With my lunch in my hand, I walked down the hallway and I went out to the area just outside the lab to see Makini, Bupu and Vuruga were waiting for me. Makini turned to the security guard who was working next to the door to the department. This guard had the same framed glasses as Bupu and his eyes were glued to a tablet screen.
"Hey Ono, want to join us for lunch?" Makini asked.
"Oh I'm sorry, I wish I could, but I have to check perimeters." the guard said, without even taking his eyes off the screen.
"Okay then, see ya!" Makini replied.
We begin to approach the marble staircase and we approach the white tarp next to the Marshall Field statue.
"Hey guys, do you know what is under this tarp?" I asked the group.
"Oh it's some new project that the museum president requested, I suppose its to help bring more tourists to the museum. We don't know what exactly it is but the president hinted that it will be a surprise for all of us" Vuruga said.
After walking down the stairs, we walked passed the entrances to the "What is an Animal?" and African culture exhibit until we reached the staircase to the lower floor. After walking past the lower floor entrance to the "Inside Ancient Egypt" exhibit, we finally reached the museum's cafe/cafeteria area. We just grabbed a table nearby, the other three people started to take off their bags and hand them to me.
"Excuse me Edwin, I hope you don't mind but can you watch our bags for us while we get our lunch?" Bupu asks while he and the rest started handing their bags in my direction.
"Sure," I said out of the moment while the bags are now piled under my side of the table.
They eventually left to get their lunches, I looked around the cafe to see that there are more people than I expected for a Monday. Even when there was a fair share of visitors in the cafe, I also saw many people with employee tags there too. Possibly other researchers, administration and some people who were in tour guide and information desk uniforms. While looking around the cafe, I heard a chair pull out in the table next to me, where I eventually heard
"Hey Edwin!" This made me turn my head towards the table next to me and Beshte was next to me. I guess this is his lunch break too.
"Oh Hey Beshte, how's it going?" I asked. Beshte then started to take his chair and brought it the other end of my table.
"Not bad, although I'm a little exhausted; nine kids got lost in the museum today and I overheard nine rants from their parents because the kids got lost, and I was thinking 'Why are you acting so righteous, your kids got lost because you weren't watching them.'" Beshte said with a hint of frustration in his voice. I laughed a little at the last part.
"I feel you, some parents can be that way. It's similar to how my parents were when I was a kid, they couldn't seem to admit they were wrong sometimes, even with stupid little things." I added.
"Oh yeah, I've met many people who were like that, but hey that's just part of life. But enough about me,how's your first day going? Beshte said.
"It's been alright, so far I've just been completing preparations for an eventual DNA comparison, but other than that, nothing really eventful." I replied.
"Well that's good. Why are all those bags under your table?" Beshte said looking intrigued.
I looked under the table to see what he was talking about.
"Oh, these actually belong to my colleagues; they're just getting lunch right now. I guess this is just hazing the new guy and holding the other's bags is part of it." I said, which made Beshte laugh a little bit.
"Oh that's nothing, when I was in basic training, they made me clean the toilets using only a toothbrush." He replied
"Yikes!" I replied. "I never knew you were in the military, how long have you served?"
"I served for about two years before I was discharged due to injury and I eventually went back to school." Beshte replied.
"Okay that's cool. What was active duty like?" I asked.
"At first I thought it would be like my days fighting in the Lio- actually I would rather not talk about it." Beshte said abruptly.
"Okay I understand. So do you-" I began to say before being interrupted.
"Thanks for watching our bags Edwin!" Makini interrupted, while she, Bupu and Vuruga grabbed their bags after placing their lunches on the table.
"No problem! Oh I hope you don't mind if someone joins us." I added.
"Hey guys!" Beshte interjected.
"Oh hello Beshte, pleasant to see you." Bupu replied.
"Likewise." Beshte replied
"Wait, you guys know each other?" I asked.
"Oh yes, we've known each other for years. In fact we have known almost three quarters of the employees hear for years." Makini added.
"Really? Have you guys worked here for a long time?" I asked.
"Well we haven't worked here that long, we came here from the same..community, you can say." Vuruga pointed out.
"Okay, where did you guys come from?" I asked.
"Okay, we were born far far away from here and there was a period of time where we were separated, but then we found each other again like ten or eleven years ago." Bupu said.
"Okaay? And where exactly is far far aw-" I began to ask before I was interrupted.
"Oh enough about us, tell us a little more about yourself!" Beshte interrupted. I was a little suspicious, but I guess I can understand that they might have not had the best past and are uncomfortable speaking about it.
"Okay? I was born and raised here in Chicago, I live in the Logan Square neighborhood now but I grew up in the Rogers Park neighborhood. I went to DePauw for my undergrad, UChicago for grad school and I previously did research for a pharmaceutical company." I answered.
"Okay that's neat, what do you do during your free time?" Beshte asked.
"Well on warm days I like to jog and...Oh I also play the bass-not the guitar, I mean the upright bass with the bow that you would see in an orchestra. Also I like to read science journals and the occasional novel in French." I answered.
"Oh that's cool, so are you like fluent in French?" Makini asked.
"Oh yes, I've been learning French since middle school and I also want to learn Italian but I never seem to have the time." I replied.
"I know what you mean, I've bought the Babbel app to learn Spanish six months ago and I still haven't even opened it." Vuruga added.
"So where did you guys go to school or what do you during your free time?" I asked.
"Okay, after I was discharged I attended Kennedy-King College and I like to go to the gym and lift during my free time." Beshte replied.
"Oh and I also went to Kennedy-King for my first two years, then I transferred to Chicago State University. After I graduated, I went to UIC for grad school. During my free time I like to paint, read and I take self-defense classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays after work." Makini replied.
"Oh that's cool, do you learn a specific martial art in these classes or is it like a mix martial art kind of thing?" I asked.
"Oh it's nothing really sophisticated, they're just some free classes at a community center near my place." Makini replied.
"Okay, what about you Vuruga?" I asked.
"Okay, I went to Malcolm X College for the first two years and UMichigan Flint for the last two years, and Northwestern for my PhD. Outside of work, sometimes I do pottery and I actually tutor students in math and science on the side, so I have not really had any free time recently." Vuruga replied.
"Oh and I went to Wilbur Wright College for my first two years and transferred to the University of Florida. I then went to UIUC for my PhD program. During my free time I prefer to spend my time playing backgammon, crossword puzzles and even ride my bicycle around the city sometimes." Bupu added.
"Okay, that's cool, I had a good friend that went to UIUC, they're now an advertising official for Whole Foods." I said
I then turned my attention to the other people with employee tags around the cafe, when another question popped into my mind.
"So along with each other, is there any other employees in this cafe that you guys know?" I asked.
"Oh yeah definitely!" Beshte replied. He then pointed to these two women chatting with each other in information desk uniforms. One of the women was tall with long brown hair and green eyes. The other woman had black hair with either bleached blond or white highlights with blue eyes.
"We know Twiga and Muhimu from the information desk." Beshte then gestured towards a man who had light, straight brown hair, and he was wearing a navy blue jacket with a name tag, white shirt and a brown tie that just had polka dots in all colors. He was just sitting there, appearing to try to make a game of Jenga out of his french fries.
"Also Timon, from the Crowne Family PlayLab." Beshte then gestured his hand towards a woman who had a name tag, dirty blonde hair, green eyes and her eyes were glued to and phone screen. "That's Tiffu, from the gift shop."
The table next to Tiffu seated a woman with a tour guide's uniform, bangs, light brown wavy hair and sky blue eyes. She looked bored as hell and she just seemed to touch her phone screen as if she was just playing Candy Crush. Beshte gestured his hand towards this woman. "That's Vitani, one of our tour guides." I was a little surprised when he said that.
"I never would have guessed that." I replied.
"Oh she's actually fine at work, but outside of work she could be a little blunt. Sometimes it can hurt but she's still an okay person to be around." Beshte said. After saying that, he then gestured to some guy with short black hair and brown eyes.
"That's Dr. Makuu Mamba from the fossil lab ..." Beshte then leaned into my ear for a whisper. "But I have to warn you that he has a bit of a temper. He can be a nice guy when you get to know him but it takes time to shave off his layers." I then leaned towards his ear.
"I wonder what he's like with hs interns." I inquired. Bupu then started to join us.
"Oh, he's usually fine with interns, though I have heard a few stories of him making some interns cry for-" Bupu whispered before a voice interrupted us.
"Excuse me, but can you please tell me why you guys are looking at me and whispering like that to that guy with the man bun ?!" an irritated voice called. I guess that Makuu guy noticed us.
"Oh sorry Makuu, we weren't saying anything bad," Bupu said in slight hesitancy. He then gestures his hand towards me. "This is Edwin, he's a new researcher to our genetics lab and Beshte was just telling him about the people we know in other departments" I then just waved my hand to try to avoid bad terms with this guy.
"Hi Dr. Mamba, nice to meet you, I'm Dr. Mariani but Edwin would be just-fi-" I said.
"Yeah, yeah no need for repeated introductions man-bun. I'll tell you that I'm a reasonable person to be around, just don't get in my way or anything and I'll stay out of yours. Understood?" Makuu interrupted.
"Okay, I get it. No problem." I said in an understanding tone. Since I was young, I was given similar lectures of how not to get to deep into someone else's business, even when my curiosity gets the best of me.
"Thank you, and now you excuse me but I prefer to have my lunch in peace." Makuu said in a slightly more elated tone. I then turned back to eat my lunch again, feeling a little suspicious and even a little hurt after that conversation. Makini then placed her hand on my shoulder.
"Don't take it personally, Edwin. He's just gone through some stuff and that can make him weary of people sometimes." She said.
"Okay, thanks Makini." I said while forming a little bit of a smile. "Hey guys, I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to get a water from the vending machine over there. Can you watch my lunch for me?" I asked.
"Sure, no problem." Makini replied. I eventually got up and walked towards the vending machine.
Third Person P.O.V.:
Beshte, Bupu, Makini and Vuruga waited for Edwin to walk out of their line of hearing. As soon as that happened, they begin to scoot closer to each other.
"So what do you think, we should tell Edwin about you know what?" Beshte asked.
"I think we should tell him just to get it over with." Makini said.
"And have him look at us and perceive us as suspicious after only one day of working with us? Are you out of your mind?" Bupu interjected.
"I'm sure he'll understand what we went through, we have all suffered in some way from 'the experience'." Beshte added.
"Exactly Beshte! That's what I was thinking an-" Makini said before interrupting.
"But on the other hand, it might be a little bit much to reveal it on the guy's first day." Beshte interrupted.
"Thank you! Finally someone sees things my way!" Bupu adds.
"Are you kidding me? This is no time to be so fucking stubborn Bupu, this is serious." Makini replies
"Since when have I been stubborn?" Bupu asks.
"For starters during that one time in which you-" Makini was about to call something before Vuruga interrupted.
"Hey guys, this is no time to start arguing, do you want to cause a scene? Okay, whether we tell him now or wait until he finds out for himself, he's going to find out eventually either way. But I think that we should wait for the right moment before we tell him about us and our 'experiences'." Vuruga said. Makini was going to say something else but then she hesitated.
"Okay fine...we won't tell him until we can all agree on the time." Makini succumbed to peer pressure.
Edwin P.O.V.:
I walked to the hallway and I approached the vending machines which are located near the cafeteria seats that are usually reserved for school field trip groups. I paid the dollar twenty five in quarters for a bottle of water. I then dialed the code for the bottle of water.
After the water popped out of the machine, I bent down to grab it and before I can start walking in the direction towards my table. I accidentally bumped into someone.
"Oh I am sorry about that mis-" I began to say as I turned around and there she is in front of me…...the woman with the indigo streaks.
I couldn't help but continue to look at her. She has her hair in a ponytail with the indigo streaks complimenting her black hair. She was wearing black pants, a blue short-sleeve blouse. The most alluring detail about her was her blue eyes, they were a dark, deep shade of blue, almost a purple color.
"Oh no problem, sometimes things like this happen...is something wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?" She asked in a suspicious tone. Upon seeing that she was a little creeped out, I tried to change to a more calming demeanor.
"Oh….No there's nothing wrong, it's just that you seem so familiar. I think that I saw you in the hallway a week ago." I replied.
"A week ago in the hall- Oh yeah! Were you wearing a button-down shirt and jacket?" She asked.
"Yeah! That was me!" I replied. I was shocked that she remembered me.
"Also, I think I saw you on the Red Line on the way to work today." She said. I didn't think that she would have noticed me; I didn't even see her look at me during that time. Perhaps she noticed me at one of the times I was on my phone.
"Yeah! That was also me!...Oh and I'm Dr. Mariani, but you can just call me Edwin. I'm a new researcher for the genetics lab and this is my first day." I said
"Okay, nice to meet you Edwin. I'm Dr. Fisi, but my name is Jasiri. I work over at the fossil preparation lab." Jasiri said. From there she then began to dial a code on the machine for a beverage and after she grabbed the beverage and we began to walk back towards the direction of the cafe.
"Oh that's interesting, is there any type of fossils that you prefer to examine?" I asked.
"Well I specifically like to checkout plant fossils and sometimes the occasional mollusk fossil from the Ordivician period. Dinosaur fossils are just so cliche." Jasiri replied.
"That's cool, it seems interesting to see how intricate some plant fossils are." I said.
"Exactly and I like to look at Cambrian, Ordivician and even the Carboniferous period fossil since they are not exactly as well known compared to the big three periods: Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous...Anyway, so you work in the genetics lab, what got you interested in genetics?" Jasiri said.
"Well, I've always been interested in science as a kid, but I became extremely interested in biochemistry and genetics when I took AP Bio in high school, and that extended through both undergrad and graduate research experiences. I guess I became interested in the field because I've been interested to see how even a small molecular change can have a major impact on an organism whether it is caused by deviations in diet to the change of an entire ecosystem." I replied.
"That sounds pretty cool. I'm sorry, I have to meet with a colleague but it was nice talking to you." Jasiri said.
"Okay cool. It's been nice talking to you too." I said. As we walked, Jasiri sat in the table with Makuu, getting a little curious. But then I realized that Beshte told me that Makuu also worked in the fossil lab, so he was probably that colleague Jasiri mentioned.
I eventually returned to the table with my colleagues and when I sat down, I resumed to finish my lunch when I heard
"That took longer than expected for a bottle of water, was this vending machine upstairs?" Makini asked.
"Oh no, while I was getting my water when I ended up meeting Dr. Fisi from the fossil lab." I replied.
"Oh okay, that's cool. We've known Jasiri for years, she's really dedicated to her work." Beshte added.
"Oh yeah, it seems that way from when I talked to her." I said.
"Yes, especially when she's not holding back Makuu from tearing an intern to pieces." Bupu added with a slight snicker.
"Bupu, that was only one time." Vuruga hesitantly said.
When then finished our lunches, headed back to the lab and prepared to conduct the gel electrophoresis of our first lichen genus. The rest of our day was just diluting lichen proteins in loading buffer and our gels in a tray filled with a different buffer, micropipette the lichen solution into the appropriate holes in the gel and apply the current to see how far towards the cathode the genetic material of each species will travel across the gel. In some occasions, we let the interns help us out.
After we took photos of our electrophoresis results for that species, we called it a day at five. Before I went into my office, I took off my lab coat and laid it among the hooks. Sure, my lab coat might not have a name yet but it's only my first day so what was I to expect.
I went into my office to grab my things when I heard a knock on my door.
"Come in!" I interjected. The door opens and then Ma Tembo walks in with a bag on her side.
"Hi Edwin, I'm just checking on you to see how your first day went." She said.
"Oh thanks Ma Tembo, my first day was great, I feel much more at home here than I ever did with Genico. You guys really made me feel welcome here." I replied. Ma Tembo seemed to form a gentle smile on her face.
"Thank you, it's good to hear that. You've been a great help with the start of our lichen-environment genetic correlation study. I hope we get to know each other more in and outside of work. See you tomorrow Edwin." Ma Tembo said.
"You too!" I said. Ma Tembo soon walked out and headed towards her office.
I then began to gather the rest of my things and I eventually started to head out. After leaving the museum, I felt so relaxed knowing that I have a job that I can be satisfied with, one I can truly be myself in.
I began to look at the park scenery around me to help ease my mind off the possible anxieties of tomorrow. As soon as I reached the Red Line stop, I swiped my ventra card in the machine and the revolving rods unlocked after the swipe.
After going down to the waiting area near the tracks. I began to look around the area, kinda hoping that I get to bump in to Jasiri again, but I did not see her there. The train then arrives, I took my seat.
As the train begins to move, I began thinking to myself that even when the job is great so far; I began to grow curious of some of the things I've noticed. Why do many of my colleagues refuse to talk about their past? Why did they constantly interrupt themselves and each other when one begins to mention where they came from or what they did in the past?
I guess that life is just going to give you mysteries like that. Perhaps I'll know one day, but for now I'm just going to enjoy my life at the present, which might lead into a rewarding future.