Work Text:
Grey tiles, white walls and the buzzing of the fluorescent lamps never failed to make the atmosphere in the office part of the lab tense. Maybe if you worked here properly it wasn't as bad, but as a subject it felt suffocating. There was never a good reason to be summoned here. Especially to the office Barcode was heading to. They passed scientists and other people who worked there on the way, nobody paid them much attention except a quick glance. Technically, the subjects were supposed to be led by at least one guard, just to make sure they didn't try anything funny, but Barcode was walking alone. They knew better than to try anything, the consequences were not worth it. They stopped in front of a door with a plaque covered in stickers next to it. If they never had to see it again they'd be ecstatic. They knocked on the door and waited.
"Come in!" rang out a cheery voice from the inside and Barcode inhaled as subtly as they could before opening the door. In comparison to the corridor they were just in, the room could be described as overstimulating. The walls were painted in pink, blue and yellow stripes, with posters of something all over. Barcode didn't know whether or not to be glad that their vision wasn't good enough to know what was on them. None of the furniture seemed to match either, there was a desk in the middle of the room with two chairs, one was a typical office chair with wheels, just colourful, while the other was a simple wooden one. Someone else, someone who didn't understand how the lab worked, might have mistaken it for a room a child got free reign of decorating. Barcode knew better. Laura Freya's office looking childish and it not taking away from her fear factor was proof of how much power she held in the lab.
Behind the desk was a woman with white hair tied up into a ponytail, smiling at Barcode without any warmth behind it. Laura Freya didn't need to look the part for everyone to know how terrifying she was.
"Good morning, you wished to see me, miss?" They politely greeted, still standing by the door. They wished it would be a short meeting, they'd rather stand than come closer to the woman.
"Ah yes. Have a seat 008," she gestured towards the chair opposite her and Barcode sat down. If they believed in any god they'd probably be cursing them out now. "Would you like some tea?"
"If you are offering, miss" they answered quietly and put their hands in their lap. Last time she got mad when they refused. There were consequences for getting her mad. Laura Freya smiled and got out two cups from under her desk. She set the white one with either black or grey details in front of Barcode and a colourful one in front of herself. She threw a teabag into each of them and poured hot water into them from a kettle they didn't notice before. She threw a few cubes of presumably sugar into her cup. Barcode wasn't asked if they'd like any.
"Great!" She clapped her hands. "Let's get right into business, shall we?"
Barcode gave a small nod, was she expecting an answer right now?
"So, you've been through a few seasons, made it to the end blah blah blah." The woman waved her cup around, spilling some tea on the floor. "But it's getting stale, don't you think? Where are the stakes, the drama?!"
"I apologise." They didn't do anything wrong, they just happened to be better than the other subjects at surviving.
"No need to apologise for that" she laughed and took a sip of her tea, Barcode did the same. "We can't blame a subject for being good at something they are supposed to be good at. And I'd like to keep you around."
Laura Freya got up and walked up to Barcode. She took their chin in her hand and moved their head around, as if she was inspecting it. Her hands were uncomfortably cold and they fought the urge to flinch away. They allowed her to maneuver their head around instead. They just wanted to leave now.
"It'd be such a shame to let one of our first subjects go~" She let go of their face. They took in a small breath and fought the urge to scratch at the areas Laura Freya touched. Anything to get that feeling to go away. They knew that just because it would be a shame to let them 'go', if they acted in a way the lab didn't like they had no qualms about getting rid of them. "So we're going to change it up a bit."
Barcode looked in the woman's general direction and tilted their head at her. What did she mean by that? And would she explain? They noticed her pick up her cup and drink some tea, they took it as a signal and took a small sip of theirs.
"Well, aren't you curious, 008?" She smiled and sat back down, joining her hands together and resting her chin on them.
"May I know what is going to be changed?" they asked, a little surprised once they knew the woman actually wanted to share it and not just inform them that a change would occur, then leave them to worry themself sick about what it could be until they found out.
"I'm so glad you asked!" She smiled and clapped her hands. "How do you feel about an assistant?"
"An... assistant?" they repeated slowly and leaned back a little, manners weren't that important now. What did she mean by an assistant? "I fear I do not understand."
"What's there not to understand? You'll pick some other subject to help you for the duration of the next season. They'd help you watch over others and do what needs to be done. It'll be much more interesting to watch somebody new fumble around those things," she explained and leaned her head on her palm. "You have a week to pick someone."
"A week?" they repeated, trying their best not to look disbelieved. It was so little time. What were they supposed to do?
"Yup, clock's ticking, 008. Best get started on it soon." Laura Freya laughed and motioned at them with her hand as if they were a fly she was shooing away. "Tick-tock! You're dismissed."
"Understood." Barcode got up from their chair, the barely touched cup of tea forgotten. They closed the door and let out a long exhale. Laura Freya was terrifying, she might have as well announced the date their execution will happen. They walked towards the part of the lab they were supposed to be in. They needed to find someone they could tolerate as soon as possible, if they were right then they'd be spending a significant amount of time in close proximity. Couldn't 'changing up the formula' mean something else? An environment change or something like that.