Authors note: So, what does everyone think so far? To continue or not to continue?
Disclaimer: I own nothing blah blah
Clarissa was waiting outside, watching Lester and Matt argue through the glass. She turned around, and started as she saw Connor was standing beside her, leaning up against the railings.
"So, how do you know about the anomalies?" he asked. She could tell he wasn't being rude, just curious. So, she told him the same story she had told Lester moments before. By the time she was finished, she had gathered quite an audience.
"It must have been really hard, to lose your brother like that." Jess said, sympathetically. Clarissa decided she liked Jess. She was sweet, and almost reminded her of herself, before her brother had died. That had been a hard year. Her big brother was reported dead, and her fiancé had left her. She had been completely broken. After that, she had cut herself off emotionally, thinking only of the anomalies and saving people's lives.
Clarissa shook herself back to the present. "Yes it was." She said, simply. There didn't seem to be anything else to say.
"He was a good guy, in the end." Said Connor, awkwardly. She smiled. Connor reminded her a lot of the puppy she had gotten when she was little, so loyal and obedient, and well, cute.
"He had his good days." She offered a small smile. She didn't like talking much about her brother normally, let alone with a crowd of people, she was getting more than a little uncomfortable with all the attention. Whether the crowd around her seemed to realise she didn't like all the attention, or they grew bored of her she didn't know, but soon they all began to filter away, leaving only Jess behind.
Clarissa looked at her thoughtfully. If Connor was a puppy, Jess was definitely a kitten. A fluffy bouncy kitten, the kind that would jump on to your lap and want to play.
I wonder what kind of animal Lester would be. Hmm. Something ferocious and stubborn she thought bitterly. But she sensed there was something more to Lester, and she didn't believe anyone could be that cold all the way through.
She then realised Jess had said something, and was waiting for a reply. "Sorry, what?"
"I said I hope they hire you." Said Jess, sympathetically. "It'd be good to have another girl on the team." Clarissa was about to make a remark about the amount of testosterone that must be flying about the place, what with all these 'alpha males' about, but Lester and Matt had come out of the office.
Matt looked more than a bit smug, obviously having won the battle, but Lester's face was unreadable. That bothered Clarissa more than she'd like to admit, she could usually read people very well, and there was something about Lester, she could see flashes of something, fighting through the sarcastic facade- only she wasn't sure what.
Lester cleared his throat. "Obviously it will have to be fully discussed with Phillip Burton when he gets back, but, for now we have decided to put you on a trial period. You will work in the menagerie and in our research centres, and under no circumstances are you to go out in the field. Understood?"
Clarissa decided this was the best she was going to get- for now. Maybe she could work on this Phillip Burton character, maybe he would let her out in the field.
"Thank you, Lester." She said; with a slight recline of her head. He simply said, Matt will show you to your office. Then went swiftly back into his own.
She followed Matt through to an office which was surprisingly close to the main room. It was a modest room, with a desk, computer, bookshelf and a few chairs. Still, she wouldn't be in it for long, she thought determinedly.
"I'll try and get you out on the front line as soon as possible; I can tell that's where you want to be." Said Matt.
"Thanks," she said, gratefully. "So, what base did you do your military training in?" She might as well get to know him, if he was going to be team leader. And, to be honest, she just wanted to hear more of that gorgeous Irish accent. She'd always had a weakness for them.
"Erm, nowhere you would have heard of I'm afraid." He smiled apologetically. Hmm. A bit vague but, she didn't like talking about herself much either, so she let it go. Matt turned to leave, and, for the first time since she'd entered the ARC, she was left alone with her thoughts.
Unfortunately, nothing philosophical came to mind, and her first thought was; "Let's try out the spinney chair!"