New Haven

4.

A week went by and it was the night before my departure. Apollo and Cassie wanted to talk to me and sat me down. By the look on their faces it seemed to be serious, which made me uncomfortable. The thing is that I never know how to act during a serious conversation, I don't know what to say. I occasionally say "Oh" once or twice or nod or shake my head. Conversations like that make me feel awkward, so I was hoping that it could end as soon as possible. Both Cassie and Apollo sat on the couch and I sat across from them on the table. They were quiet at first, but they began to talk. They told me things like how the exam could potentially be dangerous and that it is possible that someone could get hurt. They didn't say it upfront, but I knew that they were implying that people had died doing the exam. Which I mean I guess I knew that in the back of my mind because they were sending in students who barely passed their classes, I would be surprised if they made it back in one piece. I didn't realize it at first, but I smiled, I looked up at my brother. He had a stern look on his face, he was serious. My smile quickly faded and I apologized. Sometimes I feel like the reason he switched his job wasn't just because of me, maybe something happened during the exam. He doesn't seem to be the killer type. He just wanted to see the world.

"Be careful. Don't trust anyone unless they have a tattoo." Apollo said, looking me directly in the eyes, while pointing a little below the ear at the tattoo.

"Don't worry. I will be fine, the worst thing that will happen to me is that I don't pass the exam" I gave him a reassuring smile.

They walked me over to the occupation rooms. It was about a five minute walk from my house to there. It is this large area almost resembling a train station from those history textbooks. There were many doors each labeled with silver letters. Cassie, whom I mentioned was a designer, volunteered to dress me for the exam. She scanned her card on the scanner and led me towards her work area. As I walked in their fabric and color everywhere, it was almost nauseating to see since everything in New Haven is either white or neutral colored. Some of the work area doors were opened and I could see men and women wearing clothes from the Victorian era all the way to 2000s modern clothing. I had to admit it was exciting. We finally made it to Cassie's area, it was a decent sized room, her desk in one area and a small platform in the middle. Compared to the others', her room was neat. She made me stand on the circular platform and took rough measurements which she later put into the large screen on the wall. The point of having to do this whole designing thing was to make sure that travelers could travel to a certain time period and blend in. Cassie, she had to dress me up as a teen would in the 70's, she pulled out a digital board that showed the aesthetics. I picked out my favorite looks and she collected all that information typing it into her tablet. After a little bit of waiting, she made me change into this pastel green shirt that had puffed sleeves and was tied at the front and a lavender pair of high waisted bell bottom jeans. She got my hair and curled them into these loud and almost obnoxious curls, going in every direction possible.

"This might be my best work yet! You look great Lia" Cassie tried to smile, but she was too worried.

"I'll be fine Cassie, nothing's going to happen. I'll be back before you know it" I said, embracing her.

Cassie nodded and seated me down in front of this vanity. She began to do my makeup which was simple; it consisted of a red tinted chapstick and a neutral eyeshadow. She opened a closet door that was behind me and pulled out a white duffle bag that had patches of peace signs and smiling faces. And on the strap of the bag was the pin. She handed me a bag, and I opened it, inside were extra clothes and weapons that I could possibly need. I thanked her and gave her another hug. Once I got out of the designer room, I met up with my brother who had to take me to the historian room so that I could get money, license, and other things. He scanned us in and took me over to a large man sitting behind a large desk. He asked for me to scan my thumb and I did so. He looked bored or annoyed, he moved so robotically, it's probably because he's been doing this job for so long it's become a routine of some sort.

"Raise your left hand, and put the other on your heart," he said in his bored voice.

I did as he told, and placed my right hand on my heart and held up my left hand.

"Repeat after me. I swear that shall not reveal or give any information about New Haven or the technology or the proof of it existence"

"I swear that I shall not reveal or give any information about New Haven or the technology or the proof of its existence"

"Once my mission is complete I will hand over all information and leave out no detail. If I fail to obey I agree to take the necessary punishment for my crime."

I hesitated a little, but I continued "Once my mission is complete I will hand over all information and leave out no detail. If I fail to obey I agree to take the necessary punishment for my crime."

The man handed over my things and said that I could go whenever I was ready.

"Now you gotta promise me Lia that you'll be safe. Remember, it's just an exam, so don't risk your life because of it. There are plenty of other good jobs here" said Apollo

"I'll be fine, seriously, you don't have to worry about me" I laughed, but he stopped and grabbed my arms.

"Stop laughing. I'm serious. You and Cassie are the only family we have. If I lose you- I won't be able to live with that. So please, don't take this as a joke" he said.

"You always think that I can't take things seriously Apollo" I started to get frustrated "I told you I'll be fine, you never-"

"-Lia, you don't know what it's like, you're- you're by yourself... vulnerable. It's nothing like how it is here in New Haven"

"I'm not a child Apollo, so stop treating me like one. You're just saying this because you don't think that I'm actually capable of doing anything"

"Lower your voice. I trust you, I just want to to be safe" he said loosening his grip

We reached the platform. He looked uneasy and nervous, more nervous than me. He looked around for a bit and leaned in towards my ear.

"You might remember things when you travel through. Things that you didn't know you remembered. Write it down. All of it. You'll forget when you comeback" he whispered.

"What?" I was confused. I wanted to ask more questions, but it didn't seem like it was the time, "Um, yeah.... Ok"

He pulled me into a hug and I hugged back. We said our goodbyes and I handed my information to the lady standing next to the platform. It was this dark room, the only thing that was lit was the platform. I stood on the metal platform, I turned to look at Apollo. I waved at him and he waved back. The woman next to me tapped away on some buttons and the next thing I knew a large tube surrounded me. The world around me was getting brighter colors began to mix and create blobs around the white abyss. Wind blowing in all directions, it seemed as if I was getting crushed together. I closed my eyes and began to let out a scream, it was getting painful. The wind began to die down and I opened my eyes a little. The colors began to create forms, brown and green around me, slowly turning into trees.