Meliora - Extricate - 11

[lady_mab]

Jun Zhou

I meet with Zoné and Mr. Stavros in front of the hospital on Sunday morning. I don't want to have to explain to Uncle Bao or Lily who either of them are if they came to pick me up from the restaurant, so instead I say that I'm going out with some friends from school and that is good enough.

Technically, Uncle Bao knows about Meliora. I asked him for advice on the situation barely even a week ago. But the words of the Assistant Program Manager are a puzzle that I have not yet figured out.

Remember that you cannot involve others beyond your Informant that have not been invited. This includes coworkers, classmates, and even family.

It is already going to be hard enough keeping it from the rest of Zoné’s group. My group too, I suppose. It will be nigh on impossible to keep it from the far-reaching gaze of Uncle Bao.

I will worry about it after I get the chance to see how the game runs.

The rest of my team is already waiting for me outside the hospital. Zoné is the first to spot me, pushing away from the low stone wall of a planter -- the fake green bushes undoubtedly a constant all year. "Hey! I was just about to text you."

"Sorry. My cousin had taken my sweater." It might be almost September, but I am used to sticky hot summers. England is a bit too chilly for my tastes. "I hope I did not keep you waiting."

"Of course not. Jun, this is Mr. Stavros. Er, Lysander. It's going to take me awhile to get used to that." He steps aside and waves over the older man.

Lysander is about ten years older, with muddied red hair hanging to his shoulders. He pockets a thin black tube and lets a lazy smile take over his features. "It's nice to meet you," he says, giving my hand a short, firm shake. "I suppose I won't have you as a teacher until next year."

"I suppose not." I guess since I don't exactly plan on leaving at the end of Meliora, there is a very strong chance that I will have him as my teacher next year.

"Well, let's go get this over with." Lysander ushers us on ahead, and Zoné and I trot up the small set of stairs that leads to the hospital proper.

It's my first time being here, so I fall behind the other two as I slow to stare at everything around me. It's a clean, sterile environment, which I guess most hospitals are, but the wide open space of the lobby makes it feel so much different. The lights are a soft white, supported by the cloudy sun filtering in through the large floor to ceiling windows. The lobby alone has to stretch up two, maybe three floors.

I come to a stop when I bump into Zoné. He gives me a grin over his shoulder as Lysander talks to the woman at the desk. "Pretty impressive, isn't it?"

"There is so much space. The one in Chongqing, the one we went to at least, is packed and small."

"Welcome to Eminence. Where everything run by ALICE is squeaky clean." Before I can ask what he means, his attention is caught by Lysander as he turns away from the desk.

"Should be about ten minutes for us," he says, hands in his pockets. Lysander leads the way over to the chairs on the side to wait.

I trail after, trying to figure out how to word my question without sounding completely ignorant. Though in my defense, I have only been living in Eminence for a little over two months. "How much of the city does ALICE own?"

My original question was going to figure out just what ALICE was, but then I noticed the brushed steel logo on the front of desk, and the pamphlets on display list the acronym across the top.

Lysander hums in thought, flipping his phone around between restless fingers. "A good portion, if not most of the city, if I remember correctly. They're the ones that renamed it Eminence."

"Oh?" I sit down beside him, Zoné taking the seat on his other side. "What was it before?"

"It was unofficially New London, but 'London' to everyone else. A lot of places still call it that, but I'm not too sure if that's just because they didn't get the memo or just don't care." He continues to flip his phone over and over in his lap but is otherwise sitting still. His gaze meets mine, holding it politely as he talks. "They're a global medical company, stretching all across Europe and the Americas. I think a few have even been opening up in Africa over the last few decades."

The name isn't familiar, and I don't remember seeing it during my trips into the big cities.

We chat for another few minutes -- Lysander asking about my trip from Beijing and Uncle Bao's restaurant, and Zoné and I asking him about his adventures across Europe before coming to Eminence. In what feels like no time at all, we're called in to the examination rooms for our shots.

As we follow the nurse through the halls, I notice that Zoné is wringing his hands and biting his lip. He'd been doing that more and more often as our conversation wore on, but I figured it was just because he doesn't like to sit still long enough. Lysander also seemed to have the inability to sit still.

However, once the nurse leaves us in the examination room, door closing behind her, Zoné starts to pace in tight circles.

I pull myself up onto the bed, the paper cover crinkling beneath my weight. I keep my hands folded carefully in my lap and to my best to take up as little space as possible. "Do you want to sit down?" I ask, patting the spot beside me.

His eyes jump to me, then he shakes his head and keeps moving. "Naw I'm not tired."

"You are making me tired watching you." In fact, my limbs are starting to pick up on his tension, and I have to force myself to relax, to remember that I'm not the one who is nervous.

Well, maybe I am just a little.

Lysander reaches out and catches onto his elbow. "Deep breath. Stressing out won't help any."

He shoots Lysander a pained look. "I'm just a little anxious. Not stressing. Totally not stressing."

"A lot of people don't like shots. It's completely understandable," the teacher says.

Zoné freezes, stone cold. Degree by tiny degree, he pivots to face the two of us. The usual dark tan of his skin has turned ashen. "What makes you say that?"

Lysander snorts, crossing his arms over his chest and tilting his head a degree to the side. "Because you're pacing like a caged tiger."

His voice hitches on a laugh and his arms fold and unfold over his chest in rapid succession. "Okay maybe I have a severe distrust for anything that tiny and dangerous."

"Dangerous?" I try not to laugh, because he does look very serious about this situation. "You could kill yourself on any number of kitchen utensils and you are scared of a tiny needle?"

"They're lethal!" Zoné flings his arms to his side as he whirls towards me. It only takes half a breath for them to return to being crossed over his chest. "One little air bubble can send death into your blood! You wouldn't even see it coming. All those clear liquids. Who knows what's really in them."

Lysander snorts and rubs his hand over his mouth to disguise the hint of a smirk. "Drugs and chemicals?"

He lets out a stressed sigh and finally comes to a stop leaning against the examination bed. "It's the year 2323 and they're still using freaking needles. Where are my electronic shots? Where is the little wand that you wave over your arm and poof! Illness no more! It is science! It is the future!"

I exchange a quick glance of amusement with Lysander before the door opens. Zoné jerks back upright.

The nurse returns, her short black hair held out of the way with a simple clip. "Sorry for the wait." Her smile radiates motherly affection and I see Zoné relax a fraction. She carries a small box under her arm, which she sets down on the counter while letting the door slip shut. "Who would like to go first?"

Zoné gulps and holds a hand to his neck.

Lysander pushes himself away from the back wall and claps Zoné on the shoulder. "I will."

She prepares the shot with deft skill as Lysander shrugs off his over shirt. The nurse reaches for his arm with a cotton swab, but hesitates at something that I can't see with his back to me.

"It's not a problem, is it?" he asks, and she shakes her head even though her lips are pursed.

I glance at Zoné for some sort of explanation, but receive none. He is worrying at his lower lip with a nail. I lean over and tap him gently on the shoulder. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine."

I don't really believe him, but I don't want to push him too far.

I take the next turn as Lysander pulls his shirt back on and moves to stand next to Zoné. I hear them conversing softly.

The nurse prepares my shot and I pull up the patterned sleeve of my sweater for her. A few seconds and it's done, and she is smoothing on the bandage. The patch takes a few seconds to match my skin tone, but then I can't even tell that it is there beyond a dull ache in my muscle.

Finally, Zoné moves to take the low swivel stool before the nurse. Despite his obvious nerves, he manages to sit still long enough for the shot -- although he does wince a bit more dramatically than he really needs to.

"There," she says when she is done. "Nothing to it."

"That was it?"

"That was it!" The smiles has never left the nurse's face, and she deposits the last needle into the bright orange bin. She moves to the sink, washing the coating from her hands. "From my understanding, you'll be receiving a message when you need to come in from your second round of shots. I am also to remind you that it is very important that you keep on top of these." She takes the empty box from the counter and opens the door for us. "If you fall behind, it will be very difficult to make up for any missed time. Just like any other health routine."

Lysander places one hand between my shoulders, the other between Zoné's and guides us out before him. "Thank you."

The nurse nods and takes off down the hall in the opposite direction.

We're back in the lobby by the time Zoné seems to loosen enough to return to his normal self, obvious by the way that he says, "I'm hungry."

My response is automatic. "You are always hungry."

Still, he tosses a quick smile in my direction. "Let's go get something to eat. First event as a team!"

"I'm pretty sure the shots are the first event," Lysander says. The black tube from earlier is back in his fingers, and a second later I realize that it's actually a vape pen. He lifts it to his mouth and ponders a second as he inhales. When he answers, his words are wreathed in smoke. "But lunch does sound good."

Zoné pumps his hand into the air and bounces up on the balls of his feet. "Food! Jun, let's go to your restaurant!"

"One, it is not mine. Two, I really want a brunch. Uncle Bao does not do any sort of breakfast foods, and it is too early for lunch in my mind."

Lysander glances at his watch. "It's a little after eleven. Alright, I'm down for brunch."

"Foooooood!" Zoné shouts, and hops off the sidewalk to make a dash for the bus stop.

I follow behind with Lysander at a more reasonable pace. "Thank you for offering to be Zoné's Informant," I say once we hit the other side of the street. I ignore the curious look that he gives me, focusing instead on the nonsensical patterns his breath of smoke makes. "I really liked the idea of participating, but did not recognize anyone at the meeting to ask. You gave him the push to participate."

A huff of laughter escapes him. He seems to have stilled since we left the hospital, fingers no longer drumming out a rhythm on any surface, and I wonder if he’s also wary of needles. "The idea fascinated me when I first heard about it from my friend. I'm glad that the two of you were able to meet up so I could be a part of it as well."

Lysander leans against the outer post of the bus stop, looking like he wants to add something, but instead closes his lips around his vape and takes a deep breath. A shutter drops behind his gaze and whatever he had contemplated is now off the table.

As we sit and wait for the bus, I listen to Lysander and Zoné talk about class, and think about how our strange mishmash of a team must look to the people running this game.

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