The 50/50 Vaccine

Chapter 8

We made our way back to the cafeteria and grabbed some food before sitting at a table where a few others were already sitting. “I hope we’re not interrupting, but we just got in last night, and had our tour of the facility. Y’all look like you’ve been here for a bit, so we were hoping you could give us some real insight into this place.” Lexi stated as she sat down. “I’m Lexi, and this is my friend Mandy.”

“Hi,” I wave as I reluctantly sit in the seat next to Lexi.

“You are not interrupting at all, we just were having some food before going about our daily routines.” A man with long blond hair replied. His blue eyes seemed to be scrutinizing us as he spoke. I get the sense he was choosing his words carefully as well. “I’m Evander, but everyone calls me Evan.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Evan,” Lexi says with a smile. I honestly can’t tell if she’s flirting or just being friendly. “So, let’s hear about these routines.”

“It varies from person to person.” A girl with curly blonde hair answers from across the table. “I’m Brianna.”

“Hello, Brianna,” Lexi replied. I’m not sure why but I’m starting to feel like an outsider here. “I have to just toss it out there. Have any of you developed any abilities yet? Or are you still waiting?”

“That’s none of your business,” Brianna snapped. “You can’t just drop in and expect everyone to tell you everything about themselves. Geesh, you need to simmer down.”

“Honey, I’m just trying to be friendly. It was a simple question, I wasn’t going to pry to learn what the ability is just yet. I personally am eager to find out what mine will be.” Lexi replied calmly.

“How about we start with a different kind of icebreaker?” I suggest. “We don’t want to be too nosey or intrusive. Let’s start with what did you all do for work before you took the vaccine. I was an accountant, but I got laid off when my office building was bought by Greenway.”

“I am fresh out of college, I was in a lot of student loan debt. I changed my major one too many times I think, but dentistry was just not my cup of tea as much as I thought it would be.” Brianna answered less bristly.

“What did you finally settle on?” I blurted out. “Sorry, too much prying. You don’t have to share if you don’t want to.”

“Believe it or not, I became an art major.” Brianna smiled.

“That is a complete 180 turn. Going from digging in people's mouths to creating masterpieces.” Evan commented.

“If you really think about it, it’s not too big of a difference. Dentists create masterpieces with mouths all the time.” Lexi pointed out.

“If you say so,” Evan holds up his hands in a placated gesture.

“Art is so wonderful. I always liked to doodle, but I never thought it was good enough, so I stuck with numbers,” I admit. “How about you, Lexi and Evan? What did you guys do before you got the vaccine?”

“I was a busboy at a restaurant, and then a bellhop at a hotel chain. Working multiple dead-end jobs to pay the bills, isn’t the easiest life choice,” Evan answered. “Once I heard about Greenway, I began thinking about my future and debating what’s right for me.”

“I hear that. I made several pros and cons lists for almost a month before I committed,” I share.

“I was a researcher for a newspaper company. I didn’t do any of the journaling, but man can I research things. I always checked to ensure we were printing only real news. You’d be surprised how much fake news is out there.” Lexi replied.

“So, which one of you is connected to the founding family?” Evan asks. “I know the rules here. Wait let me guess.” He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath then opens them again. “Mandy is laid back, looking more for background, whereas Lexi here dove head first into the questions about this place. I’m going to say, Lexi has a connection to the family. Am I right?”

“Guilty.” Lexi smiled.

“Thought so,” Evan stated standing up to leave. “I’ll leave you ladies to chat, I have some other places to be.” He casually dumped his trash into the trash bin and left the cafeteria.

“Does he not like the family?” Lexi wondered.

“Evan is a very private person. He’s worried that your family is just trying to gather information on us like Greenway. There’s a real scary backstory for him that I’m afraid I cannot share, but helps me understand his hesitation.” Brianna answered. “Just give him time and space. He’s a nice guy, just really guarded for good reason.”

“Who did he come in with?” Lexi pressed.

“I’m not sure. I’ve learned to just let him lead the conversations as he doesn’t like discussing too much personal things. I’m honestly surprised he answered Mandy’s question so honestly.” Brianna stated. An alarm on her watch began to beep. “Oh, I’m sorry, I need to get going. Therapy waits for no one here.” She rushes off after disposing of her trash.

"Therapy?” I ask Lexi.

“I’m sure there’s more to the check-in and what have you here. Sasha just gave us a tour and a brief orientation. Selma will be around later with a more detailed daily schedule for each of us.” Lexi replied as we walked to the stairwell after cleaning up our trash. “I think tomorrow, maybe you should wander around alone and see if you can find out more. I’m not as welcomed as I thought here.”

“I’m sure it was just Evan.”

“Why chance it?”

“Why isolate yourself? We’re a team, remember. Don’t let one person be the reason you end up isolated and closed off.”

“I’m not isolating myself. I have my family, but it’s clear that there is a bit of resentment and hesitation from others. I just don’t want to be the reason you become isolated or resented by everyone. We can debrief here, but things seem to be tense in the cafeteria. Maybe you can help us gather information in time. I’m not asking you to spy on anyone like that, but I can use some help from someone not within the family.”

“I don’t know,” I begin, but Lexi holds up her hand to stop me.

“Don’t decide now, just think about it.” Lexi insisted.

**********************************************

By three, Selma came to the door and handed us each our personalized itinerary which includes scheduled therapy sessions, group sessions, training sessions, and garden usage times. “What’s the garden usage?” I ask looking over everything.

“Outside time. It’s not supposed to feel like a prison here, but until we get our abilities and learn to control them, we need to remain where everyone and everything is safe, which is within these walls.” Lexi explained.

“So, like recess time?” I chuckle. “No hustle and bustle of work or adult life. Maybe we can restart our lives somehow.”

“The 50/50 vaccine changes lives and gives us a new purpose. The question is, what will we do with this new beginning?”

“You all hand chose those who come in here.”

“Some of us, but Sasha mentioned something to me as we toured the facility. Some people are just showing up looking for another option. We’re not sure who told them, or if they just overheard from someone else, which is why I started asking the questions we have.” Lexi admitted.

“You did come on a bit strong. I had flashbacks to Liz.” I admitted.

“Was I that aggressive? I didn’t even think. Damn, no wonder why Evan hated me immediately. It’s so out of character for me.”

“I was thinking the same thing, but I also got the impression that we may have crashed a private moment Evan and Brianna were having,” I recalled. “Not sure how much they wanted us there. Brianna seemed nice, but Evan was a bit frosty. I think it’s more to the fact that we interrupted something without acknowledging it.”

“So, maybe I just need to chill out and bide my time?”

“And maybe read the room more. Try to be more yourself and less Liz.” I suggest, knowing Lexi will understand what I mean as she was the one who voiced her feelings about Liz.

“You’re right, I need to chill out. Thanks, Mandy. You truly are a good friend.” Lexi smiled at me looking at her itinerary. “Do we have anything together?” She asked handing me her list.

“Yeah, recess.” I laugh.

“You are going to call it that?”

“Yup, and class. Let’s not forget assembly time and P.E.” I note.

“You are impossible.”

“I thought you just said I’m a good friend? Now I’m impossible?” I tease. “So, I’m an impossibly good friend?”

Lexi rolls her eyes at me and tossing a throw pillow at my from the couch. We both just start laughing. “I had a feeling I made the right choice in befriending you.”

“You say that now,” I smirk at her. “So, do we start our schooling tomorrow, or do we show up late for our next period?”

“Wow, you are really going for that school analogy.”

“It’s a gift.” I shrug.

“We start tomorrow, but we are free to roam and check everything out. Become acquainted with the facility before tomorrow.” Lexi suggested.

“Cool. Let’s check out these gardens we get to play in at recess.” Lexi lets out a loud groan as she shakes her head and we leave the apartment again to do a more personalized tour of the building and grounds we are allowed to walk. “Oh, when can we get our things out of the car?”

“They will be brought up by dinner time, once the car is parked by the valet. I still don’t get all the protocols and complete picture of how things are done around here, but I know they have their reasons.” Lexi admitted.

I can’t get over this facility. The gardens are much larger than I imagined, with so much we can do. There’s a sign warning us that if we are nearing our six-month period, limit our time in the gardens to precisely ten minutes to avoid any disasters or unexpected chaos. In other words, they prefer us not to have our abilities manifest out in the gardens for everyone’s safety. Lexi and I wandered around the halls and poked our heads into different areas to check everything out. We even watched some of the training for those with their abilities. Sasha was not making anything up. Some of these abilities look extremely dangerous if it's not under control. We watched as someone entered the flammable lab and self-combusted by bursting into flames. It took them over twenty-five minutes to cool down and extinguish themselves. I could not imagine sitting in the cafeteria or the gardens and just bursting into flames like that. Talk about being scary to see; never mind the terrifying experience it must be for the person on fire.

After dinner, our luggage turned up outside our door, which I was happy to see. I called it an early night as I want to be well-rested for ‘school’ tomorrow. I know this is an adjustment, but at the same time, I’m overthinking it. We left Greenway Industries after three weeks of being underground and contained, to coming here and being contained. The only difference is, that here we get to move about the entire facility freely and have actual tasks, but we also are not allowed to leave whenever we want. I guess only time will tell how I feel about this place, but my mind needs to calm down before I can make any real decisions about it. I am glad, Lexi and I get along so well and can joke around. That’s a bonus for me.