Chapter 2: Max | The Date was in a Different Room...
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My guy...
YOU STILL HAVEN"T ASKED HER OUT Brydan states with much enthusiasm.
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WUT????!??!
I technically did dood I defend myself.
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Nah
Was the word date used?
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I sit up from the ground and prop the foam roller behind my butt.
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I don't think that means it's not a date I explain.
You don't have to say date for it 2 be a date mangg
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You literally agreed to a study sessionnn Brydan rebuttles.
Not a date
You diverted from your original plan
HARD
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Heh
Hard
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I can't bro
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But think about it
I get a chance to get familiar with her outside of class
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What about the other girl?
You're at the gym right?
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The familiar sound of a foam roller echoes on the carpet. Someone's shoes shuffle across the shared surface before they sit down.
Speak of the devil...
I look up and I see Violet meeting my gaze.
Violet gives me a brief smile.
I return her smile.
What stretch was I doing again? I scour my brain, trying to recall what I was last doing prior to Violet joining me at the carpeted corner of the gym.
I've never really talked to her before. Even at the gym I've usually kept my distance. There are the rare encounters where I'd ask how many sets she has left on a machine, bench or weights—encounters I've had to mentally prepare for.
I only know her name because others have called out to her at the gym and from her conversations with Diana.
As I ponder this, I dare not make direct eye contact with Violet or look in her direction, despite how eye-catching her pink, form-fitting gym attire is.
I glance down at my watch and notice the time: 6:31 p.m.
Probably should wrap up my stretches...
As I begin to slowly stand up, I feel a satisfying burn throughout my leg. Fortunately, my leg days are at a level where it doesn't immediately hinder my ability to walk at the end of a workout.
I raise my gaze and meet Violet's eyes as she watches me stand up.
Now's my chance right?
My mouth opens, but words fail to leave.
What would I even say? Hi? 'Hi,' then what?
"What's up?" a voice says from out of view.
Violet turns her head. Her eyes lock onto someone, and a large smile stretches across her face. "Hey you!"
A big guy comes into view as he approaches Violet, quite muscular in build. He doesn't look in my direction.
I take a deep breath, as if that were the original plan, and pick up the roller from the ground. I walk towards the stationed gym equipment and grab some paper towels and a spray bottle. With the bottle and paper towel, I clean the foam roller and then put both the roller and bottle away.
I head towards the gym entrance and toss out my paper towel sheet. "Have a good night," I say, raising my hand as I exit the gym.
"Night," the guy at the front desk responds without looking away from his phone.
I turn back to look at Violet.
She is standing up now, still engaged in conversation with the guy from before.
I turn away and head towards the change room.
In the changing room, I contemplate what's planned for dinner tonight and estimate how much time I have to travel while I change.
It's roughly a 10-minute walk from my place to the gym...
As for the Onion...
About a one-minute walk from the gym.
I gather my belongings and exit the change room, continuing to contemplate how long preparing and eating dinner will take.
The gym is connected to other campus buildings with various halls and wings.
To head home as fast as possible, I travel indoors. Seeing how the weather is getting colder now that December is approaching, I'm taking a less scenic route.
The sound of students bustling around campus echoes throughout the hallways. Exams, midterms, assignments—they are common topics of conversation. Sometimes, I can hear someone playing the piano from the large atrium.
It's a lot of noise, but it's not so bad.
I recall being extremely wary when I first came here. Strangers around every corner from a myriad of backgrounds. The overwhelming sense of dread loomed over me, knowing it would be placed upon me after I graduate.
A footstep of mine echoes in the hall.
It's different now.
I approach a set of double doors that lead outside.
With both hands, I push open the doors, exaggerating the amount of effort needed.
"Just like Dark..." I mutter to myself jokingly with pride, "...Souls..."
The twilight filled sky greets me. The lack of stars in the sky is oddly comforting. A breath of cold air rushes past me to enter the building.
I exit the building and continue back to my apartment.
From outside the halls, campus life is settling into a peaceful quiet, preparing for the stillness of night. An occasional bus or car blares past me, but aside from that, it's nice.
Just me and my music.
The walk back gives me time to think about random things stirring in my mind. Video games, anime, assignments, the lack of a girlfriend, the monthly rent that is going to be due in a couple of days, why streetlight in front of me won't give me the walk signal—should I just cross?
Moments later, I find myself entering my apartment.
"Tadaima!" I call out.
"Okaerinasai!" Rider approaches the door in a bright blue sweatshirt and a large smile. "Look what I got us!"
A plethora of fast-food paper brown bags cover the kitchen table.
I quickly hang up my coat. "Yooooo!" I take off my bag and slide it along the ground towards the couch beyond the kitchen table.
"This one's for you..." Rider places a bag in front of me.
I sit at the table and look inside to see a wrapped burger and fries. "Nice!" I pull out the contents from the bag and begin to inhale the food.
It's a chicken burger with some sort of hot sauce. The fries are a little soft thanks to the heat, but...
If I add some salt to the fries...
"Bro, is this man adding salt to fries, again?" Brydan settles in the seat in front of me with a large plate of chicken and potatoes.
"Oh..." I manage to say before continuing to chew. I get out of my seat and prepare a chocolate protein shake for myself.
"Here's one for you too!" Rider slides Brydan a small burger.
"Is this a bribe?" A small smile creeps across Brydan's lips. He bobs his head from left to right. "Hweuheh, don't mind if I do!"
The crunch of paper bags echoes in the kitchen.
I follow with the sound of my blender mixing my protein powder with five hundred milliliters of milk.
"Back from the gym?" Rider asks.
I slump back into my seat at the table. "Yup."
Brydan lowers his burger. "Gym?" he says with sarcastic coyness, glancing between Rider and me.
I nod my head a couple of times and continue inhaling my food.
"Where's Kevin?" Rider asks before taking a bite from his burger.
"He's working, remember?" I take a swig of my shake. "He's at the lab."
Rider just stares at me.
I assume he's processing what I said.
"He's supervising our program's lab at the RISC building tonight," Brydan chimes in.
Rider smiles, "Ohhh, that's right. He started that new job."
Brydan and I freeze, but our eyes quickly exchange a small look.
"He started the job like two weeks ago." Brydan says.
"Yeah..." I wrap my burger wrapper into a ball.
Rider's head shoots back. "I completely forgot!" He laughs as adjusts his glasses.
Brydan exhales through his nose.
7:23 p.m., my watch reads.
"Oh..." I take another sip. "I gotta head out soon..."
"Where to?" Rider fixes his glasses.
"Ohohoho," I puff out my chest. "A dateeeee!"
Rider's face lights up and he presses his hands together. "A date?"
"But it's not a date!" Brydan places his empty burger wrapper on the table beside his cutlery.
I purse my lips and hold out two finger guns. "But... From a certain point of view..."
"Nahhh—"
"Gotta stay optimistic!"
Brydan turns to Rider. "Rider, listen!" He holds out an open palm to Rider. "This man was supposed to ask out a girl today..."
Rider doesn't move.
"...and he agrees to a fuckin' study session instead."
Rider's head recoils, and he slowly blinks. "Wait, I think Max is onto something! My younger sister met her boyfriend a couple of times before they started dating. Rather than a study session, you could consider it a study date?"
Brydan pauses and crosses his hands. "You know, that makes sense."
I throw my hands towards Rider and look at Brydan. "Oh, it makes sense when he says it, but me?"
Brydan smiles.
I point a finger. "I got her number anddddd... I'm the first one in his apartment with a girl's phone number!" I drop an imaginary microphone onto the table.
Brydan raises an eyebrow. "I wasn't familiar with your game," he nods, "but, unfortunately I already scored a number back during reading week."
"What?" My mouth drops. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Brydan shrugs. "You never asked."
I leave my seat. "Better start heading out."
"What time are you supposed to go?" Rider asks.
"The thing is at eight, so I should probably head out now."
Rider raises an eyebrow and pulls out his phone. He looks down. "You have plenty of time, Max."
"It'll probably take me eleven to twelve minutes to walk there," I say as I put on my coat. "Fifteen: worst-case scenario."
Brydan and Rider exchange looks.
"Where are you walking to, again?" Rider asks.
"The Onion..." I retrieve my bag from the floor.
"'The Onion?'" Brydan's mouth drops open, waiting for a reply.
"The building by the gym," Rider answers.
"I think it looks more like a large garlic," I shrug and then put on my shoes.
"Wait, Max..." Rider says. "It shouldn't take you fifteen minutes to walk there. It's like seven, tops."
Brydan slumps forward with a smug look on his face. "Nah, that makes sense. Max walks really slow."
Rider looks into the air as if imagining my walking pace. "Ah... That's true... His small legs don't help him out too much."
"Yeah yeah," I wave them off. "Later!"
Brydan nods. "Bye."
"Later!" Rider says.
I depart towards The Onion.
...
I guess it looks like an onion...
I stop and admire the UP building from afar.
The UP building resembles a large grey tent with a wide base that tapers to a point. There are no bricks or cement, but there are several large white support beams positioned evenly around the building, connecting at the tip.
Still looks more like a garlic... But unlike a garlic or an onion, the building itself seems to have some length to it.
Ah no... Something comes to mind. I forgot my mouse... And I'm still carrying my old gym clothes!
My eyes fall onto the two entrances positioned on opposite sides of the building.
At the closest entrance, a man and a woman appear to be immersed in conversation.
I pull out the note that Diana gave me.
1502... the note states.
The thought of texting Diana comes to mind.
Nah... I don't wanna hassle her, I thought to myself.
I probably should've texted her ahead of time so she knows it's me and not a random guy.
Wait... I've never given her my number!
I ponder how to initiate my first text with Diana.
Something casual is best, no?
I pull out my phone.
7:41 p.m., the time says in the corner of my screen.
Lot's of time! I proudly think to myself.
I begin to text her.
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Eyyyyyyy it's Max!
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I hesitate to send the message.
Maybe a two liner like...
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Ellooo!
It's Max!
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"Oi! You here for the study?" a woman calls.
A chill washes over my back.
I follow the voice and see that it came from the woman at the door.
"Uhhh..." I reluctantly respond, glancing back at my phone.
The woman and the man exchange looks with one another.
I finalize my text with two messages:
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Eyyyyyyy
It's Max!
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I begin to walk toward them, bracing myself for an unexpected social interaction. "Is that room behind you 1502?"
"Yeah, it is," the woman says.
Nice!
I stop in front of the woman and look down.
She examines me with her big, cautious dark eyes, framed by her thick dark hair on the sides of her face, revealing her soft almond-like complexion.
This looks like this is the place...
But I thought it was just going to be Diana and me? I think to myself.
"Um..." I can't seem to find the right way to ask for clarification.
She raises both hands to adjust her tan toque quickly.
The room number seems to be positioned just behind her. Despite my urge to double-check, the number is unfortunately at an inconvenient angle.
"You're late buddy..." the guy opposite the woman says to me.
I turn to find a familiar figure standing before me—the guy that was talking to Violet at the end of my workout.
A gentle set of brown eyes meets mine as the man looks down.
He lifts the clipboard up and close to his eyes, obscuring his face just enough to reveal the olive skin of his forehead and his black hair, cut into a buzz.
As he views the clipboard's contents, he raises an eyebrow. "Yeah..."
"Luis?" the girl calls.
Luis, the man before me, pouts with a nod. "Yeah!" He lowers his clipboard. "Come on in! I'll get the paperwork ready when you sit down." He turns towards the girl. "Rose, can you watch the door while I get him settled?"
"Yeah," Rose nods at Luis. Her eyes settles back onto me.
"Appreciate it!" Luis cheerfully says as he enters room 1502.
He holds the door for me.
"Thanks," I say as I walk inside.
My phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out.
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Greetings. It's Diana.
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Even her texting is quite in character for her...
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Are you here?
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Luis opens another set of doors for me.
"Thanks again," I nod at Luis as I enter.
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Yup!
1502 right?
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I look around and find myself at the back of a dimly lit room. Rows of desks fill the space, with an empty path leading up to the front of the class. Unfortunately, it seems my entrance has attracted some attention from the students sitting at the desks.
I can feel the back of my ears begin to burn.
Luis quickly steps away.
Maybe he's grabbing something?
At the front of the room, a man is leaning on a podium. To the left and right of him are two projector screens.
A professor?
The first thing that catches my eye is the long white lab coat the professor is wearing, just visible behind the podium. His face, indirectly lit by the projectors, reveals a raised eyebrow. He doesn't move, but his eyes make it clear he is watching me.
I quickly scan the room for open spots.
Despite the numerous seats available, the students have only occupied those near the center aisle.
I feel myself gravitating toward a seat in the back row.
"Please put your phone away..." Luis whispers as he passes by.
Luis walks ahead of me and places some papers on a seat closer to the other students, but in a row by itself.
So much for subtlety.
I follow Luis.
"Here you go," Luis says, placing a pen beside the papers.
I quickly shove my phone in my pocket and place my bag under my seat. "Thanks..." I respond with a small bow and take a seat.
My phone buzzes twice in my pocket.
Luis raises a hand to the man at the front.
The professor raises his chin in acknowledgement.
Luis gives him a thumbs-up.
"Well..." the professor's gaze turns to the other students, "...let's continue."
I can feel several gazes peeling off from my skin, followed by a few quiet snickers. My face grows warmer.
Luis taps the papers. "Please finish signing the document."
I don't think I'm supposed to be here...
"I'm uh..." I can feel Luis' gaze burning into me. "Y-yeah..."
Luis slowly walks off, his eyes appears to trace the ground.
I readjust the papers and take the pen in hand.
LumiMem Participant Agreement is titled at the top of the waiver.
Following the title, several body paragraphs populate the rest of the page. It appears to be a quick summary of what LumiMem is about. This is probably the study Diana was talking about: her father's study.
"Huh..." I murmur to myself, my interest piquing.
I've always wanted to be part of a study...
I flip the page over.
Warnings, risk acknowledgements...
"'Potential memory loss and memory alterations,' eh?" I quietly note to myself.
At the bottom of the page is a line for me to print my name and sign.
I'll skip for now...
I look up and take note of the professor lecturing at the front.
The professor continues to talk to the group of participants, gesturing towards the projections at the front of the class.
If he is the father, then Diana definitely didn't get her red hair from him—his hair is light brown. Dirty blonde, perhaps? Maybe Diana got her hair colour from her mother?
The professor shoots a quick look at me.
The paper... I register the professor's intention.
I flip to the next page.
It's just personal information: name, student number, date of birth, and other miscellaneous information.
"Did you finish signing?" a voice whispers.
My head snaps over to find whoever is speaking to me.
It's Luis' voice.
"No, not yet..." my voice trails.
I can feel Luis scanning me.
My phone buzzes in my pocket again.
"No worries, man!" Luis lowers himself to my eye level. "Did you at least review the second page?"
"Yeah..."
Luis nods with approval. "That's good! That's basically the important part of the waiver. After the study, we can get the rest of the information we need from you and give you the compensation."
"Compensation?"
Luis tilts his head. "The hundred bucks?"
"Oh!" A smile creeps along my face. "Right right!"
I begin signing the second page.
"Looks like the main test is going to start soon..." Luis' eyes fall onto the papers I'm signing.
Do I just give him the papers? I consider whether it would be rude for me to hand over incomplete papers. Maybe he wants to see me progress through more of the waiver...
My phone buzzes in my pocket again.
"Welp," Luis' inhales and stands up.
I think I took too long to respond...
I begin by writing my name, Maxim Wellington, and then follow with my student number.
"I'll keep this brief," Luis points a finger up front. "Simply put, the study will observe the effects that light has on one's memories. We'll use a series of patterns that will include flashing lights—speaking of which, you don't have a history of seizures right?"
I shake my head.
"That's good!" Luis smiles and wags his finger back and forth. "You also signed the paper too, so that covers us as well."
The professor walks up to us.
"This is..." Luis points at me with open palms.
"Hiya!" I hold out my hand. "I'm Max."
The professor takes my hand, and we share a firm handshake. "Nathan," he smiles. "I'm glad you're joining our session today! The more the merrier I'd say." He points at my papers and turns to Luis. "He signed, right?"
"Yeah he signed it," Luis replies.
"I signed it," I confirm.
"Perfect," Nathan smiles.
I don't see any notable resemblance of Diana on his face, although his eyes do share the same depth as hers. However, the dim lighting makes it hard to determine their true colour.
"Luis and I are going outside of the test room," Nathan states. "While we are out the presentation will play. There are going to be some weird lights appearing in the room, but that's normal. The peripheral vision will play a big part in the results. Just focus on one of the projectors."
"Okay," I say as I give him a thumbs up.
"Okay," Nathan says, also giving me a thumbs up.
"Okay," Luis chimes in. "Let's go."
Nathan and Luis leave the room. I can hear another set of doors opening and closing.
I quickly scan the room. No one appears to be watching me. Instead, all eyes appear to be on the screens.
On the screens, a countdown from 60 begins.
I pull out my phone and see that my previous notifications are from Diana. I lower the brightness on my phone.
The last text from her reads: "Where are you?"
I unlock my phone and open up the text conversation from her.
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I meant to update you on the room number. I apologize.
Please head to 1501 instead. My father's study is in 1502.
Max?
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Where are you?
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My weight shifts onto my feet.
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Whoops
I'm in 1502
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Immediately, a notification for a call from an unknown phone number displays on my screen.
Is that Diana?
I didn't add Diana as a contact yet, but the caller's number appears to match the number that Diana was sending me texts from.
Maybe it's her?
I accept the call. "Hello?" I whisper.
"Max!" Diana's voice is strained, unlike what I've heard before.
"The one and only," I respond.. "What's—"
"Are you inside 1502?" she asks urgently.
"Yeah?"
"Get out!"
I glance at the projector: the timer reads 31.
Lights start trailing along the floor, forming intricate patterns that decorate beneath me and the other students, who are focusing on the screen.
This is probably what Nathan meant by "peripheral vision."
"Max, please leave the room!" Diana demands.
"What do—" I stop myself.
The patterns on the floor morph into familiar primitive shapes—circles, triangles, and squares. On the walls, symbols start to glow from the walls. They are symbols I recognize; their distinctive nature makes me recall that they are alchemy symbols, encased in intricate lines and patterns.
No, not patterns. The glow is obscuring words in a different language.
No way... My voice catches itself in disbelief.
I quietly leave my seat and swipe the papers I signed.
Don't wanna bother the other participants...
A nearby student notices me but quickly goes back to focus on the screens.
I grab my bag and creep cautiously towards the exit.
If I'm wrong about this, probably in for a lifetime's worth of public embarrassment—or even being blacklisted from future university studies.
I push open the first set of doors slowly, trying to avoid making any noise.
Nice...
I turn back to watch the countdown reach its apex through the door's windows.
4...
3...
2...
1...
After the timer hits 1, one might expect a 0 or something to appear.
Funny enough, both did appear.
Instead of a simple 0, a circle appears on both screens, each adorned with different alchemical symbols and accompanying text.
I abandon any pretence of subtly and forcefully apply my weight on the last set of push bars, opening the doors to escape room 1502.
"Wha—?" Rose reacts to my sudden move.
I roll the signed papers in my left hand and swing my right arm to help my acceleration forward.
"Nate!" she yells.
"Come back!" I hear Luis calling me, his voice now less friendly.
A sudden jolt on the ground below me sends me tumbling into a parked car in front of me. The air fills with the sharp crackle of shattering glass and a deep rumble, like distant thunder. It's as if a chaotic storm is roaring in my ears.
A red light bathes the area around me, casting a dark shadow beneath me.
"Shit!" Rose exclaims with a noticeable level of exertion.
Without looking back, I continue to run.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
JBO
JBO Thanks for reading again!
Looks like I might need to invest some time into exploring how to convey text mesages, but no worries! I'll definitely explore how to do this in future chapters!
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