“Hey.”
The voice startled him, though it was gentle in its tone. He looked up to see the source of the monosyllabic greeting, and there she was. He wasn’t sure quite how long he’d been sitting on this bench staring at his feet, but it must have been some time, as the daylight streaming in from outside the concourse momentarily dazzled him.
“Hey,” she said again, smiling. She was a pretty young woman, with coppery, curly ginger hair that fell around her shoulders, and a few girlish freckles still evident around her nose. He regarded her with curiosity, but his cheeks quickly flushed, causing him to reflexively turn back to the safety of contemplating his shoes.
She sat down next to him, bending forward to try and meet his floorward gaze.
“Hey!” she said again, a little more forcefully. “Are you all right?”
He opened his mouth to speak, but it was completely dry. He closed it, swallowed and tried again.
“Nervous,” he croaked, still not looking up.
“Yeah,” she said. “I got that. I’m nervous too. I think everyone here is.”
He raised his head and turned to face his companion.
“You hide it well,” he said in a meek voice, cracking a half-hearted smile and inwardly wishing the ground would swallow him up just in case she found his comment in some way offensive.
“And you don’t,” she giggled. “I’m just teasing. Everyone deals with nerves differently. Me, I just need to talk to someone, to get the thoughts racing around my head out in the open, you know?”
He knew. He wished he could be as easygoing as she evidently was. But talking to people — especially strangers — made him even more nervous, so he found it difficult to imagine how striking up a conversation could possibly help.
“Yeah,” he said, turning back to his shoes. He felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Don’t sweat it,” she said gently. “We’re all in the same situation here. Far from home, not sure what to expect, far from our friends… so we just have to make the best of it.”
“Right,” he said, not sure whether he was supposed to offer any more information at this point.
“I’ll go first, then,” she said, releasing her hand’s grip on his shoulder. “I’m Jennifer. You can call me Jenn. I’m here because by some freak of nature I managed to ace my schoolwork despite hating almost every minute of it. They thought I’d be a good candidate, so here I am.”
He waited, trying to determine whether or not she’d finished talking. After a few seconds of expectant silence, he realised that it was his turn to say something.
“D-David,” he said, pausing. “I test well. I have the ‘right kind of brain’, apparently, whatever that means.”
“It means that you’re a good candidate too,” said Jenn, placing her hand on his shoulder again. “There now, that wasn’t so hard, was it?”
He sat up and raised his head to look at her, cracking a more genuine smile this time.
“No,” he said. “No, I guess it wasn’t.”
She smiled at him and he felt warm inside. It was nice. It was a feeling he hadn’t felt since the last time he saw his sister, but that was–
“You looked lonely,” she said, interrupting his train of thought.
“What?”
“You looked lonely,” she repeated. “I’m lonely too. You might not believe that given the way I’ve been acting, but I am. I was lonely back home and I so desperately don’t want to be lonely here. I don’t… I just…”
She looked upset. The sudden shift in her demeanour took him off guard somewhat, and he’d obviously let his surprise show in his face.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said. It looked like her eyes were glistening slightly with tears, but he couldn’t be sure. “Just met you and here I am blabbering on. You must think I’m a right schizo. I’m sorry if I–”
“Would you like to be friends, Jenn?” he interjected. It was the most assertive thing he had ever done in his life, and inwardly he felt immensely proud of himself. He braced himself for rejection, swallowing deeply as he regarded her expression of surprise, somewhat akin to a startled animal just before it bolts. After a second or two that felt like hours, her expression softened and she smiled that warm smile again.
“Of course I would,” she said. “You know, you don’t have to actually ask.”
“I know,” he said. “But I thought I’d be polite.”
She giggled and suddenly hugged him. The embrace took him by surprise, but he didn’t struggle. He was just getting comfortable when she released him again.
“I think we’re going to be good friends, David,” she said. “Very good friends indeed.”
At that moment, all the fear and trepidation he had been feeling melted away. Although neither of them knew exactly what the future held for them — no-one who joined the Project did — he knew now that he didn’t have to face it alone, and he felt safe in that knowledge.
“Come on,” she said, standing and offering her hand. “Let’s go get started.”
He looked up at her quizzically for a moment, then smiled, took her hand and stood. The pair of them began to walk hand-in-hand towards the bright light of the day.
The image froze, then quickly faded to black.
“Wonderful,” said the observer.
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