The Claire Project

Chapter 5

Automatic lights flickered on overhead as they stepped inside, and Will was almost giddy with excitement as if it was Christmas morning. The lab was spacious and immaculate. On top of the black workbenches were state-of-the-art PCR machines and incubation cabinets. There were several sterile hoods, and shelves for pipettes and various other scientific equipment. It was a veritable research scientist's playground, and Will could hardly wait to get to work.

Veldin said nothing as Will walked through the lab checking out the equipment but smiled knowingly at Will's awestruck expression. Finally, he said, "I know you probably wish to spend some time acclimating to your new workspace, but you'll have plenty of time for that tomorrow. I still need to show you the rest of the grounds. There's still the fitness center, pool, tennis courts, basketball courts, and of course the restaurants to tour. Vue de Ciel is particularly good for more formal dining and I'm sure you'll quite enjoy it."

Will very much would have rather stayed in his lab for the rest of the day. He was already sort of overwhelmed by the sheer size of the campus, and the thought of touring the rest of it for the remainder of the day was exhausting. But he smiled compliantly to Veldin anyway and simply said, "Ok," before following him out of the lab.

And the tour was exactly that, exhausting. It wasn't just that the campus was large in size—no, that didn't really bother him—it was more so that he had been inundated with too many new sights and too much information. He really wanted to ask to see his new flat on campus where he would be living and then excuse himself so that he could be alone and take some time to process everything he had just learned.

After what seemed like a long time, finally Veldin told him he would be showing him to his flat, which was on the 5th floor of the residential building, and Will was relieved. The place was fully furnished, modern and sleek, with an open layout. Big picture windows facing beyond the compound gave a perfect view over the perimeter fence, to the picturesque, rugged wilderness that lay beyond. Will had had his belongings shipped in advance, and movers had already brought the boxes up and stacked them neatly in the entryway.

"One more thing before I leave you for the evening to unpack," Veldin said, gesturing for Will to follow him back into the hallway. He walked down the hallway two doors and knocked.

After a short moment, a woman with black hair and a pleasantly smiling broad face opened the door. She was of Asian descent and couldn't have been more than a year or two older than Will. "Dr. Veldin, what a pleasant surprise," the girl answered cheerfully.

Veldin smiled in return. "Connie, I'd like you to meet Will. He's your new neighbor from a few doors down." Veldin put an arm around Will's shoulder, presenting him in introduction.

Connie turned and offered her smile to Will now. "Nice to meet you," she said pleasantly.

Will nodded back at her, "nice to meet you too."

"If you have some free time, I'd really like it if you could show Will around the campus a little more. You know, sort of take him under your wing until he really gets to know the place. Maybe show him the best place to grab a bite for dinner," Veldin told her then.

Connie nodded, "Sure! I don't have anything going on tonight anyway."

"Great," Veldin said, clasping his hand together, "I've got to run. I have a very important meeting to attend to, but I will see you tomorrow, Will." He tipped his head at Will in acknowledgement and then with that Veldin took off, leaving Will and Connie in the hallway alone together.

They smiled at each other shyly for a moment. Will, who didn't particularly enjoy meeting new people, sort of wished he could just go back into his new apartment, but he didn't want to be rude. Anyway, Connie seemed like a very nice and friendly person, and he figured it would probably be useful to have at least one person he could talk to who knew their way around.

She gestured down the hall and said, "Come on, follow me." So they set off, and Will found that Connie was actually very easy to talk to, or at least, she talked an awful lot. She started out by asking him what sort of food he would prefer for dinner, and when Will told her he wasn't really very picky, Connie told him she would just show him her favorite spot instead. She chattered on to him pleasantly while they walked, and he was really thankful for her steady stream of dialogue because she left no pause for awkward silences that he would be expected to fill.

Will learned that she had only been with Zenrad a little over a year herself, but she really loved her job. She worked in the primate lab and specialized in behavioral science, of which she was very passionate about. Beyond science, Connie liked music, hiking, and playing tennis. Tennis was in fact something she and Will had in common. Will and his dad used to play together, although it had been years since the last time they did. In any case, Will and Connie agreed to get together and play later that week.

Finally, full from dinner and completely worn out, Will returned back to his new apartment just after dusk. His evening had been pleasant, and he found he was actually happy that he had met Connie. It was nice to already have somewhat of a friend here in this new place.

He showered, and then came back out into the entryway to assess the boxes he had to unpack. There were probably more boxes filled with books than there were clothes, and he hadn't really brought a whole lot of belongings with him in the first place. Realistically, it probably wouldn't take him very long to unpack them all, but he wanted to be well rested for his day tomorrow, so he decided he could probably leave most of them for the weekend.

Instead, he chose only two boxes to start with, one with clothing and necessities, and the other some of his most essential references and lab notebooks. After that, he went straight to bed, setting his alarm for bright and early the next day.