A. H. Wong

Chapter Two 

 

February 20th, 2012

 

Early Evening

 

Beatrix staggered out the door. Her meeting with Master John had run surprisingly long—the man, apparently, loved to hear himself talk. He had asked her a lot about her past, and told her what her future would be like. He told her random facts, like how the Agency had been operating for twenty five years in the fall of this year; how most of the money that came into the Agency was from donations; and how many legal battles he had to fight to get this place started. He told her about how some people in the Agency had their records 'forgiven' by the system, simply due to the degree of rehabilitation they would undergo. He told her about all the mandatory therapy—group therapy every Tuesday and Wednesday at four p.m., and weekly therapy every Saturday in Taylor's office at three p.m. He told her where to find the lunchroom, and how all food was free—but on a 'limit system'. She could only take a certain amount of items per week, but it was her choice on how to plan it out. He told her that she would fit in well here, and that her life story wouldn't be one that would isolate her.

 

He also told her to go find Janelle and Maverick, once she had finished her meeting with Taylor. He seemed to be very keen on the three of them beginning a relationship of sorts, which she could understand. They had been, after all, the first people she had really been able to socialize with.

 

Her head felt like it was spinning. He'd given her handouts: A map, the guide to the food system in the cafeteria, and a rather heftily-sized booklet on the rules of the Agency.

 

Staring down at the document in her hands, she wished she had read the contract more carefully. All she could remember from it was a lot of things on protecting 'the privacy of the Agency', as well as vague references to secrets.

 

She hadn't bothered asking about any of it, honestly. She'd been too thrown by the contract's existence to really be careful.

 

Her heart racing with nervousness, Beatrix padded down the hall towards where Taylor lay in wait. She was slightly dreading seeing him again, but she knew she had no choice.

 

She found the door without too much trouble—Taylor's office was clearly marked on the map. She glanced up at the number on the door—room 706—and raised her hand to knock.

 

The door swung open before she could touch it, and Taylor shot her a soft smile. "Hello again, Beatrix. I see you're done with Master John. Come inside—I imagine you're feeling terribly lost right about now. No need to worry about that, young miss. I'll answer any, and every, question you have."

 

Beatrix, feeling a bit taken aback by his politeness, walked inside. His office was relatively spartan in decoration—no paintings hung on the walls beyond a single quote behind his desk, framed with imposing black wood: 'Your Life is Yours to Lead'. His desk resembled that of a highschool student—one piece of wood, on top of metal bars, attached chair with a small storage space beneath. Plain grey filing cabinets lined silver-painted walls. Pencils and pens lay, in neat lines, across his desk—all properly pointed.

 

Taylor chose not to sit down, choosing instead to lean casually up against the wall in front of her, behind his desk. "Beatrix. I apologize sinceerely for my rudeness earlier. I cannot excuse myself enough, but I must beg of you to forgive me. As I am to be your therapist during your stay here, I must request that you and I maintain a close—while not personal—relationship."

 

She eyed him darkly. "Taylor....A few days ago, I was on the street. I knew no one, and trusted no one. Now you're telling me to forgive you for treating me poorly?"

 

He nodded, his eyes sad.

 

She shrugged: "I've...been through a lot worse. I guess I'm okay to forgive you."

 

He grinned then. "Good, good. Now. I suppose we should get started....."

 

<3 <3 <3 </3

 

February 20th, 2012

Mid Evening

 

Beatrix was starving. Her stomach was rumbling, and her mind was going faintly fuzzy. She hadn't gotten the chance to eat between meetings, and both of them had lasted well over an hour; Taylor had, in fact, just spent the past two hours getting close to her. He quietly asked her questions, backed off when she needed him to, and was indeed very polite.

 

He smiled at her frequently, acknowledging her small attempts at humor, and even providing some of his own. However, she continually felt like there was something he...was hiding. Something he wasn't saying, or wouldn't say. She also had, throughout their meeting, found that essentially none of his smiles met his eyes. His eyes were continually cold and calculating, but there was always a fake sheen of warmth over them to match his face.

 

The man was brilliant.

 

Brilliant, and terrifying.

 

Beatrix shuddered a tiny bit, hastening along her route. The main cafeteria was on the first floor, and she headed off down the stairs at a quick pace. Along the way, she ran into several others—most of whom tossed her quiet smiles along the way. A handful even tried to draw her into conversation, an attempt she rebuked, as she'd had quiet enough of people for the day.

 

She felt the same way around the occupants of the Agency that she did from Taylor—a feeling of fakeness. The happiness, the smiles--quite a few weren't real. The two girls she joined up with on the seventh floor especially felt...off. Their eyes held a particular brand of sorrow that the others lacked, and she knew for a fact that her eyes matched theirs.

 

The words Master John had stated earlier echoed, filled with knowledge and a hidden warning, between her ears: "Taylor's handled most of our difficult cases."

 

These, then, were the ones he deemed 'difficult.'

 

<3 <3 <3 </3

 

A Short Time Later

 

Largely with the help of the sizeable crowd also headed to the cafeteria, Beatrix found her way there. She was yet to see either Martin or the girls, but she hoped she'd find them inside. She didn't want to eat alone on her first day there.

 

She walked inside, and walked right into what felt like the high school cafeteria set for some teen-movie. It had tables, both circular ones and rectangular, scattered around (all of which were made out of what could only be the fanciest materials) in a feng-shui method; outlets placed at strategically located areas along the walls, which were almost all in use; and the wall across from her was nothing but a buffet table.

 

Her stomach growled at the sight of it.

 

She darted forward, her eyes widening. There was carrot cake, milkshakes, some candies (including her favorite toffees), a place with coffee and all the fixings, sandwiches, scrambled eggs, steak, chicken....Even vegan items, which sounded pretty good to her right now. Fresh veggies, after so long spent with burgers and fries, sounded utterly amazing.

 

Not even caring about budgets right now, Beatrix grabs as many plates as she can easily carry, and loads up each and every one.

 

She was going to eat well tonight.

 

<3 <3 <3 </3 <3 <3 <3 </3 <3 <3 <3 </3

 

Meanwhile

 

"Maverick, babycakes, how do you feel about getting some noms? I'm starved....." Janelle says, lowering her head to kiss Maverick's fluffed-up red mane. The two girls were curled up in bed together, the blankets kicked someplace off the edge of the bed. The soft scent of sweat, and the slightly more acidic smell of feminine excitement, filled the area around them.

 

Maverick angled her head slightly, glancing up at her lover. "I'm down for it. I haven't eaten since breakfast—in fact, neither has Beatrix....Poor girl probably just spent all day with Master John and Taylor."

 

Janelle pulls a face, nodding ruefully. "Yeah....The pair of those can talk a girl's head off, especially the new ones. They get very...in-depth. Very, VERY serious about their jobs."

 

"Heh, almost TOO serious. Still remember when you—"

 

Janelle cuts her off by rapping Maverick gently on the skull. "When I put a whoopie cushion on his seat and almost got kicked out, I know."

 

Maverick rolls her eyes, before sitting up. "You really hate when I mention that, don't you? Jeez, girl, no reason to be so touchy...."

 

Janelle pushed her off of her, cringing a bit as their skin unglued itself—the sweat of their exertions had stuck their naked bodies together. "Let's just go grab something. Beatrix probably went to the main floor caf—we should meet her there."

 

The girls dressed quickly, avoiding each other's eyes. Maverick tried to crack a few jokes, but Janelle rebuked all her attempts at conversation—clearly not finding herself up for conversation just yet. Maverick, after a while, just decided to relax—especially when Janelle kissed her, hard, on the lips.

 

Maverick was practically floating after that.

 

Janelle always was the best kisser.

 

Finally, Maverick's body was completely hidden by her loose black hoodie and baggy jeans—and Janelle's body was flaunted by her black corset, poofed-up short skirt, and black lace tights. The pair of them, suddenly seeming more distant, quickly took each other's hands and darted off in search of food.

 

<3 <3 <3 </3

 

Meanwhile....

 

There was nowhere to sit. Almost every table was taken, and  no one seemed to be able to help her. No one even looked all that welcoming—groups were very clear. Each table had  a batch of people, usually all of the same gender, and all of them were isolated. No group appeared interested in another group, and there was sometimes an air of open hostility whenever she got too close to a table.

 

Beatrix wanted to run. Her feet itched with the need to escape, and she felt like a doe caught in the claws of a starved, sadistic lion. She almost vibrated with nerves, and she was quickly regretting getting so much food—there was no way she could eat it with her nerves, especially if there was no table to be found.

 

Salvation arrived in the form of a tiny red-head an a sexy Goth.

 

Maverick and Janelle popped up beside her, took her by the elbows, and led her to a table far to one side. It was almost as isolated from everyone else as it could get—no other human was in a dozen feet of it. There were already about ten people there, both girls and guys, but all gave her quick nods as she was pulled close. Janelle called out greetings to a few, while Maverick called out to the rest. Feeling lost, Beatrix just managed a wave—it was all she felt she could do at this point in time.

 

One of them, the 'largest' of the group, rolled her eyes at her. "Look at the newbie, fattening herself up. Probably got the hots for Taylor."

 

Janelle let out an audible hiss, eyeing the girl closely. "Look, girl, you have to ease up. Back up from this chick, ya hear? She just got in way late last night. Lay the hell off."

 

The girl rolled her eyes. "That don't matter to me. She's a seventh-floor girl—she's gonna need to get used to it being harsh. All the other girls here are harsh to us—so I don't see why we gotta be nice to each other. That's just coddling us."

 

Maverick spoke evenly. "Beatrix, this is Leslie. Leslie, this is Beatrix. Next to her is Sarah, David, Darren, Jack, Amanda, Kyle, Naomi, Stepha, Lily, and this darling stud here's Kevin," Maverick finished by pointing at a chiselled young man. He rolled his eyes at her comments, proferring Beatrix a small smile.

 

"Pleasure to meet you, Beatrix. The members of this table, as you probably guessed from Leslie's comment, are all your floormates. Well....As many of us that can actually be found in the cafeteria. The others...tend to isolate themselves a lot more," his eyes became more kind as he sipped at his drink, "And I can't exactly say I blame them. We of the seventh floor are...."

 

"Usually kept away from most of the other residents," Janelle finished. "Master John's never flat-out told us to stay the hell away from everyone else, but it's not like it takes a genius to see we aren't welcome around them. I mean, even this table here's meant for us."

 

Beatrix bit her lip, looking down at her food. "C-Can I ask why this is?"

 

Lily, a waif-like albino with soft blue eyes and white hair, replied: "We're the girls and boys of the seventh floor. That's all. Everybody else isn't assigned to one place—we've got no choice on where we go."

 

A sharp look from Maverick kept Beatrix from asking anymore questions, so she instead focused on getting down as much of her food as dignity would permit.

 

She had DEFINITELY grabbed too much.

 

Oh, well.

 

At least it tasted good.

 

<3 <3 <3 </3

 

Late Evening

 

Beatrix collapsed on her bed. Her stomach was aching—even though she had given away a good third of her meal, she still had over-eaten. That was, of course, much to the apparent ire of Leslie.

 

Leslie seemed even more hard to get along with than Taylor. Like Taylor, she would also be someone she'd need to deal with on a regular basis.

 

This was going to be fun.

 

Just as Beatrix was finally starting to pass out, fully dressed on top of her covers, a knock sounded at the door. Wearily, gave a bed-muffled yell: "Come in....."

 

The door creaked open, and before she could react, a body was curled up with her.

 

Beatrix flinched away almost instantly, lashing out with her fist. Despite all the hugs she'd had to endure, she WAS NOT going to let something like this slide. Her fist slammed directly into a skull, the collision emitting a rather loud thud. It quickly drew a cry from whomever she had punched, and the body cuddling her scooted away quickly.

 

Blood racing in her ears, she bolted to her feet, and she was halfway out the door when a yell stopped her: "Beatrix! Please, please don't go! It's....It's me! Don't you remember me?"

 

Martin.

 

She turned around, staring at him. She shook her head, half-closing the door before she took a careful seat on the edge of the bed. The use of her fake name didn't throw her--he'd clearly been ordered by Master John to keep her real name under wraps. "What the hell did you do that for?"

 

"I-I....I just wanted to cuddle you, Beatrix, that's all. I didn't want to hurt you. I didn't want to scare you. I just...wanted to give you a hug," he said quickly, his eyes wide, and hands spread in front of him. "Please don't be mad at me!"

 

She swallowed softly, before shaking her head. "Martin, please, be more careful. I don't want to freak out and hurt you. You know what I went through. You know I can't stand it."

 

Martin looked at her quietly. "I....I know. I'm sorry. Please, can I give you a hug? Or is that....Is that still too much?"

 

Beatrix swallowed the 'no' rising in her throat, and forced a smile to her lips. She clenched her jaw—her teeth were chattering, and there was no way she'd let him notice. It would spark a discussion she wasn't ready to have.

 

Smiling hugely, Martin quickly pulled her into a tight hug. She willingly pressed up against him, closing her eyes and keeping a smile on her lips. He held her for a lot longer than was necessary, planting soft kisses on her hair. He smelled familiar—grass and asphalt, as if he had been playing in a park. Fighting off tremors, Beatrix breathed deeply, using his familiar smell to keep her heart from racing out of control.

 

It wouldn't do for him to realize that she was nervous. Not when he had gotten so close to her, and had been her friend, for so very long.

 

"I....I missed you." Beatrix stammered out softly, knowing he wasn't the most talkative person.

 

"I missed you, too. Oh, god.....I thought you were dead. I couldn't find you.....I couldn't find you. We got separated after I got kicked out of that shelter, didn't we? The next day, when I came to meet you, you were just...gone."

 

Beatrix winces a bit at the memory, before glancing up at his face. "I didn't mean to leave so suddenly. I tried to find you. I guess we....Just missed each other somehow."

 

Martin leveled his chocolate-eyed gaze at her, examining her closely before he nodded quietly. "Yes....I guess that's what happened. I can't believe I found you again."

 

"Y-Yeah. How did you find me, anyways? I mean.....You just showed up at that hotel with no warning. Did Janelle and Maverick find you like they found me?"

 

Martin nodded, grinning. "Yup. I've been tracking you, sweet cheeks. I found out the city you were in, and those two eventually picked me up. I told 'em I was looking for you, and well, here we are now."

 

Beatrix flushed slightly. "But we....We split up, like, four years ago now. You've been trying to find me for that long?"

 

"Duh. You're all I got—didn't I tell you that once, that night under the stars?"

 

She snickered softly, breaking the hug at last. "Dude, you're going to need to be more specific. We spent a lot of nights together under the stars."

 

"The one with the snow, where you were shivering and I gave you my coat. Where you said you....Nevermind."

 

Beatrix' eyes widened, biting her lip hard. She couldn't remember that night well....And, from the sounds of it, she wasn't going to enjoy what she had said to him that night. "Go on...?"

 

The night where you said you loved me."