"Jay!" Ram called out into the hallway, "why don't you join us?"
Jay sighed and turned towards the room. He had been passing by, on his to the Mall. Rather than anger Ram, he complied with his orders. He stepped into the room and noticed Ram, Ved, and one other person with a reality space headset on in the room.
Jay stood in the doorway when Ram looked up and said slowly, "Close the door, would you?"
Jay sighed and closed the door, stepping into the room more.
"Sit," Ram ordered. Jay noticed a chair in the corner of the room and went towards it.
"No," Ram said. Jay turned, his expression blank. He did not care for witnessing reality space experiments.
"Here," Ram motioned to the chair next to the person with the headset. Ram smiled. Jay gritted his teeth and went towards that chair.
He sat down and wondered who the person to his left was. He looked up at Ved. Ved gulped and shook his head under his brother's gaze. Jay frowned and tried to figure out what Ved was trying to tell him.
"Now," Ram made a motion as if he were shooing a fly, "none of that...brotherly 'psychicness'! I don't need you two communicating without my knowledge."
Ved sighed and rolled his eyes. Jay laid back in the chair.
"What's going on, Ram?" he finally asked.
Ram only smiled. "You shall soon see."
Ram turned his gaze to Ved. "Are we all set up?"
Ved nods grimly. He'd rather be anywhere else in the world than that room right then. Ram wanted to enter Leigha in Reality Space, but he just didn't know who else he would put in there with her. If it had been personal, it would be himself. But it wasn't.
Ram settled for Jay. 'That's it!! Jay versus Leigha!! Let's see if he wimps out and lets her win so she won't be punished or whatever he thinks will happen...'
Ram smiled. 'I am such a genius!'
"Do you have it all up and working?" Ram asked Ved.
Ved nodded, punching a few buttons on the machine. Jay still had no idea what was going on.
"You partner, Jay," Ram started, motioning to the person beside Jay, "for this little...experiment...I'm sure you are very familiar with..."
Ram smiled as he lifted the headset off of the person. Jay's eyes widened and his breathing stopped. 'Damn him!' he thought.
Jay looked Leigha over, not knowing what he was looking for. She looked fine, her body, that is, but when he reached her eyes, he knew things weren't as fine as they seemed. Of course they weren't!
Leigha rolled her eyes at Jay's shock. She felt the need to lean over and slap him across the face. He should know better than to reveal emotions to Ram. She kept her gaze cold and uncaring. Jay felt as if he wasn't sure if he was looking at the same person.
Jay quickly turned his head to his brother, Ved, his face angry and confused. How could he have let Ved allow something like this!? Ved knew how Jay felt about those sort of situations...especially this one. Ved gave him the same look that he had years earlier, when he kicked Jay under the table during Christmas dinner when Jay forgot that he 'wasn't supposed to' mention Ved's failing grades in school.
Ved shook his head slightly at Jay, trying to tell him not to show any emotion and that there was nothing he could do at that time. Ram noticed. He smiled.
"Ved..." he called, not tearing his gaze away the unmistakable look on Jay's face.
"Yeah?"
Ram finally moved his gaze; he smiled wider. "Switch the program," he commanded.
Ved looked up, eyebrows raised. "What?" he asked with a small laugh. He thought Ram was joking. It had taken Ved forever to finish the latest project; there was no point in changing it now. On the other hand, it was getting Leigha and Jay out of an uncomfortable situation.
"What do you mean?"
Ram gave Ved a harsh look and said sternly, "Upload my new file. It should be easy enough for you to find it."
Ved only grumbled in response at first. He then clicked on a new folder on the desktop, opening it. It didn't have a title- it didn't need one. He opened it and it began to load. It beeped each time it loaded ten percent. After three beeps, Ram said, "Good."
Ved looked at Leigha with uncertainty. She shrugged. Jay looked to both of them, still confused. Leigha shakes her head. She's tired of Jay's stupidity. By now he should know what the hell he's gotten himself into in her opinion.
"What's going on, Ram?" Jay asks again. Leigha rolls her eyes. Jay's position is soon annoying Ram. He slips the headset onto Leigha's head and as he does so he explains.
"This new program is designed to tell me how hard my general is actually working compared to another person. It's a, well, a.... an endurance test, if you will. You'll figure it out when you get into the program"
Jay doesn't trust what he hears. Ram hands him a headset, smiling. He honestly doesn't want to go into Reality Space, but he has the chance to be in there with Leigha. He would be able to see what's actually going on. He slowly takes the headset from Ram and slips it onto his head, laying back in the chair. He hears Ram laugh as Ved pushed the last button, sending them in.
