“Aside from expecting visits from myself and Dr. Clarke, kitchen staff will come in weekly in the early morning to empty your laundry basket, restock your fridge and do any cleaning that might be required.”
“So, those are the kind of things I’ll be doing once I’m working?”
She nods slowly. “You might be in the kitchen all day helping prepare food or going from room-to-room emptying laundry baskets or you could mainly be delivering food to the Omegas.”
So far, it doesn’t seem too complicated.
“Sounds like my kind of job.”
The elevator stops, and Lana presses another button to open the doors.
“This is our stop. We’re the second room in the hallway. There’s a staircase at the other end of the hall. You can use those stairs or the elevator to get to the kitchens once you’re working in them.”
She steps off the elevator, and I follow her down the corridor.
Peering towards the other end of the corridor, I already know what my preference will be.
Walking into that bright main entrance with the tiled floor and the big reception desk was like having a spotlight shining over me. It made me a little uncomfortable, almost like my every move was being watched.
The stairs seem like a much better option.
“Can you show me?” I ask, thinking they must lead to the corridor I went past when I was escorted outside for my walk through the gardens. I wish I’d paid a little more attention to my surroundings inside the building now.
I look back at Lana and she nods slowly.
“I’ll show you when I visit later in the week. For right now, I think it’s more important that we get you settled. Our lawyer’s working to get your papers registered since your birth was … undocumented. You’ll be paid in cash until you’re able to open your own bank account.”
“Sounds good,” I murmur, making myself focus on the good parts of what she’s telling me.
Figuring out how to open a bank account is daunting, so I won’t think about that until it’s time.
Lana stops outside a door and takes a set of keys out of her pocket.
“This is you,” she tells me.
I glance back down the hallway and note that I’m the third door down the corridor from the elevator. Moving my gaze, I see that there are two doors past mine on the way to the stairs.
I’m in the middle. That makes it easy to remember.
Lana has the door open by the time I look back.
She steps inside and I hear her flip the light switch.
I blink at the interior of the room as I follow her inside.
It’s nothing like I expected.
The big, open space is part kitchen, part living room, and there’s a door to the right that appears to lead into a bedroom.
It’s a far cry from the split room I shared with Colleen back … not home, but where I used to live.
I’m speechless as I take in all the details, from the thick carpet under my worn-out sneakers to the plush leather of the massive white couch across the room to the modern, bright kitchen area with the big, silver fridge and the glass-topped dining table to my left, with four silver and white chairs positioned around it.
It takes a second to realize the glossy black screen on the wall is a TV.
Once I figure that out, my mind is blown.
I look at Lana. “This is my new room?”
