in as the door creaked up and Kyle put his phone in the cradle on the dashboard and backed out of the garage.

"So, where you headed?" he asked, looking into his mirror as he backed up.

"Uh, let me show you." Jessica said, pulling out her phone and showing him the address she had isolated from the email in her notes app on her phone.

"That's weirdly convenient..." Kyle said, raising his eyebrows and continued backing up to turn around. "That address is a different suite in the same building I'm headed to." Jessica was shocked and played her bluff to hide it like a world star Poker champion. Kyle dug deeper, "What are you doing headed there? Are you interviewing for a job?"

"Oh no"

Jessica thought to herself,

"Is he interviewing for the position too? Why? He doesn't need that job! I do! Okay... okay just play it cool."

"It's just, that I was looking for a job, and well there was this spot open at this office for a receptionist." Jessica was selling it hard, hoping he bought it. There's only one position open and she was determined to get it over him, but she was curious if he had received the email, too. "What about you? You're all dressed up for

something?"

Kyle played it very cool, confident with his words "Yeah, I'm job-shadowing a sports medicine guru. Most draft picks usually happen Sophomore year, and since I didn't get picked I have to start looking into other fields. Sucks, but it is what it is." Jessica almost didn't believe him, and then suddenly a thought horrified her. The only opening she had

received

was for being a test subject, what if he was interviewing for a different position? What if he was telling the truth and some of these experiments would be administered by this so-called guru of his?

Jessica wasn't particularly close to Kyle, their age difference and social groups not often landing them in situations where they were forced to interact outside of sharing a home, but they had always held a mutual respect for each other. The SUV sped down the highway along the coast and into a more rural area of So.Cal. - well, as rural as the coastline of California can get anyways. Neither spoke to each other for the remainder of their ride until they arrived at the location. It was 11AM and Jessica had a few hours left until the interview. The location they'd arrived at looked like an old mall. The parking lot was devoid of any vehicles save for the few that littered the lot thanks to some nearby businesses to the location. "Who did you say you were interviewing with again?" Kyle piped up breaking the silence as they stared at the seemingly abandoned mall front entrance.

Jessica had no need to hide who she was here for, it would only help to support her facade "BioTech Labs." Kyle looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"No kidding? Me too." He paused turning back to face the building "Must be a new development. Guess they need lots of space." Jessica had let her mind cross through a few different scenarios. The job posting perhaps was too good to be true as she stared at the dusty glass doors and into the dark, dimly lit interior of the mall.

Not wanting to spend anymore time with Kyle and be subjected to his probing questions, Jessica popped open the door to the vehicle giving him an awkward glance. "Well, I guess I better go find the entrance for my interview." Kyle took this opportunity to do the same, hopping out of the SUV and stretching with a yawn. Both shut their doors and walked around the front of the vehicle toward the mall.

"Yeah, me too. Let's go take a look at that map first."

"Good idea." Jessica responded. The short walk up to the front, standing facing the monolith on the side walk to the mall they read the dusty, faded map out.

"Huh. Looks like I'm this way" Kyle pointed behind him, to the left facing the mall.

"And it looks like I'm

this

way" Jessica pointed the opposite direction.

"Alright, well it looks like a decent walk. Best get to it." Kyle gave Jessica a short wave before turning and heading off around the building. Jessica did the same, responding in kind.

CHAPTER 2 - THE CONTRACT

Jessica made her way around the mall, soaking in the hot afternoon sun as she walked for nearly eight minutes to her destination, the clacking of her heels being her only companion. Finally arriving, she looked at the suite number at the top of the single glass-door entrance. Above the entrance was the faded spot where a sign had once rested, the bolts having been recently removed. Behind the tinted glass a bright white light was visible, but nothing could be made out due to the bright reflections of the mid day sun. She reached for the door and pulled it open, a current blast of frigid air hitting her like a strong fan. She stepped inside and pulled the door shut behind her, turning to find a lady seated behind a semi-circle white desk, a black woman with her hair in a bun atop her head, looking at her with a slight smile. "Good evening, are you here for an interview?" the woman spoke.

Jessica smiled and raised her expression to an eager one, putting on her best customer service voice "Yes ma'am! Is this the right location?"

The receptionist motioned for her to have a seat in one of the chairs lined against the wall. Behind her was a solid wood door with a key card panel to one side. Nothing else but a door to a restroom was there. "Yes this is the right place. Please have a seat and we will be with you shortly." The woman turned her attention away, continuing to thumb at some documents. Jessica's smile faded to its normal resting nature as she took a seat and quickly found herself bored in the cold room. She reached into her pocket for her phone, clicking it awake only to find that she had no cell service. Disappointed she let out a light sigh and looked back over at the woman who was still sorting some unseen documents behind the receptionist's desk.

"So, I know I'm a bit early, but doesn't look like anyone had much interest in coming, I mean how could they pass up the pay, right?" The receptionist turned up her head hearing Jessica speak.

"Oh, I wasn't told anything about the position. BioTech is very hush-hush about those kinds of things." The receptionist smiled again and turned her head back to her work. Jessica felt awkward, having nothing to speak on with the receptionist, even if she seemed keen on small talk. Instead, Jessica decided to let the conversation drop. The clock on her phone told her she had about an hour left and she knew it would pass very slowly, but was optimistic at the thought of others joining her in the waiting room in spite of her competitive attitude about the position.

As the clock ticked closer to the time of the interview, a few people did show up and joined her in the waiting room. A man in his forties who looked like he hadn't slept in days, an older woman that was overweight and poorly dressed, and another woman who was in her early twenties and had a really bad sunburn likely from being in a tanning bed too long judging from the tan lines one would get around their eyes from the goggles. At the strike of 1PM exactly, the receptionist rose from behind the desk with a single key in hand, walked to the door, and locked it testing it with a good tug. The receptionist turned and went back to her desk without a single word as everyone waited with anticipation. Not but a moment later, a young man came rushing up to the door, trying the handle and jiggling it hard after his first attempt to open it. He covered his eyes with his hands as he peered in and started knocking, requesting someone to let him in and that he was here for an interview.

The receptionist calmly looked up from her desk for a moment, and then returned looking down at her work without a cause for concern. The man continued to try for a few moments, begging for one of the party to come open the door, and everyone waiting for an interview had our attention focused between him and looking at the receptionist for a reaction; no one moving to assist the man in getting inside. Eventually the man gave up, threw his hands in the air and hung his shoulders in defeat, walking away. At that moment the door behind the receptionist's desk clicked as the magnetic lock disengaged and the door swung open. A woman in her thirties, nearly a head taller than Jessica, with dark brown hair, brown eyes behind half frame glasses, with a white lab coat fastened around her, and little to no makeup took a glance at all of the candidates, then spoke in a loud, even tone that made Jessica flinch.

"Thank you all for attending this interview, please deposit your cell phones, smart watches, and any other electronics onto the receptionist's desk and follow me." She held the door open, and everyone filed in, Jessica in front. As they made it through the door the lady in the lab coat swiftly walked ahead of Jessica without stopping. She spoke with mild interest, as if she was rehearsing a script "Welcome to BioTech Labs. We are excited to offer this opportunity to join our team for eight weeks. The opportunity you are applying for will be working with cutting edge medical technology and methods that will shape the future of medical care for humanity." As she went through her monologue we walked down a plain white corridor lit by bright, cool-white LED fixtures that flooded the hallway in a clean and crisp sterile light.

Eventually the group began to pass doors, only about four, grouped about twelve feet apart, as they came to a stop. Without looking at a single one of her group, or perhaps through them entirely like ghosts, the lady spoke again to address the group "Please select a room, grabbing a clip board from the door and closing it behind you. We will be with each of you shortly for your interview. Be sure to read the documentation attached in its entirety and sign on each dotted line next to

Patient's signature

marked with an

x.

" She stood waiting with a bored and bland expression on her face. Jessica turned to the right and did as she was instructed, opening the heavy exam room door, and closing it gently. The clipboard held a tall stack of papers in its clasp. If she had shook the clipboard too much in any direction, the papers would have surely fallen out and to the floor. The stack had to be at least two inches thick.

The room Jessica had stepped into looked like any other any exam room found in any physician's workplace. A bed with a roll of stiff, white paper covered its length. A counter with a sink, cabinets, hand sanitizer, waste bins, and other accoutrements were all present as well.

"They must have blown a helluva lot of money to get this all built up."

Jessica thought to herself. After taking a seat, she looked at the first page on the clipboard and began to read.