Christa led Kaitlyn through the lab, pointing out instruments and landmarks as they went. Apparently, Professor Adams’s lab consisted of only the three benches at the very end of the hall. Past that invisible dividing line lay the domain of other groups and a few areas with common equipment.

“...And here’s the weigh stations, this is usually where we make media and the like. We’ve got some hot plates and stir bars around to help with that. There’s also some shaking incubators there, for bacterial cultures, and gel boxes right here…”

Media? She can’t mean videos, that woulc be dumb. Kaitlyn did her best to commit the information and terms to memory. Some of it she’d heard before from textbooks or articles, but much of it still put her at a loss. What exactly was a fume hood, and how was it different from a clean hood? Why did a lab that worked with plants have so many tubes of bacteria growing? And what were these other machines even used for?

Finally, they entered a small side room near the front entrance. Inside sat a row of three beefy microscopes, each boasting an assortment of lenses and wires connecting to a computer. At the far end of the room, hunched over the last microscope, sat a rather scruffy looking man with a look of absolute concentration. Beside him was a girl closer to Kaitlyn’s age.

“Freddy! Are you busy?”

The man started. “What? Oh, geez. Give me a heart attack, why don’t you…”

The girl giggled as Christa stepped further inside and gestured Kaitlyn forward. “Kaitlyn, this is Freddy. He’s the other postdoc in our lab. Freddy, meet Kaitlyn, the new undergrad.”

“Ah, hello.” Freddy turned toward her with a nod of acknowledgement. To her surprise, he wasn’t wearing a lab coat. Instead, his logo tshirt and jeans were on full display. “You gonna be working with us, then?”

“Yes! Um, I think so.” She glanced nervously between the two older scientists. “I’m not entirely sure what I’ll be doing though… Professor Adams didn’t really get to that point…”

“Well, you ever worked in a lab before?”

“Er, no. Sorry.” She shrugged apologetically. At least, not this loop.

Christa chuckled. “Oh don’t you worry! Anna - er, Professor Adams - is pretty busy, so she won’t be working with you herself. You’ll be working with us for the most part.”

“Yeah, of course she left the heavy lifting to us.” Freddy sighed. “Well, we’ll figure it out. I’ve got a lot of stuff to take care of today, though, so I probably can’t do much for you there.”

“That’s ok!” Kaitlyn nodded emphatically. “I don’t want to be a bother. Just uh, let me know if I can help.”

“Will do. Now, I gotta get back to it.”

With that, Kaitlyn followed Christa back out to the main lab space. “So! That’s our little lab. There’s a couple more people for you to meet, but I’m sure you’ll see them around sometime.”

“Thank you.” Kaitlyn beamed with excitement. There’s so much opportunity here. I can feel it. “Really! For taking the time, even when you’re so busy…”

“Oh, it’s no problem at all. Remember, if you ever have any questions, just ask! We’re happy to help.” The portly woman fixed her with a warm smile. “By the way, we should probably figure out a schedule for when you’ll be here. When are your classes?”

“Er…” Kaitlyn thought about how to answer for a second. Should I give her my actual class schedule, or something that works with my study schedule instead? Probably the latter. But maybe I need more info first. “How much time should I plan to come in for?”

“Well, that depends on you, really! We don’t want to get in the way of your studies, so it’s as much time as you think is reasonable. If it’s kind of consistent, it’ll make it easier for us to plan and have things for you to do. But we can usually find something either way.”

Great. That actually sounds really flexible. She relaxed, mentally running through her weekly routine. So… Maybe I start off with six hours a week? I think I can spare that pretty easily. At worst it will mean it takes me a few more loops to master classes, but who cares? This is totally worth it.

After going back and forth a bit about the best times to be in lab, Kaitlyn heard the double door open with a soft click. Christa glanced toward the sound over Kaitlyn’s shoulder. “Ah, Elli! Done with class?”

Turning around, Kaitlyn came face to face with a familiar orange-haired male lead stepping through the doorway. His usual flannel fluttered unbuttoned atop a white undershirt. A backpack casually hung over one shoulder as his thumbs hooked into his jean belt loops.

A lightbulb went off in Kaitlyn’s head. Of course Elliot’s in this lab. Obviously. That’s why he’s always walking together with Professor Adams!

Emerald eyes took her in with a cool smile. “Hello. I take it you’re the new undergrad?”

“Y-yes!” She cursed herself for her stutter. Dang. Even if I’m not doing endings right now, the guy is darn cute. He’d make anyone nervous.

“Elli, this is Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn, Elli.”

“Elliot. It’s a pleasure.” He reached forward one callused hand to shake. “Did you start today?”

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“Uh… kind of? I’m not entirely sure.” Kaitlyn glanced at Christa apologetically. “We were just about to figure out what I should do…”

“Freddy’s got a pretty full day, and I got a couple of assays to finish up myself.” Christa piped up. “Elli, do you have anything that she could help with?”

“Oh sure, dump her on the other undergrad. Wouldn’t want us lowly mortals to interfere with the work of a postdoc.” He rolled his eyes good naturedly, face turning thoughtful as he stashed his backpack in a cubby near the door. “But actually, yes. I have some roots I need to measure.”

“Oh, perfect!” Christa clapped enthusiastically, her blue eyes sparkling. “Then Kaitlyn, you’ll work with Elli for now. Next week, we’ll plan things out a little better. Alright?”

“Uh, sure! I’ll do my best.” Hey, I’ll get to do something at least! That’s better than just heading straight home.

With that, the older woman bustled back to her bench. Kaitlyn was left standing before Elliot as he pulled on a white lab coat.

“Um… do I need to get one of those?”

“Hmm? Oh,” he shrugged. “Yes, eventually, but not for this. We’re not exactly dealing with stuff that’ll melt your face off around here. I’m only wearing mine because I’ll have to plant some stuff later, so it’ll keep the dirt off.”

Dirt? Kaitlyn frowned. That’s what he’s worried about? I thought everyone had to wear lab coats in a lab? Though I guess Freddy wasn’t, either, so maybe I am ok…

As he snapped the last button into place, Elliot beckoned for her to follow. They made their way down the hall and out of the lab, toward the opposite end of the building.

“So, has Christa already given you a tour?”

Kaitlyn nodded. “Yeah. Mostly of the lab though, she just kind of showed me where the other stuff is.”

“That’s fine. She probably told you already, but if you ever have questions, feel free to ask. It’ll take a while to get your bearings, trust me. This place can feel as organized as a little brother’s room sometimes.”

“I uh, don’t have any siblings…”

“A dad’s garage workshop then. Or maybe an antique shop, if you’ve ever been to one of those.”

Before Kaitlyn could respond, a new voice piped up from nearby.

“Hi, Elli!”

Kaitlyn glanced up at the strangely familiar voice. There among the other lab’s benches stood a tall girl with delicate features waving their direction. Her dark eyes and raven ponytail contrasted with porcelain skin almost as pale as her lab coat.

Elliot raised a hand to wave back. “Hey, Esme.”

“Who’s that with you?”

“This is Kaitlyn. She’s a new undergrad in our lab.”

“Oh, exciting!” Esme turned towards Kaitlyn, seeming to evaluate her. “I’m Esmerelda, but everyone calls me Esme. Hopefully I’ll see you around!”

Kaitlyn bit her lip. She’s definitely familiar… But where do I know her from…?

Recognition flashed across her face. That’s right! She’s the girl who was studying with Elliot the first loop! Does that mean they’re dating? Or they will date?

“Something the matter?” Esme cocked her head to the side. Her voice had a strange lilt to it, some accent that Kaitlyn couldn’t place.

“Ah! Sorry.” Schooling her expression back into a smile, she inclined her head toward the girl. “I just thought you looked familiar. Nice to meet you, too.”

“Esme’s lab works with ours pretty closely, so she might bother you more than you think.” A smile quirked the corner of Elliot’s lips.

“Oh, don’t pretend like you don’t come seek me out just as much.” Esme rolled her dark eyes. “I’ll remember that next time you need extra plates.”

After exchanging a few more words, they bid Esme farewell and continued on down the hall. Still, the interaction had left Kaitlyn with more questions than expected.

I still don’t know who Esme is to Elliot, but that’s not important right now. The real question is, how are they so familiar already? It’s only been a couple weeks, there’s no way he only started at the beginning of the semester…

“Something on your mind?”

Startled, she glanced over at Elliot’s questioning look. Well, might as well ask. “Uh… how long have you been in the lab?”

“Mmmm, about a year, technically two.” They passed by bench after bench. Without clear signs, it was difficult to determine where one lab stopped and another began. However, the sudden shifts from “extremely organized” to “complete mess of unfamiliar science junk” gave some clues.

“Really?” The answer surprised Kaitlyn. “Are you a second year, then?”

“Ah, I’d see why you’d think that.” Elliot chuckled. “No, I’m a first year, actually. But Anna’s been a family friend for a long time, so I was able to help out around here before starting at Hartland. Esme’s a third year though, if you’re wondering.”

Third year? Dang. She’s definitely got experience under her belt then.

Before Kaitlyn had time to ask any more questions, They stopped before a thick metal door. The square window on its front was ominously blacked out, giving no indication of what lay inside. “Here we are. This is the growth chamber.”

Elliot grabbed the metal lever-like handle and pulled. With a bit of effort, the heavy door swung open, revealing bright whiteness within. Plants filled the chamber from floor to ceiling - the neat rows of greenery boasted long narrow leaves to small oblong ones and many places in between.

“Here they are.” Stepping forward, Elliot pulled a tray of what looked to be square plates from a shelf. He held up one of the plates for her inspection. Looking more closely, Kaitlyn could pick out tiny seedlings growing within each, their white roots weaving down through some clear jelly-like substance. “Basically, we got a bunch of plants that we’ve treated with different substances. Some are ‘normal’ plants, some are mutants. We want to measure their roots to see how they’re each growing.”

Kaitlyn blinked. “...That sounds pretty easy.”

“Yup. It should be. If it isn’t, then, well, some of the other stuff is gonna really kick you in the teeth.” He shifted the tray against his hip. “Let’s get these back to the lab. On the way, I can tell you a bit more about what we’re trying to do here. I’m guessing Anna gave you the overview?”

“Y-yeah!”

“Perfect. Then let’s talk specifics…”

***

Cycle 15 Complete!

Ending: Under the Radar

Total Endings Unlocked: 6

Writing - F (0%)

Calculus - F (0%)

Statistics - F (0%)

Chemistry - F (0%)

Genetics - A (100%)