Pushing the door and stepping through, the room had six rectangular tables and six wooden chairs surrounding each of them. Contrasted with the building’s external ambiance of mineral outcrops and organic shapes of trees and shrubs, the rectangular room had empty shelves placed along its perimeter, leaving the tables neatly organized in the center. Even the hall I came from attempted to match the natural ambiance—with arches and carefully shaped stone that curved and unified together in expansive patterns, which anyone could tell came from an experienced artisan.
The warmly colored walls were a bright peach and glowed as if the sun wanted to shine through, but the material dulled its luster. Golden-brown shelves on the left and right were purposeless with its empty cabinets and did little to dampen the echoes of my footsteps upon entrance. A green chalkboard spanned the front wall—with a desk and mini table on its right, and a closed door on its left.
“Hey, you’re the first guy candidate!” I turned to a girl with a blonde ponytail – sitting atop one of two tables in the front row with maroon-striped white sneakers dangling in the central aisle.
Beside her, a silver-haired girl sat poised and proper in the central seat of the same table and turned to reveal green eyes. If her waist-long hair weren't wavy, her frilly green dress on a chair would've resembled an oddly placed potted plant.
A third girl sat at the other front table, already facing me with a squinted blue eye and stoic face. She quickly covered her mouth with her navy blue scarf and rested her head in her arms – sleeved by a trench coat a shade darker than her hazel-haired bob.
My eyes returned to the blonde girl sitting atop the table—legs dangling and swinging, and palms behind her as if in the comfort of her home, and I was her guest.
I walked down the aisle and sat on a chair in the second row of tables; facing the hazel-bobbed girl directly. We looked at each other momentarily before I broke off and put my backpack on the table.
“Come on, don’t be shy!” The blonde girl hopped off her table and walked towards me, now sitting on the corner of my table. “What’s your name? Mine is Kemia.”
“Laizen,” I replied. “Now, I think sitting on my table would make it smelly.”
“Then we can sit on Notemi’s table.” Kemia pointed to the hazel-bobbed girl in front of me. “I didn’t sit on her table because it seemed she would scold me.”
“I’m just tired because I should be sleeping soon,” Notemi groaned in an unexpected gentle voice. “Came from Australia.”
“And so she says,” Kemia continued, “but she needs to stay awake for whatever surprise comes next, let's be lively on her table and feed her some energy.”
Kemia got off my table and sat next to the resting Notemi, then gestured for me to join. I sympathized with Notemi since I was also tired, but for different reasons. I sat in front of Kemia and rested my backpack on the table leg, making sure no one would squish my only source of food: the one and only banana. But this was all for naught when the silver-haired girl pulled her chair over to sit in the aisle between me and Kemia. There was just enough space on the width of the table to fit her and her sprawled elbows.
“And my name is Lyviria,” she said, looking at me with gentle green eyes. “I can place your backpack on the table behind you, if you want.”
“Yeah…” I nodded. If everything were a living animal or human child, she treated inanimate objects with the same care and attention; a stark contrast to Kemia who seemingly wanted to inject her upbeat world everywhere, every time, on everyone. As for Notemi; so far, she's more subdued than those two.
“So when did you all arrive?” I asked.
“Notemi arrived first, way before we did,” Kemia said. “She was napping by the time I arrived, and Lyviria entered shortly after I did.”
Lyviria giggled and covered her mouth. “We introduced ourselves quickly since Kemia was eager to know us. Notemi was reluctant, but gave in after being teased because Kemia wanted to see her eyes. To reach that end, Kemia played with her hair and hugged her tightly until she had no choice but to sit up and say her name.”
Kemia also giggled and placed an arm over the hunched shoulders of Notemi for embracement. Notemi lifted her head slightly from her crossed arms to assess the situation before hiding her eyes once again in the dark enclosure of her navy scarf.
“So Laizen,” Lyviria continued, “before you joined us, Kemia and I talked about what this Explorers Project could entail—from exploring the forests and oceans to learning about different cultures around the world. Notemi thought we may even go as far as exploring our solar system’s planets. The word ‘explorer’ implies many things we could do; especially with the idea that we were nominated to be the spearhead of humanity’s evolution. But evolution is the word I’m stuck at. How does a human evolve further?”
“We could go through heaven and hell and venture through all kinds of climates,” Notemi added, lifting her head once again. “We could build towering structures and organize people to complete a massive project. We even have technology which makes our lives much simpler—but none of them greatly transforms our basic needs in the world.”
“We still eat and sleep and fill our free time with activities, right?” Kemia interjected. Her voice indicated a recitation of their previous conversation I wasn’t a part of, yet her bubbly innocence was unaffected by the implications in this line of thought. Or perhaps the conversation did not register in her understanding at all. She darted her head to all of us on the table and waited for an answer; gently rubbing Notemi’s back with assured movements that hoped to magically revitalize the resting trench coat girl.
But the question that Lyviria posed – about how humans will evolve further – gave a sense of incompleteness. The same incompleteness as my search for an alternative to logic.
I was devoid of answers.
“So?” Kemia said with an eager smile. Her darting head transitioned to a dizzying swirl in search for a response.
“I don’t have an answer…” I replied.
“Aww!” Kemia deflated her poised body to a hunch. Within a few seconds, her compressed state sprang back straight as if she couldn’t hold it for that long. Yep, a good attempt at understanding our point of view.
“No matter,” Lyviria said. “It was a passing question since my practice involved medicine and healing. I’ve interacted with many resilient people after they injured themselves from excessive physical feats and wondered how they survived.”
Notemi sat up and stretched her arms behind her, letting out sounds of exhalation before joining the three of us in an upright position. The three of them sat frozen in silence and looked in my direction. "Did I say something wrong?" I asked.
Maybe I was missing some context. Maybe the girls understood something I didn’t.
“Someone’s coming,” Notemi said, “and they’re quite loud.”
I let the noise of my thoughts dwindle and confirmed a sound coming from the door connecting to the spacious hall. It was muffled and echoey. As the noise grew louder, the sound became discernible. Voices. I was the last one to turn and face the dark wooden door as it pushed open.
Two boys stepped into the room with loud, energetic voices. One had tan-colored skin and was tall—donning a scarlet poncho that couldn’t contain his brawny arms. He had a rugged face and spiky auburn hair that frayed in all directions. The other sported thick-rimmed glasses and a navy blazer and trousers that exuded elegance. However, his display of refinement didn't match his unbridled nature while interacting with the brawny poncho man.
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“Looks like we’re the last ones to arrive,” said the guy in the poncho. His voice vibrated my ears and seemed to penetrate into my heart – drumming it to beat along with his speaking pace. If he were to sing, he might just shatter me. Seems like the voice the girls picked up on before I did. Not only was it deep, but it was loud enough to carry as echoes in the hall.
“So the Integrator hasn’t arrived yet?” The well-dressed guy said. Both of the newcomers marched down the aisle and sat at the other front table where Kemia and Lyviria were initially sitting.
“You might not want to sit there,” I said. “This girl, Kemia, may have left some smelly impressions.”
“Then I’ll sit on it.”
Without a care for his neat navy trousers, the well-dressed guy pushed his chair in and hopped onto the table – his legs now dangling just as Kemia had when I entered the room. The brawny brown man wasn’t fazed by my comment nor by his new friend’s actions. Instead, he let out a boisterous laugh that stung my eardrums with its unrestrained volume.
“This doesn’t affect me at all! I’ve been through much worse than this,” he said, taking my comment seriously.
“Hey, I don't release toxic waste that would cause death!” Kemia said to me, then turned to face the two new boys. “So! What are your names?” She introduced all of our names first, and we all had our own little greetings with nods, waves, smiles, and Notemi’s blunt “Hi.”
“I’m Kailus,” said the well-dressed guy with thick-rimmed glasses. “You can just call me Kai. Kailus if you want to treat me special.”
“'Sup Kai!” Kemia said.
“You get me, ‘sup!” Kailus and Kemia exchanged spontaneous hand signs, shakes, and whatever they were trying to communicate with their new made-up language.
“Yo! Name’s Olmahitkho. Good to see you all,” said the brawny poncho man.
“Oma… what?” I asked. Kemia paused, and the girls and I exchanged puzzled faces.
“Ol-MA-heet-ko, it has four sounds or whatamajig you call it,” he said.
“Syllables—four syllables you mean?” I clarified.
“Yes, that! But you can just call me Olma,” he said.
Kailus clasped his belly with both arms, heaving and wheezing and struggling to gather his composure. “Oh man, that was a good reaction.” He removed his glasses as tears flowed down his closed eyes, only to realize his whole face was sweating and wiped everything with his sleeve before putting his glasses back on.
“Now we have a jester and a man who could pronounce his name but not recall any vocabulary. Nice,” Notemi said, giving a thumbs up while her cheek leaned on her knuckles.
Her unapologetic bluntness made her as scary as Ruyo, though I wouldn’t know who would win in a competition of bluntness and banter. With these kinds of people, it was near impossible to hide anything because they could notice a single particle off in the air and would not hesitate to point it out. If she weren’t tired, what kind of a miscreation would I be dealing with?
“We’re all here – all six candidates,” Lyviria said, breaking the booming atmosphere with her calming voice. She smiled before proceeding. “We’re all here for the Explorer’s Project, correct?”
“Yep!” Both Olma and Kailus answered, while the rest of us nodded.
“Looks like you’ll have some male friends after all,” Lyviria looked at me and teased. I gave her a blank look as she giggled with Kemia.
“Hey Laizen!” Olma shouted, raising his hand towards me. “Come over here, let’s have some fun.”
I looked behind Lyviria across the aisle, seeing him wait with wide eyes and smile that bored into me. “Uh, sure,” I told him, getting up from my seat. He gave a mini fist pump to Kailus.
When I walked close enough, Olma stood from his seat – his head towering over mine – and placed his arm over my shoulder, nudging me and slapping my back as if I were as strong as him. My body vibrated as I kept myself from buckling. I recalled a basic principle from my history of physics class—whenever there was an action, there would be an equal and opposite reaction. So I trusted that the floor wouldn’t cave in on me as Olma continued smacking my skinny stick of a body like one of his bros. It worked until I felt a creak in my knee from handling all the pressure; prompting me to block his final, incoming arm.
“If I’m going to die soon, at least let me pray,” I blurted. Kailus laughed as loudly as Olma did, but thankfully his vocal pitch matched the girls’. The girls turned around to see the source of the squeaking noise and chuckled before returning to their conversation.
“You’re quite sturdy despite your looks!” Olma said, motioning me to sit next to him with his rugged arms. I settled beside the large, hulking man and attempted to make myself comfortable beside the heat and presence he was exuding.
“I like you!” Kailus said after regaining some composure. His shoulders and hair continued to wiggle and sway during his containment of laughter. A jester indeed; despite how he looked with his well-groomed hair and matching suit. He had a sense of aesthetics that pleased my eyes and percolated into what I assume was his style of humor, which was yet to be understood by me.
“Yeah, so what is going on here?” I asked, looking at them simultaneously through my peripherals.
“We wanted to be in your presence while you’re away from the girls,” Kailus said.
“…Then I’ll head back to the other table,” I said. I stamped my palms on the tabletop to lift myself, and walked back across the aisle to the three girls’ table.
“NOOOO!” A shrill cry paralyzed me in my tracks, and a wave of unease spread through my body, alerting me of danger. I creaked and pivoted my neck to face the source of the sound behind me.
Kailus outreached an arm towards me; fingers continuously grasping the air as if something important were slipping away. His contorted face resembled that of loss. Behind him stood Olma, who held Kailus back with a large arm around his chest. My mind went haywire with thoughts of how my body displacing air could have caused Olma to sneeze, which flung a pencil to a clock, ringing its alarm and echoing the sound in the empty shelves, which resonated enough to resound in Kailus’ ears uncomfortably.
“Please don’t leave me!” Kailus continued shouting in a shrill voice. Confused, I turned to look at the three girls, who stared at him in silence. Each of them raised to a stand and walked past me to Kailus, and I followed behind.
“Something happened?” Lyviria asked, looking at him before turning her head upwards to Olma. She stood with Kemia beside her, while Notemi and I were behind them. As for Olma, he reflected how confused I was by rubbing his chin and jawline; furrowing his eyebrows.
“Nope, just seeing what would happen when I act in front of everyone,” Kailus answered, switching his demeanor abruptly. Then I heard giggles coming from someone I least expected to have a sense of humor—Notemi.
“Interesting,” she simply said with a smirk before strolling back to her seat.
“No more of that,” Lyviria said firmly. Her agitation showed throughout her stiff body, which returned to a poised posture after saying her part.
“Sorry... I understand,” Kailus conceded as he bowed his head. Kemia stepped up to ruffle his hair for several cycles until the comb-over lost its shape and glimmer and became as messy as Olma’s auburn spikes.
“How did you do that?” she asked.
“I just do it, I can’t explain it if that’s what you’re asking,” he said. Olma released his arm lock around Kailus' chest and Kemia withdrew her hand from his head, and we all returned to our respective seats. Lyviria and I sighed in relief as tension escaped my body.
The door to the left of the chalkboard swung open.
With my lack of sleep for two days, I didn’t have the energy to react, and gave in to the shock I received from the door's squeaking hinge. “I see you are getting acquainted with each other quite nicely,” a soft and baritone voice said.
A messy black-haired man entered through the door, wearing the same off-black ceremonial robe the officers had when they picked me up. But this man was not one of them. Silence and tranquility embraced the room, transforming negative tensions into fuel that uplifted me rather than linger.
A soft, tickling sensation was felt on my chest, leading to a cascade of goosebumps to my limbs. The man’s presence was magnetic. His gait, his posture, and the drapes of his robe radiated with effortlessness. If Kailus had an aesthetically pleasing style, then this was something that could not be captured in words. He displayed a beauty that no man or woman ever exuded. I wanted to identify a word, but the closest, yet inadequate word was beautiful.
I wanted to shriek just like Kailus did for me because something wanted to come out. I stood still and thought that Kemia was right—how did Kailus make such a spontaneous emotion without cranking up in such a short span of time? I felt a sense of admiration for him build up. Looking at all the other candidates, they all fell silent and taken aback by the man’s presence just as I have.
“Since I don’t have a name, you can call me the Integrator. Good to see you all,” the man said.
“He’s here!” Kailus yelled out while slamming his table. The Integrator stood with a gentle smile on his young, pale face undismayed by the sudden outburst. Wherever Kailus’ courage came from, I wanted that.
I stood and my mind was blazing with questions. “I—”
The Integrator held up a hand. “There will be questions later. I will talk about why you are here. Afterwards, you can ask away.”
All of us exchanged glances at least once with each other. I sat back down next to Lyviria and the rest of us turned towards the Integrator—standing in front of the chalkboard where the aisle was centered.
“Thank you all for accepting my invitation and coming here on a brief notice. I see that all of you are the original nominees I have put down,” the Integrator started. “You are First Generation Explorers—precisely selected for your traits and potential for teamwork in order to spearhead humanity's evolution."
“The first thing you need to know,” he continued, “is your essential role in meeting with extraterrestrials. You will learn about their culture, lifestyle, technology, and many other aspects to pass it on to humans.”