*3ºperson POV*
Aiden Atlas has been submerged in his thoughts since last night, a distant stare on his face as he throws stones at the surface of the lake, trying to make them bounce a few times before disappearing into the depths of the large body of water. He couldn´t remember the last time he had come to this interior garden, which used to be his special spot before he found the exit to the cliffs. Well, and also before a fight that led to the rupture of an old friend of his.
It's an absolutely gorgeous circular space decorated with natural vegetation, which was extracted directly from the outside rainforest and illuminated with natural light that enters through a huge opening at the top, simulating the inside of a volcano. Although, the "pièce de resistance" is definitely a spectacular crystalline lake with the Majestic Waterfall that makes the water flow graciously in soft waves.
Aiden's mind keeps being crowded, not really focusing on the beautiful garden around him. A certain brunette girl occupied his head, not letting him free. He still couldn´t believe she had trusted him and believed his story. He was terrified of losing her because of his manipulative father, he would rather go to hell than let that happen.
"Finally, dear lord! I've been looking everywhere for you…"-A very familiar voice makes him snap out of his numb trance. Coming his way was a tall, blonde girl with a bright smile.
"Katherine, hi."-He says and gets closer to her until they reach each other. He's at a loss for words because she's the last person he was expecting to see at this moment. It had been so long since they had even spoken to each other.
"Hi? That's all you're gonna say to me after all this time?!"-She exclaims incredulously.
"Sorry, you have left me speechless. Why were you looking for me? I thought you didn´t wanna have anything to do with me after what happened…"-Aiden states, visibly confused.
"I know but this doesn´t have anything to do with that. Listen, Bianca told me about you yesterday and what happened on the cliffs, and I'm really happy for both of you. But I want you to take care of her, alright? God knows what she's been through…I think you can look after one another, you know?"-Kat says in a quieter tone, not wanting anyone eavesdropping on their conversation. The dark-haired boy was instantly shocked to hear that name come out of her old friend's mouth, and was even more surprised when she told him the whole story of them becoming flatmates and close friends.
He's a bit suspicious though. Kat's pupils dilated every single time she mentioned Bianca. Her way of expressing herself was peculiar, she seemed to care very deeply about her. Way more than with other people. However, a warm feeling envelops him as he thinks about Katherine's wish for them to take care of each other because that's exactly what he envisioned them doing moving forward. Not only that but maybe his old friend would see him with a more forgiving glance, only time will tell though.
"Well, it's been great seeing and talking to you again but I have to go now. Work, you know?"-Kat mutters after a while. Aiden has been deep in thought that whole time but his head springs up when he hears those words. Before letting the girl leave, he lightly grabs her arm, making her stop dead in her tracks, her eyes wide open at the sudden movement.
"Kat, I will never let anything happen to her… I love her."
. . .
"…behind the supply cabinets, there's all the test tubes and pipettes, and finally at that corner, there's the detox room with the showers. All understood? "-Robert concludes, the tour of the lab coming to an end. I nod at him with a shy smile.
Today's my first day in neurology practice and I couldn´t be more excited, nervous, and scared at the same time. Last night and this morning had been filled with so many overwhelming emotions and so far, today was promising to be another one for the books.
Robert will be my initiation guide for the first two weeks, and during that time I will be attending both theory and practice classes before really getting to work. This is because I don´t have any previous experience or background in this field.
To be honest, I can´t wait for these couple of weeks to be over because once I'm done with the learning I can get down to business, and with Kat! We are both really happy to be working side by side. Hopefully, those extra hours together won´t affect our friendship.
I was shown my personal practice station inside this huge lab, which I was told was only one of many labs this institution had to offer. I'm now waiting for my class to start. I can´t resist the temptation and start to look through all my supplies to kill some time.
I come across what seems to be some notebooks from previous students, placed neatly on the top shelf of the supply cabinet. One of them, a lot older and worn out than the rest, catches my attention. Before grabbing it, I turn my head to look around the room and make sure I'm completely alone.
It's a very peculiar book because it doesn´t have a title and the cover looks a lot more age-worn than the actual pages inside. At first, it appears to be a normal student journal to keep notes from their classes. As I flip through the pages and skim through the texts, I see nothing out of the ordinary.
However, I reach the final page, which consists of a large button; a tactile button. Below the button are the following initials; "RF-B". I had forgotten that most books here in Atlas are somewhat intelligent or have extra features. So, waiting no longer, I press it.
A hologram immediately appears, it's a video recording of a lecture. The person filming it is sitting right where I am now. Although the lab looks a lot different, emptier, and with fewer supplies, and fewer people, the small group of students is listening closely to a tall man with a robe…Is that Victor?
"Are you ready for your first class, I hope-…Wait, what is that?"