Doe

I waited for fifteen minutes. Even though I had arrived at the camp on time, I still had to wait fifteen minutes before someone finally sat down at the front desk. Of course, Ally was the first one to stand, and she quickly stood up and rushed to the other side of the main entrance. With an irritated sigh, I stood up as well, not bothering to look at the two people lounging behind me. 

The man at the desk was named Gene. Everything about him screamed I dont’t want to be here. That’s probably why he was so late attending to us. Once Ally had signed herself in, I took a step forward toward Gene. I didn’t want to be there. And the fact that I had been waiting was making me annoyed even further. I hoped I never had to interact with Gene ever again after this. He ruined an already bad day.

“I’m Doe Fenson,” I told him, “I’m here for the Youth Hero Instructional Camp.”

Gene nodded in acknowledgement, and I went back to my seat. Similarly, to Gene, or rather, just like him, I didn’t want to be there, and I doubted my mind could be changed. My arm was burning slightly, but I ignored it. If I scratched the skin around my band, the rash would only get worse, and I didn’t feel like dealing with that if I had the choice.

I hadn’t realised I had been staring into space until I noticed someone else had come out to greet us. It was a woman with a serious expression and short, white hair. I recognized her from somewhere, I thought, but I wasn’t sure from where. The woman began to speak;

“I am Ms. Siker,” she said, her voice matching her appearance almost exactly. “For the next eight weeks, you will be living here, and we will be assessing your abilities for the chance of hiring you as heroes in the future.”

I stared at her blankly. I had known this camp’s intentions from the start, but I wasn’t expecting that being here would make me an unwilling participant in the government’s use of people with abilities. 

The four of us stood up, and I noticed the one boy who had been on his phone earlier was now looking politely at Ms. Siker while she spoke. I didn’t want to be here. The thought continued to play through my head. I didn’t want to make friends with these kids, didn’t want to be watched and evaluated by the adults working here. The only thing I was looking forward to was the meals, which were supposed to be delectable, and even then, I’d only get three a day.

Ms. Siker looked at each one of us carefully, and when her eyes landed on me, I could tell instantly that she thought I was suspicious. Her white hair seemed to accuse me of lies, which sounds strange, but her serious expression made me uneasy. 

After a quick runthrough of where we’d be staying, Ms. Siker led us to our rooms. We each had an individual bedroom with a common area and communal boy and girls washrooms. As well, we each had a key. Internally, I grinned. Privacy. I took my key gratefully from Ms. Siker, and went to the room with the matching number. Room number three, I sure hoped it wouldn’t be completely devoid of decorations. We had time to unpack until dinner at six o’clock, so I had a couple hours to be alone. Fearfully, I opened the door, and stepped into where I would be staying for the next two months of my life.