Lucy's heart sank when she saw the result. Purple…, it was purple. Just as she feared, Shaun shared the same fate as Jamie. There was no supergene within his body. Yet unlike Jamie who was quite content with his life, Shaun would not be the same. There Shaun sat, he saw the purple and time seemingly stood still.
His fate was sealed, he felt dejected and a sense of loathing for his adequacies. All his dreams were now nothing but the aspirations of a fool. He knew all along that the possibility was nearly nil, but now it was clear for all to see.
"Thank you, we should go!" He uttered while wiping his eyes before grabbing his jacket. Seeing this Lucy sought to comfort him by putting her arm around his shoulder.
"Could you give it another swirl, doctor?" They heard Jamie saying causally. "This...?" The old doctor became hesitant. He felt saddened seeing the kid's dejected face. This face he knew far too well, many came by the thousands just like him every year. They had high aspirations and dreams of grandeur. However, fate can be quite cruel sometimes. Some pleaded for him to conduct another test but every single time it came back that the results were 100% correct. He could shake it, twirl it, or whatever was suggested, it would not change. The color would be forever purple.
"Doc, just once more, what could it hurt," Jamie encouraged as the doctor remained hesitant. He didn't want to give the child hope, just to see him once more become dejected. He sighed and went against his better judgment and once more twirled the solution. Once again it was purple, just like was expected.
Old Doctor- "See son, some things are just inevitable. Being a hero isn't all it's made up to be. There is nothing wrong with being a civilian. If you're not content with that there is also the police force or army. They are grander heroes in my view." Yet the old doctor was surprised as he saw Shaun and Lucy's expressions. Instead of the dejected looks from before it was replaced with excitement.
'Was my speech that good?' He thought but realized the two were looking at the vial within his hand. He looked down only to be dumbfounded, the solution had changed color from purple to brown.
"Impossible! How?" He shouted in fright as though having seen a ghost. This has never happened before in his twenty-five years of testing. The reaction should be instantaneous, there was never even a second delay. He once more looked at the tube and the solution was added.
"Child, come here," He asked of Shaun who if he were to be described as ecstatic was an understatement. He once more allowed the doctor to take a sample of his blood. Once again it was brown but this time it was instantaneous. If anything it was an even purer brown as though the quality had improved.
"This is quite strange. I've never come across such a case," He looked at Shaun once more and was lost for words. Perhaps this was the one in a million chance of an error. He had nearly ruined the child's aspiration and if not for his brother's persistence this would never have been discovered.
"My apologies, son. It seems fate smiles upon you." He then took the chart from the counter. He wrote a few jottings before stapling the papers together of which one was brown.
"You can take this to any of the licensed institutions. I suggest Clortho at the west end of the city. They might not be the best per se, but one of the few institutions that will not look down on the quality of your genes," The old man smiled. Truthfully, he knew nothing would come of this kid's talent, but he would not once more dampen his spirits.
"Thank you, sir!" Shaun stated, with his now regained spark.
Jamie – "What did I tell you? Never give up," He rubbed his younger brother's head who didn't hesitate to give him a bear hug.
Shaun – "You believed in me when I doubted myself."
Jamie with a smile – "Let's go and see a bit of this city. Tomorrow our search for a proper school begins." Seeing the two brother's interaction Lucy couldn't help but smile. They thanked the old doctor once more who was still taken aback by what had unfolded. He watched as the three left and once again looked at the two vials which had been tested.
"What tha..?!" He was startled to see that in each vial the color had once more changed. Previously it was light brown but now the color was richer and the solution became even thicker too. But that was not the end, before his eyes, he saw both continuously evolve into a rich red color. He was shaken, this was not one of the possible colors.
"I must report this at once!" He uttered, grabbing the cordless phone at the far end of the room. He was startled when he heard the faint fluttering of wings. With its beak within the vial was a small yellow and black hummingbird.
Shoo! – He yelled swatting at the bird but within seconds the two vials were drained.
Clink! – The door closing was heard, and he saw one of the previous young men enter. It was the eldest brother; the bird was perched on his shoulder as he took up a wallet that was seemingly left behind. He looked at the old doctor with the phone in his hand and simply inquired while petting the bird, "You seem to have seen a ghost doctor. Is everything alright?"
Sppshh! – The vials shattered causing the good old doc to wince. But Jamie maintained eye contact as though all that had unfolded was trivial.
"Eve.., everything is fine!" The doc hurried to put down the phone.
"Have a good day doc," Jamie smiled, throwing an envelope on the side table before exiting with Spek on his shoulder. With his exit, the old doctor finally caught his breath. He had never been so intimidated by a presence in his life. There were so many questions, but he was old enough to know that not all needed answers.
He looked in the envelope and his eyes lit up….
______________
Jamie returned to the entrance of the testing facility where both Shaun and Lucy patiently waited.
"Did you find your wallet?" Lucy inquired.
Jamie - "Yes, silly me, I left it on the table."
Shaun - "Great! Now we can have some fun since you're treating us."
Jamie - "Didn't you work for six months? You should be treating us."
Shaun - "Think of it this way big bro, a hundred dollar treat now only for me to return the favor a thousand folds in the future. Didn't you hear the good news? Your little bro has a chance at being a hero."
Jamie could only watch as Shaun, who was excited by the news, ran outside. Lucy, Hmmm!- "I'm thinking of lobster from one of those fancy restaurants which featured on that cooking channel."
Jamie - "Not you too?!"
Lucy with a chuckle - "When in Rome, right? Let me go and get that fellow. At the speed that he ran off, it would be a miracle if he hasn't slammed face-first into the side of a bus."
Jamie - "You're both bums."
Lucy - "Bums who love you…"
Jamie could only smile taking his sweet time walking out the building. Oddly after his exit, all records of their arrival mysteriously vanished. Even the cameras had seemingly malfunctioned.