In the After

inside a large room, painted a pale blue. After the white blandness of the hallways, I welcome the color change, but I realize that is what whoever is in charge wants. Kay has pegged us as hostile and blue is a calming color. I scan the rest of the room, empty except for a metal table and four matching chairs. It looks like a police interrogation room from a movie, Before.
    Kay doesn’t follow us inside. “You guys hold tight, all right?” she says with a smile bordering on sincere. “You’ll be okay, kiddo.” Maybe she isn’t cruel, just a little malicious. She shuts the door and Baby and I are alone.
    What’s that noise? Baby asks. There’s a strange humming .
    I go to the door and try the handle, but it won’t budge. I don’t know, maybe the lights? I didn’t think it would be unlocked but it was worth a try. I trudge back to the table and sit in a chair.
    Baby shakes her head. It’s loud and . . . She’s struggling with her chair. I can’t move it in , she says. It’s stuck .
    I look at where the chair meets the floor. It is bolted down. So is the table. I sit back and shrug. It’s so we can’t take them , I tell her.
    Really?
    No, it’s so we don’t throw things around when the people come to question us .
    Oh . Baby looks disappointed. When are they coming? she asks, suddenly excited. She realizes that we are going to meet more people.
    I don’t know . It’s cold in the room and I can hear the air conditioner running. I look at the ceiling and notice a medium-sized vent big enough to push Baby through if I have to. I hear the door lock release before it swings open. No open signing , I remind Baby. She nods.
    “Hello there,” a teenage boy stumbles into the room, holding a stack of papers. He reminds me of the boys I went to school with Before. Not the jocks or the popular kids. The geeky ones, who looked a little socially uncomfortable, but you always knew they were going to go to Harvard and change the world. He looks up and I wonder who decided it was a good idea to throw him in a room with potentially hostile people. He looks only seventeen or eighteen. From what I gather, we are here for our psychological evaluation, but this boy looks nothing like a trained psychiatrist. He’s tall, bigger than I’d first thought, and kind of cute. He’s wearing a white lab coat and jeans. He makes me feel a little better about this place; the jeans make it all seem harmless.
    The boy dumps his papers on the table and starts sorting through them. “Now where is . . . oh, here.” He looks up at me, flushed, and I see that his eyes are a piercing bright blue. He takes a pair of glasses from his coat pocket, cleans them with his shirt, and perches them on his nose.
    “Oh yes, Kay’s report. You two are the hostiles?” He looks doubtfully from me to Baby. “You don’t seem very threatening . . .” He catches me staring at him and I look away. “. . . and if you are hostile, then Kay should have handcuffed you to the table.”
    He takes out a pen and scribbles on a piece of paper. “Now, what are your names?”
    I stare at him blankly. Baby takes my hand under the table. What does he want?
    Our names .
    Are you going to write them down for him?
    No, not yet .
    Is he a great-man? She means is he important.
    No . A white coat doesn’t make you an expert. But it definitely suits him, showing off his broad shoulders.
    “Ummmm, do you understand?” he asks, not looking directly at me. His face is very red and his shaggy, blond hair resembles a mop. It looks like he hadn’t bothered to comb his hair today, or any day this week for that matter. There is no way he is in charge of anything, so I decide to wait and see who else they will send. My mother always did say I was arrogant.
    “Look, I can get you situated, but you have to help me. . . . I . . .” He shakes his head. “You don’t understand anything I’m saying, do you?” he mutters.
    He touches his hand to his ear, and I see he has a black earpiece similar to the one Kay wore. “Hey, Rice here. We’re going to have to save these two for Dr. Reynolds. I’ve been unable to get a verbal response. They seem harmless.” He listens. “Yes, that is my initial evaluation despite the Guardian’s concerns. Let’s keep the Class Five for further study, and let the Class Three mix in with the current observation group.” He pauses. “Yes, come get the child.”
    I stand and pull Baby off her chair. I shove her behind me