Chell was having an interesting day. Aperture had been surprisingly quick about getting her in for testing, and so she found herself travelling there a mere week and a half after receiving their email. She hadn't quite known what to expect, but Aperture had turned out to be so bizarre and eccentric, her expectations would have been completely off anyway.
She had known about Aperture Laboratories. Everyone did. It was responsible for the employment of almost two thirds of the town's population, after all. But she had never been there, and it was known for being secretive. It was pretty much in the middle of nowhere, (but they'd thankfully paid her expenses on a taxi), and she'd been surprised to learn that most of it was underground.
Good thing I'm not claustrophobic, she thought, as she was led through labyrinthine, windowless corridors.
She'd had to surrender her phone along with her other personal effects, even her regular clothes, and she felt strange without it. Unarmed, almost. The tests themselves had been fascinating, complex puzzles that had proved a real challenge to her fitness and brain power. In her opinion, getting an opportunity to solve the elaborate test chambers made all the dull red tape worth it. Which was just as well, as she spent most of her time outside of the test chambers waiting for her debriefing interview. It seemed her muteness was proving to be a problem.
She was shown into a small office by a silent employee, who gestured towards the table and chairs in the centre. Inwardly sighing, she sat down, watching the flow of pedestrian traffic through the glass panel in the door. People occasionally glanced in to send her polite, apologetic smiles, probably hoping she wasn't going to sue them. She didn't think she'd signed anything to state that she wouldn't…
Finally, another scientist showed up. The one the others were waiting for, if their expressions were anything to go by. The newcomer seemed disgruntled, and somehow familiar. Chell frowned, studying him, trying to place him. Then it came to her. He was the douchebag with the drippy umbrella from the bus stop.
Okay, if he had to bus all the way out here, I guess I can muster up some sympathy for him, she decided graciously.
After some additional conversation, Umbrella Man shook his head and opened the door. Chell glanced up at him politely as he shut it behind him. Seeming a little awkward, he set a thin stack of papers down on the table, then signed as he spoke.
"Hi. They tell me you're deaf?"
A common misconception. His signing was correct, but stiff, as if he didn't have to do it very often. Chell decided to put him out of his misery.
'Not deaf,' she signed back. 'Just mute.'
"Oh," he said, lowering his hands. "Right. Sorry for the misunderstanding. Um…I'm Do…uh, Dr. Rattmann." He pulled out a chair and sat opposite her, retrieving a pen from his lab coat pocket. "I'm sorry, I'm not…I don't usually do this. Interview test subjects, I mean. But apparently I'm the only one that understands sign language, which is…pretty disgraceful, to be honest. Sorry about that."
She smirked a little. He seemed surprised by her reaction, but relaxed a touch. Probably grateful she wasn't about to kick up a fuss. There was no recognition in his face, but she wasn't surprised. He may have apologised for the umbrella thing, but he hadn't looked at her while he'd done it.
He fumbled with his pen, leaking a blotch of ink on his index and middle fingers.
"Damn it," he muttered.
Chell watched him inquisitively, reminded, inevitably, of Doug. This man had nice hands too, finely-boned, long-fingered, like Doug. Elegant hands. They suited his interesting features, his face equally fine-boned and angular, with a shock of untidy dark hair. Not a classically handsome face exactly, but…definitely engaging in its own way. When he looked up at her, meeting her gaze with a pair of unique, mismatched blue eyes, she felt a small jolt of awareness.
Very interesting features.
He wore a smart dark suit under his lab coat, and she could just see the side of his I.D. card: half of an awkward formal photo, and the tail-end of his surname. He seemed simultaneously nervous and annoyed, so she sent him a small, friendly smile.
"Okay," he spoke up, pulling a blank sheet of paper towards him. "So, uh…you're subject 1498, correct?"
Chell nodded. It seemed she'd surrendered her name along with her belongings.
"I'm sorry, the other department has your file, otherwise I'd get all your information out of there." He looked up to send her a look of frustrated apology. "I'm so sorry, this isn't going well at all."
She smiled again, signing, 'It's okay.'
He hesitantly returned the smile, then bent his head to write her test subject number at the top of the page.
"Well, I guess if I'm having to do their work for them, I can ask my questions first," he said, looking back at her.
She lifted her eyebrows in question.
"The device…how did it handle? Was it responsive enough? Light enough?"
Chell grinned. 'It's amazing! I had no idea that kind of technology was even possible.' Gushing aside, she focused on his actual questions. 'It handled fine. It kicks back a little though.'
"Yeah," he said in a tone of agreement, scribbling her answers. "I tried to make it smoother, but it still kicks. It didn't feel too cumbersome to carry around, though?"
Chell shook her head, peering at him until he looked up. 'No, it's fine. Did you create it?'
"Not exactly," he said, running a self-conscious hand through his hair. "I designed and built this model, but I was working off technology that was developed much earlier."
'It's an amazing achievement.'
He smiled, his pale cheeks gaining a little colour as he shrugged off her praise. "Thanks, but I didn't do it alone."
She smiled too, finding his reaction kind of endearing.
"Uh…so apparently you hold some of the highest test scores on record," he went on, clearing his throat. "Can you tell me any feedback you have about the test chambers?"
Nodding, Chell gave him her report. It was a slow process, as he kept having to glance down to write, but she managed to give him all the information she could think of. Before long, an hour had passed by, and Dr. Rattmann was shuffling his papers into a neater pile.
"Thank you for your cooperation," he said, as they both got to their feet. "I'm sure my colleagues will be in touch about further testing, in which case I guess I'll see you again."
She nodded again, showing her satisfaction with the arrangement.
"I'll show you to the locker room. Follow me."
Chell didn't know how he managed to find his way, particularly when he sneaked a look at his cell phone while negotiating a corridor crossroads, but it wasn't long before they were in the set of passageways that she remembered from her arrival.
A tall, balding scientist met them around a corner and halted, grinning at Rattmann.
"Wow, how'd you get her to smile?"
"Talked to her like she's a person," Rattmann fired back without missing a beat. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
"It's fine, she's deaf."
"Mute," Rattmann told him. "Mute, not deaf, she can hear just fine." His voice dropped to an exasperated hiss. "Jesus Christ, Henry."
The other man glanced at her. "Oh…"
'And deaf people can lip read,' she signed helpfully.
Rattmann let out a short laugh, his features contorting as he fought to remain serious. "Yes, exactly, thank you."
"Huh?" said Henry articulately.
"She said deaf people can lip read."
"Since when do you know sign language?"
"Since ages ago," Rattmann responded, shoving his free hand in his lab coat pocket. "I decided to learn it in case it came in handy."
Henry laughed. "Only you would learn things just for the hell of it."
"And what's wrong with that?" Rattmann said rhetorically before moving the subject along. "Look, just apologise so I can let this poor lady out of here."
Henry sent him an irked glance before looking obligingly at Chell. "My apologies, miss. I was unforgivably rude," he recited formally.
She clearly heard the underlying 'don't sue us', and raised a sceptical eyebrow. Sure.
"No hard feelings?" Henry said hopefully.
She left him hanging for a beat, but then nodded, cranking up the edge of reluctance.
"Great! Have a nice day now." He clapped Rattmann heavily on the shoulder. "See you later, sunshine."
Rattmann closed his eyes briefly as Henry walked away, seeming equal parts irritated and embarrassed.
"I'm so sorry," he said as they began walking again. "God, how many times am I going to apologise to you today?"
Chell shrugged off his concern, more amused by the whole thing than annoyed. At least it would be one thing about her secretive day that she could share with Doug.
Before long, they'd reached the locker room, and Rattmann was bidding her a professional goodbye.
"Someone will show you out when you're ready," he told her. He held out a hand for her to shake, but then spotted the ink stain and thought better of it. "I, uh...it's dry now, but…still."
She sent him a smile, feeling a little sorry for him. 'It's fine,' she signed. 'Thanks for being so considerate today.'
"No problem. Safe journey home."
He smiled at her, then turned and retraced their steps down the corridor. Chell watched him go for a moment before heading in to find her things. She wasn't a fan of the orange jumpsuit they'd made her wear.
Once dressed, she exited the room to find one of the receptionists waiting for her. Someone, probably Dr. Rattmann, had informed her about Chell's situation and had already called her a cab. Chell was surprised and grateful that she didn't have to try and make herself understood, and her opinion of Aperture crept up a few notches.
She yawned as she sat in the back of the taxi, worn out by what had turned out to be a very eventful day. Smiling, she tugged her phone out of her bag, feeling like she was being reunited with an old friend. She switched it on and waited as the notifications flooded in.
I'm unreachable for a day and suddenly I'm Miss Popular.
Rosie 9:25am
Ur back in 2morro right?
Mel 11:45am
Is it today ur at the science thing?
Mel 12:02pm
It is
Let me know how u get on
Doug 15:16pm
I'm having one of those days
Scratch that, weeks. And it's only Tuesday
Mel 15:56pm
Chellllll how long does testing take?
Mom 16:11pm
Is Blue-Ray the same as HD?
Doug 17:12pm
How was your day?
She felt exhausted watching the messages load, and guiltily disregarded the ones from her mother, Rosie and Mel. Doug's latest one had only been sent fifteen minutes ago.
Me 17:24pm
Pretty interesting, can't complain
Did yours get any better? Sorry, I've been really busy today
Doug 17:26pm
It's okay, you're not contractually obligated to reply
Mine…got interesting too. Although I want to staple things to Henry, but that's nothing new
Me 17:26pm
Haha! I met a guy called Henry today. He was a douchebag
Doug 17:27pm
Must be something about the name
Me 17:28pm
I hope you're not implying that all Henrys are douchebags
Doug 17:28pm
Why?
Me 17:29pm
Because it's a really common name, we'd be overrun
Doug 17:29pm
Might be too late
Can you name me one Henry who isn't a douchebag?
Chell silently sniggered at their absurd conversation, leaning against the cab window.
Me 17:30pm
Uh…Henry VIII, Henry Crawford, Henry Higgins…damn, you might be onto something
Doug 17:30pm
That's quite a damning list
Me 17:31pm
Ah! Henry Cavill!
Doug 17:31pm
Perhaps he's the exception that proves the rule
She grinned, outright snorting when another text came in a little later.
Doug 17:32pm
Whoever he is
A/N: The text from Chell's mom is a tribute to my parents, who both spell Blu-Ray with an extra E :D