Esperança 》B. Blake

1.02

[C H A P T E R  T W O]
Name Learning and Name Calling

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October 3, 2148,
One Year Ago.

DRUMMING HER FINGERS ON the desk, Roseline flipped through a lab report containing an experiment on radiation effecting plants. Go-Sci Station was quiet, everyone had left earlier to have dinner with their respected families. Roseline was in no rush as her parents wouldn't be at home. For the past two days, Katie and Conner Taylor had been in council meetings, reasons unbeknownst to the young girl.

Her mind ran in circles, oblivious to the time. She meant to leave an hour ago, but as she put away files, she found more reports on the fascinating discoveries of Earth.

While Roseline was lost in her parents' studies, a janitor with hollow eyes pushed a cart full of cleaning supplies in front of the mechanical doors. He typed in the passcode, sending the locked doors open with a hiss. Jumping out of her seat, Roseline looked up at the intruder in fright, only to see that he was there to clean her workspace.

"Oh, hello," Roseline greeted the man, her cheeks morphing into a light pink. The man looked up at the girl with cold eyes before grabbing his mop and wiping the tiled floor. Roseline bit her lip in embarrassment but still continued on.

"Sorry about my mess, I completely lost track of time," she explained, hastily trying to round up her papers that scattered the table.

"It's fine," he replied curtly, not bothering to make eye contact with the girl. Roseline frowned, immediatly knowing that something was wrong with the poor man. Her friendly instincts kicked in as she stopped gathering papers and walked over the the janitor, finally getting a clear view of his freckled face and curly dark hair.

"I'm Roseline Taylor, but you can just call me Rose," she smiled, holding out a hand. The janitor looked at it wearily before continuing his mopping. Roseline faltered but didn't give up just yet.

"Do you need some help? I don't mind at all, I mean, considering it is partially my mess," she cracked, awkwardly chuckling.

"No," he muttered, still keeping his eyes low. Roseline was hurt by the man's hard exterior but was no stranger to it. She had had her fair share of rude responses to her friendliness.

"Are you sure? I mean, I don't anywhere else to be right now and I'm sure you could use some company ---"

"Rosie, is it?" the man cut her off, finally turning up to stare at her. "I said it was okay, alright? You can go," he motioned with his hand toward the door. Roseline stood motionless, deciding what to do. Snatching a bottle of bleach and a towel from off his cart, she gave him a bright grin.

"We don't have to talk, but I'm going to stay with you and help clean up until we do have a converstation. And I'll do this every day if I have to," she concluded before whipping her chestnut waves of hair around to start spraying down the counters. The man paused his work, watching the strange girl try so hard to be kind to him when all he did was be a jerk. Shaking his head and continuing his work, the man wondered what it would take to get her to leave him alone.

Fifteen minutes passed and the pair had finally finished cleaning up the lab. A proud smile appeared on Roseline's face as she observed her handiwork. She set the bleach and towel back into the janitor's cart before grabbing her bag that sat on a chair.