HIRO
"Oh, good morning Hiro. You're back so early. Is anything wrong?" the man standing behind the concierge desk in the lobby asked after Hiro stepped out of the decontamination chamber.
"Morning, Wayne. Nothing's wrong... I just got off early."
The lobby of Hiro's apartment complex was spacious and the only things that occupied it were the concierge's desk, a couple of embroidered silk sofas, water dispenser that had plastic cups stacked on top of it and a dust bin. The floors were polished concrete and the walls were painted white while flush mount light fixtures hung from the ceiling.
Fletcher Street contained the most expensive apartment complexes in the Central. Rent was four thousand credits and was paid monthly. The buildings had decontamination chambers that could contain three people and had green houses for air filter.
There were five apartments on each floor and there were nine floors, making it forty five apartments per building. There were no apartments on the ground floor due to the fact that the decontamination chamber might get faulty at any time.
All the buildings had polycarbonate unbreakable windows while the doors had steel threshold at the bottom and weather stripping around the sides and the top of the door frame to seal gaps.
"Ah, okay. Have a good day, Hiro."
"You too, Wayne."
Hiro pulled his identity card out of his pocket and pressed it against the elevator panel which promptly flashed green before the elevator doors dinged open and he stepped into it. He pressed the button that had the number six on it and placed the transparent airtight bag that contained the things he bought at the supermarket on his shoulder as the elevator began to ascend.
The doors dinged open at the sixth floor after a few seconds and Hiro walked out before he began to head toward his apartment. The hallway was well lit and the ivory tiles shone as well as any polished glass. The walls were painted beige and the doors were decorative carved wood that had numbers written on them.
He was about to press his ID card to the scanner next to his apartment's door, which had the number six-zero-five written on it, when the door suddenly swung open to reveal a girl wearing a full face gas mask on the other side.
She was of fair complexion and her long black hair was in a bun at the back of her head. Her eyes were coffee brown, trimmed by long gorgeous lashes and she had small lips.
"Oh, Hiro. You're back. Why?" she asked before her mouth slightly opened in shock. "... Did you lose your job?"
"You ask that every time I come home early from work. The answer is no. Where are you going, Omi?"
She grimaced at his question before she proceeded to take off her gas mask. "I saw you outside through the window."
"Uh-huh," he slowly nodded at her.
She was lying and he knew it.
Ever since their parents had died five years ago, his sister had become a little bit rebellious. Sneaking out every now and then whenever Hiro went to work. She wasn't going to school since all the schools had been shut down sixteen years ago and all classes were taken online so Hiro felt there was no need for her to leave the building.
He had once caught her at a skating park that was far from their apartment complex and she had promised him that she wouldn't do it again but Hiro still caught her outside again a couple of days later.
It wasn't that he didn't want her to go out. She could leave the apartment complex as long as it was with him but he didn't want her to go out alone. Some of Hiro's friends thought he was being overbearing but Omi knew her brother was just scared. Gas masks failed people frequently and that was how they lost their parents.
He didn't want to lose his sister too.
"Well, you were coming to meet me. Now I'm here so get back inside," he said and she rolled her eyes before she began to backtrack into the living room with him following her.
"Hold on! Is that meat?!" she exclaimed as she came to a stop and stared at the transparent airtight bag which he was carrying.
He shut the door behind him and smirked at her reaction as he had bought it because of her. Ever since they had seen the announcement about plant based meat coming to stores on TV, she began to fantasize about it. She regularly asked him if he remembered what meat tasted like and if he thought it would taste the same as real meat since he was born before the particles were released into the air and she was born after.
He was twenty four while she was seventeen.
"Have you had breakfast?" he asked as he handed her the bag which she quickly grabbed before he took off his gas mask.
"Yes, but I want to eat meat." She collected his gas mask from him before she walked to the kitchen with the bag.
Their apartment consisted of four bedrooms which had their own bathrooms, a study, a kitchen, a dining room, a storage room, a balcony and a spacious living room.
The living room was like a perfect magazine cover. Vintage wall sconces hung on the cream coloured walls and the light brown curtains that covered the windows were linen. There was a television opposite the cream couches which were inlaid with a fine brown silk while a bookshelf was at a corner of the room. Framed pictures of Hiro, Omi and their parents were arranged on a marble top console table that was next to the wall.
Hiro plopped down onto a couch and pulled out his phone to see a message from his colleague, Maria.
MARIA, 7:18PM: Hiro, there are only three scientist slots left for the Planet Z Project. Everyone thinks you should join.