I'm not one of you <Frans>

CHAPTER 3: Work

J u n e   1 s t:
One week before the tragedy.

7:45 a.m.

As we pulled up to the giant laboratory in silence, the sun was beginning to rise up over the tall, mountainous horizon line. I rolled my car up next to the 'Staff Only' space, reserved in my own parking number. There were other cars scattered across the parking lot, but mine was one of the fews inside the 'Staff Only' section. I could recognize the dark green Jeep Wrangler of the Chief scientist in my department. In other words, my boss.

He's here this early?! Why the hell do I have to avoid him this early in the morning?!

"Wow." Chara said from the passenger seat. "You're NEVER here this early. People are going to think this is a rookie taking your spot by accident." She joked, sarcastically. "I think we should put a 'scientist in training' sticker on your bumper. Maybe you'll get towed." She laughed again, poking at my shoulder.

"Ha. Ha." I said. "Very funny." I said, turning off the car with a sigh and taking the keys out of the ignition. "Now come on, you need to give us a better report than a bunch of dust." I said, lowly. "Did you at least take any samples so I could analyze them?" I asked, hopefully.

"Was I supposed to?" She grinned, asking innocently. I sighed loudly, and hopped out of the car in a huff. I took my bag and put on my lab coat on top of my sweater and started walking at a rather fast pace away from Chara before my anger got the best of me. "Hey! Wait up you jerk!"

How did she NOT get any samples?! How careless! Another world! An uncharted cavern! There could be ancient writings along the walls! Preserved for thousands of years! New plant life that might have adapted inside to steer away from photosynthesis!

"Honestly," I said as she caught up to me with a slight trot. "And you call me irresponsible." I grumbled. "Not taking samples!" I repeated. "Careless! This could be another type of ROCK that has yet to be discovered in the layers of sediment in the earth!" I ranted to partially myself. "I wanted to know what was giving off those weird frequency waves!" I sighed. "And I really hoped that it was life." I looked down, opening the large glass door with a swing once my keycard was accepted on the frame.

"Listen, I'm sorry! Okay!" She tried to reconcile. "I don't know what to collect when there's only dust everywhere!" She said, hitting somewhere in my chest. She had repeated all she had seen was dust three times now. At I was at my last nerve.

"How the hell did you graduate at the third spot of our class if you can't even grab a sample of a mission YOU were supposed to fill! Not the person who discovered it or anything!" I walked past the receptionist in a blaze of heat, my sneakers squeaking across the marble floors of the large facility. I was heading towards our department.

"So is this what it's about?! You not being able to go there?" She said. "To be quite frank, I think you would have gotten bored with everything down there! There's only dust and fairytales that you've made up in your mind!" She said. "You're not the judge here. Only one person is, and it's him." She said, pointing to the office door of the chief scientist.

I huffed, holding my tongue, as the scientist came out of his office, stunned for quite a moment as we were mid argument. "Frisk!" Dr. Hudson exclaimed, looking at his watch. "You're early." He said, narrowing his eyes. "Chara! You're back!" He said, turning to her with excitement. "How was the experience?"

"Yeah. I was just leaving." I grumbled, walking away, hearing the faint conversation of Chara and the Doctor talking about her recent activities in 'the underground'. I looked back slightly, he was nodding his head, and ushered her into his office to talk more on the subject.