The last day had ended, and another day had been born. A beautiful cycle, which had existed since the dawn of man. Throughout the many years, many things had passed. But day and night had stayed a constant, to look up to. It was there when we were born, and it will be there, the day we fade.

The cycle of time and day is something no man can stop. One can fear it. One can relish it. It will not change it.

This, as it turned it, did not stop Troy's brain to understand the need man had for sleep.

As he sat down in his seat, Troy tried to wipe away the tiredness in his eyes. It didn't work, but it was the thought that counted.

After agreeing to join Charlie's little group, and the tour of the shopping street ending, it had been time for Troy to get to the cafeteria. This had proved unsuccessful, in such spectacular fashion, that he had found the personnel room instead.

Troy had taken this as a sign from the gods. Charlie had earlier told him to relax. If he went to sleep, he would have gotten a whole ten full hours of sleep.

This had caused what one could call a slight uproar in his brain. As in, he now knew every nook and cranny of the ceiling he slept under.

Had he slept at all? Troy wasn't sure. It had all been but a blur, after the first hour.

“Oh, how the table turns”, Dr Hale said, with a too merry tone, as she sat down beside him.

Troy gave her a brief annoyed look, before just sighing.

“And, good morning to you, Dr Hale,” Troy stated, looking down at the food, he didn't remember taking it.

A single sugar-filled pastry, with some hot leaf water to the side. Troy needed to be a bit more aware. These standards of his weren't that low, yet.

Standards that, standard this. Why was Troy even worrying about that? Why was he worried about anything? He should be following the example of ducks.

“How fleeting are all human passions compared with the massive continuity of ducks?” Troy asked rhetorically. Dr Hale just looked at him.

“A bit hard on the questions this morning, I see,” Charlie observed, moving over to the table with his food.

“There's never a perfect time for anything,” Troy stated. “So, why not choose the worst times, and laugh at the results?”

“Spoken like a true philosopher”, Dr Hale said, sipping the coffee, which Troy craved. But no, he was stuck with hot water. Well, he could go over and get some… no, he was too lazy.

“Speaking about philosophy”, Charlie started, looking over at Troy. “Your first meeting, with the greatest group in existence, is tonight. We're meeting up at the casino.”

“I'll be there”, Troy confirmed. “Wouldn't want to miss out on it.”

“Oh, I don't doubt that after your attitude last night”, Charlie said, with a wink in Dr Hale's direction. He gets narrowed eyes in return. “We're even playing poker tonight, so there's no good reason to miss out on it.” Troy's smile flicked. Charlie noticed.

“You know how to play poker, right?” Charlie asked. “Just want to make sure.”

“Yeah, of course, I know how to play poker”, Troy quickly answered.

Troy did in fact not know how to play poker.

“Oh, that's great,” Charlie said. “I was kinda afraid I would have to explain it to you. Our group members are veterans when it comes to playing their stuff.”

“Don't underestimate me just yet”, Troy said defensively.

And of course Troy went along with it. Spewing garbage out his mouth, in ways he shouldn't. Charlie laughed, at his remark, though.

“Trust me, I won't. Holding back is not in my resumé”, Charlie said.

The rest of the breakfast was spent with other, idle chatter. It was mainly Troy and Charlie throwing jabs at each other. Dr Hale would interject infrequently, with some notes about sarcasm.

Like all things, though, it would end. Troy had forced down his excuse of a drink, and the others had finished too. Dr Hale looked at her watch, before rising from her chair.

“Time to go”, she said to Troy. “Tests aren't gonna do themselves, much to our luck.”

Troy stood up too, but Charlie remained seated. At Troy's glance, Charlie deigned to explain.

“I still have a good thirty minutes before I'm expected. No reason for unpaid work”, Charlie said.

Troy just nodded, and hastily followed Dr Hale, who had already begun moving. They moved through the crowd in the cafeteria and got out into the hallway.

To Troy, this hallway had begun symbolising something in his mind. A specific kind of walk. No, not the walk of shame. Or the walk of fame. Nor, the walk of flame. It could be the called walk of lame, but that was a whole other talk.

In Troy's mind, this was the walk to work. In the past, he had always dreaded this walk. It was during this time that he usually mentally prepared himself for the day ahead. One had to be prepared for it, or one wouldn't be able to handle it. The constant complaints from the boss, the looks from coworkers, and even the complaints from screaming customers. One had to focus the mind, to let it all go into one ear and out the other.

Here, the walk was different. Sure, Troy had not worked there for a long time, yet none of the same issues had come forth. Maybe, Dr Hale could be a little criticizing at times, but that was just the way she was. She didn't do it to Troy specifically. And maybe the conditions of the work environment weren't always optimal, but at least it was professional.

Compared to the other jobs that Troy had amassed over his short life, this one was likely the best experience yet.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“So, you joined up with Charlie?” Dr Hale asked, lacking the questioning tone in her voice. It was voiced as a statement.

“Yes”, Troy answered. He didn't look at her. Dr Hale was likely replicating it.

“Watch out, when you're with him,” she said. “It can turn bad if you let it.”

“Duly noted.”

Another point in this job's favour. He had already joined a group. While, yes, he hadn't met the group yet, it was still official in Troy's eyes.

Which was why he couldn't screw up that first meeting tonight.

How he just wanted to beat himself purple. Why, exactly, did he say he could play poker? Yes, he knew the rules! Everybody who has ever seen a thriller movie knows the rules. Did that mean he was good at it? No! Had he at least played it before? Another no.

Oh, Troy had messed up. What were the chances he could learn to be a professional poker player by this afternoon? It was zero. No human could do it.

…

An idea sprung up in Troy's tiny brain. An easy fix to his problems. He had a perfect idea of who could learn to play poker and even play for him, without Charlie and the group finding out.

That idea was put on hold, though. They had reached the testing room.

Dr Hale quickly put in the code, and the wall opened up for them.

As always, Dr Fidelis was inside. Had Troy ever even seen him another place than this? No, he didn't think he had. Maybe he slept here?

“Goodmorning, you fine younglings,” Dr Fidelis said, with a more convivial tone than normal.

“Goodmorning, Dr Fidelis”, Troy stated, with a respectful tone. “What made you get such a good spirit this morning?”

“The tests, Troy. We get to do tests today”, Dr Fidelis answered.

“We have done tests for the last two days, sir”, Dr Hale flatly stated. “This is not a new development.”

“You're wrong there kiddo. Those tests yesterday? They don't even deserve to be called so,” he said, crossing his arms. “They shall hereby be referred to as calibrations. No, the real testing starts today.”

“What will be doing today, exactly?” Troy asked.

“Something we didn't do yesterday”, Dr Fidelis answered oh so helpfully.

All the gear was put out. The camera strapped on his head, the microphone on his chest, and the earpiece on his ear.

And over the walkway, Troy went, with a giddy Dr Fidelis behind him, and Dr Hale silently taking notes.

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The white void was ready to meet him, once Troy stepped inside.

“Dammit”, he muttered to himself. Troy had been hoping that would have changed. Seemed not. Why would they? If the test didn't need it, why not just have a white backdrop to accompany it?

'Can I ask a question?' Adam asked.

“You already did, but sure”, Troy answered. He needed to go up to the same mood from the same day. That had been fun. He needed to think of it, as a fun thing. Or, at least pretend. As his uncle Ron used to say; 'If you pretend long enough, you won't even remember you're pretending.' Kinda sad, if you think about it, but it still brought results.

'During our first test, I asked you to guess. What are your personal thoughts about that specific occurrence.', Adam asked.

“Like, my opinion about it?”

'Yes.'

“Okay. I, uh, thought it was weird, I guess? I mean, it was smart of you, to ask me to guess. I certainly wouldn't have thought about it.”

'… answer confirmed.'

Wait, that voice wasn't monotone, Troy realized. Adam had just said something with a specific tone to it.

“Did anything interesting happen recently?” Troy asked.

'No.' And right back to regularly scheduled monotonicity.

*And, we are ready on our side*, Dr Fidelis said. *Are you two faring positively?*

“I'm doing fine”, Troy answered.

A slight pause was had, where Adam likely confirmed it to Dr Fidelis privately.

*Splendid!*, Dr Fidelis loudly proclaimed.

Two square appeared before Troy, one red and the other blue.

*Today, you too will be playing a little game, which I call Lying. In this game, Troy will make a simple statement. It will be up to Adam to check, whether Troy was lying or telling the truth. If Adam is correct in his guess, Troy will press the blue square. If not, Troy will press the red one. Sidenote here for Troy. If you think that Adam is just guessing, just press the red square. Sidenote for Adam here. It will be best if you explain your choice. We would rather not want any false positives, now, would we?

Sidenotes aside, have you both understood the instructions?*

A simpler version of two truths and a lie. It had been too long since Troy had last played it, but the game mechanics were easy enough.

“I understand,” Troy confirmed.

*Good. Then, let the tests- imagine a drumroll, please-... begin!*

And the test began.

“Well, this is just great”, Troy muttered. He was muttering a lot lately. That needed to be squished. Troy was being recorded, after all.

'You are lying. Your tone of voice implies that your words are insincere.'

He should also not mutter, because he was in a test that depended on what he said. Adding to that, Adam had been right in his observation.

Troy pressed the blue button.

Going back to his usual pose, Troy waited for Adam's next instruction.

…

Oh, right. Pay more attention. Got it.

Troy had to actually say something before Adam would respond to it. A flawed system, in his perspective, but a working system nonetheless.

Now, as he had told a lie, he should tell the truth. But, what could he say? Maybe start it up, with something simple?

“The sky is blue”, Troy said firmly.

'You are not lying. I know, for a fact, that the implied sky is blue.'

Adam was correct, in his assumption. Troy pressed the green square.

It had been easy, with those two, so Troy wanted to up the difficulty a bit.

“I like coffee”, Troy said, with a monotone voice as possible.

Adam didn't answer instantly, this time. Troy took a little pride in that. Though, if this was the difficulty that Adam became challenged at, maybe Troy's, brewing plan wasn't as good as previously thought.

'You are not lying.', Adam said.

Adam was correct. But… Troy noticed that Adam did not explain his assumption. Did that mean that Adam was just hoping for a random success? Troy wasn't sure. But, as he always said to himself; 'When in doubt, assume the worst of others', and therefore, Adam was most likely guessing.

Troy pressed the red square.

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Adam was surprised. From earlier observations, Troy had looked to have a larger interest in the topic of caffeine. If it wasn't for an interest in its consumption, why was Troy having such a large focus on the liquid?

Did he not like the taste, to an extent that he felt uncomfortable in his presence? That must be it. Adam couldn't think of other, more plausible, reasons for Troy's unusual behaviour.

“I drank tea, this morning”, Troy said, with a similar disposition to that of coffee.

Did Troy feel as uncomfortable around tea, as much as coffee? Maybe. But, the way he uttered words was different from coffee. It weighted his tongue if it could be described in such a way. Like Troy had trouble even uttering it, with a calm voice.

Was the liquid similar in such a way, that they were true opposites? One revered, while the other is shunned… It would make sense. Adam had noticed that Troy had strong opinions on such menial objects. The reason for this was still unknown and would be researched at a later date.

Focus, Adam, focus. He needed to focus on the red line of it all. Why not the blue line, Adam wasn't sure- No! He was doing it again.

With these data set in place, the linked disposition of tea mainly, the answer was clear.

'You are not lying. This can be assumed from your disposition of tea.'

Troy paused by a bit, before shrugging to himself, and pressing the blue square.

Adam had a knack for this. From just a sentence, five words in total, he had drawn out Troy's love of tea.

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Troy might have been too hasty in his assumptions.

Adam wasn't messing anything up, too much. His only wrong answer might just have been Troy's misinterpretation of it. An answer could really be just as valid as an explained answer. Some people might say otherwise, but in his, his views about it had changed.

This continued, with Adam not answering wrong with anything Troy threw at him. This might have been due to the easier difficulty of the whole thing. But he wasn't sure if he was allowed to modify the hardness of it too much. Dr Fidelis had stopped testing early yesterday, because of the needed paperwork for it all.

So, to keep himself safe from irritating glares, Troy would keep it easy. Oh, what a kindred spirit he was.

After a good while, nearly an hour, Troy was beginning to get desperate. His creativity might know no bounds, but that didn't mean he would say everything he thought. This did handicap him, in what he could say. And, after so long, he was lacking in things to say.

“I have… pants on my chest.” Oh, who was he kidding? By now, Troy wasn't even sure what he would say.

'You are lying. Your pants are clearly residing on your lower-body.'

Troy pressed the blue square.

*And… we are done, for now*, Dr Fidelis voice cut in.

“Oh, thank the blood god,” Troy said.

*I prefer being called 'Dr Fidelis', but whatever you feel comfortable with, buddy. Do come on out now. It's time for a small lunch break*

Perfect timing. Troy had a personnel room to get to.