In order to get to the research facility, they had to take the subway about seven stops down the line. Then, they took two different buses in order to finally make it to the campus that the facility was located near. The trek was a small journey in itself, and this was not at all helped by the fact that they had to leave their dorm room at 5 in order to arrive on time.

  Zain sipped on his free coffee in the break room, a small consolation prize for having finished a good amount of his work.

  When he had first arrived at the facility, his ‘orientation’ was just a senior worker giving him his clothes after she registered his name to their system. He was given simple directions and a color coded map; The map (a downloadable work app he had to download on his phone) showed him the rooms he was supposed to clean, with the color code system telling him how deep his clean was to be.

  Ranging from simply sweeping and changing out the trash to deep scrubbing and mopping, his tasks looked as if they would indeed take the whole day.

  He had thankfully completed about half of his list and he was now coming back from his break. Both he and Brayden were working in the same building, but they had different sections they had to work on so they didn’t really get to see one another. Talking was out of the question. There was so much to do by clock out time, neither one of them could slack off.

  They had spoken briefly at lunch, but Zain was so tired, the conversation they had boiled down to:

  ‘You tired, buddy?’

  ‘Yeah…’

  ‘Yeah, me too…’

  Zain tossed his finished coffee cup into the trash can, inhaling deeply as he tried to summon the energy to continue his day.

  Alright! Let’s do this! Get some fucking money!

  His next room was further down in the building. The research facility had rooms used for laboratory work, experiments, and lectures above ground level. However, most of the rooms below, were dedicated to observation for different fields of science. Because they required scientists to stay long hours, living quarters were also located there. The specific building Zain was assigned to was dedicated to biological sciences so he was cleaning the living quarters and observation decks of marine biologists.

  Zain swiped his key card in the elevator, pressing the floor he was to clean next. The door closed and it slowly began to descend.

  The elevator that led to the lower floors was a circular glass one, which was a strange design choice in Zain’s mind. The reason for this was not clear until he started his descent; Below was an underwater cave system with beautiful gem geodes lining the walls. From the floor swayed some luminescent tendrils and seaweed stalks, which housed small reflective fish. The small fish took on a pitch black appearance normally, however when they caught the slightest bit of light, their scales would reflect prismatic light, refracting into a rainbow-like glow.

  Unfortunately, Zain was only going down 2 levels, and his clearance restricted him to those levels. Any more of the spectacle would not be available to him unless he was able to descend further down. Still, it was nice to have a cool view in his workplace.

  Zain wheeled his cleaning cart forward, looking at his map again to confirm his next assignment. He was currently in the main communal area for the residential hall for some of the researchers; It included a lounge area, a dining area, and a small meeting area. The residential rooms would be one more floor down, but unless specific residents requested his service, he would not be expected to go there.

  He started in the lounge area, tidying up some of the individual study rooms nearby. Some people had left a few items: Most of what was left behind were books that belonged to the bookshelf or game boards, all of which was available to all residents. Small personal items were sometimes in the cushions of the couches or under some of the coffee tables. Any lost items he placed in a small box in the front, which he had to access with a small key.

  Nothing of note was lost (except maybe a personal keychain tassel), so Zain was just collecting the few things he found onto his cart so he could turn them in later.

  As he looked underneath the couch of one of the study areas in the corner, he found a book, or more like a graphic novel. Zain pulled it out, assessing the cover of the book titled ‘Staff of healing’.

  It was a generic looking romance series, with an attractive male and female lead on the cover.

  Well, it wouldn’t hurt to read a little…

  Zain had not been there for too long, so he had yet to find a good series to latch onto. If this one seemed interesting, he would be more than willing to give it a try. He did like a good romance series.

  Opening the book, he began to skim through. The premise was simple: A woman is fatally cursed by her evil stepmother, who curses her in order to receive all of the inheritance following the death of her father. Because of this, she goes to the ‘cold’ duke of the land who is thought to possess the staff of healing, which is her only hope to stave off the curse which ails her.

  From what Zain could see, it was a typical romance. He skipped a few pages at a time, until he came to the climax of the story. The woman’s curse had flared and her health was declining, so she was in dire need of use of the staff of healing. The Duke declared he would use the staff to heal her.

  Come on just get to the reveal already…

  Zain skipped a few pages ahead, looking for the reveal for where the staff was, which was a small plot point in the novel. He stopped at a page where the duke was holding something in his hands. It was a white looking lightsaber, and didn’t really resemble what someone would think was a staff of healing…

  Oh…That’s not a staff….

  Zain slapped the book close, tossing it to his cart. Holding his eyes, he stumbled out of the lounging area.

  “Unsee…Unsee…” What kind of person reads that stuff in a public area?! What sociopath would do such a thing?!

  He was able to make it to the sink in the nearby restroom, flushing his eyes to rid himself of the vision of the 'staff'.

  Zain dabbled his eyes with a paper towel, a mix of tears and water marring his vision. When he could finally open them again, he leaned against the sink, trying to stabilize his mind again.

  “That’s what I get for reading on the job I guess…” He whined as he looked at himself in the mirror. A small movement came from the corner of his eye, causing him to turn around.

  “Ummmmm….You okay?” A short man reluctantly asked.

  “Uh, yeah… I just saw something I didn’t want to see. “ Zain straightened his back, trying to appear more presentable.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  “Oh…okay…” The man looked away, not really sure what to say next. A small silence hung in the air before he spoke again. “Are you the new janitor? Um, I spilled something and I was hoping you could help us clean it.”

  “Oh! Sure, I’ll go right now. Where's the spill?”

  The man pointed towards one of the meeting rooms, moving out of the restrooms in order to lead Zain towards the mess. Zain followed closely behind, opting to see what kind of spill it was before he brought his cart.

  Inside of the meeting room were a few other people. A woman with messy black hair sat at a desk, concentrating deeply on the work she had on her laptop. A skinny looking man was looking over her shoulder; he gave Zain a passing glance, but quickly refocused on whatever they were working on. A small woman with straight blond hair laid away from everyone on one of the couches within the room, resting her eyes as she held one her arms over them. She only shifted somewhat to Zain’s presence, but she quickly rolled over and continued her nap.

  All around were several computers and strange devices. A myriad of papers were sprawled out on the desk she sat at, along with several research books stacked nearby. Empty coffee cups were being collected on a nearby table along with some sugary snacks that were left in the corner.

  “The spill is there.” The man pointed near the two staring at the computer. A black coffee spill was on the floor next to them, with the coffee cup still on the floor nearby.

  “Got it!” Zain went to the hallway briefly in order to retrieve his cart. Soon returning and making quick work of the stain, finishing off with his mop in order to ensure the stain was thoroughly cleaned.

  “I’m done. Is there anything else that you need for me?” He eyed all of the empty coffee cups, hoping to maybe get some of them now so he wouldn’t have to clean them later.

  No one answered for a second, as they were all observing the screen on the desk. Even the man who had asked Zain to clean the spill was transfixed.

  “Yeah. Can you clean this?!” The question came from the woman who had been reclining on the couch. She had, at some point, gotten up and was right next to Zain. She held a fish in her hand, and shoved its face in front of Zain.

  He drew back, startled and slightly disgusted.

  “Kahehehehe…..” She began to cackle, but she began to trail off as she teetered on her feet. She sat back down on the couch, pallor now apparent on her face. “He…he…he…” She groaned, dropping the fish on the floor.

  “Aquea…Why did you do that?” The skinny man rebuked the woman, rolling his eyes as he walked towards the fridge in the corner of the room. “You know that it makes you feel sick.”

  “Sorry about that, she likes to prank people with the same prank over and over…” The man who had called Zain to the room said. “It’s not funny, so I don’t know why she keeps doing it…”

  “I make…myself laugh…that’s all…that matters…” She shakily declared, her eyes now swimming in her skull as the room was likely now spinning for her. Aquea leaned against the armrest of the couch, appearing now to be nauseous.

  The skinny man brought over a bluish drink and the small nearby trash can. “If you’re gonna puke, do it in the trash can. At least make it so you don’t have the kid clean up your mess after you scared him like that.”

  “Buuhhh…” She groaned in response as she scooted closer to the trash can.

  Oh yeah…now I have to clean that fish she dropped on the floor…

  Zain looked over begrudgingly to where the fish in question lay, only to see it appearing to melt away. He looked closer with curiosity, just when he heard the woman barf into the trash can. As soon as she did, the fish immediately melted into water, then evaporated almost as quickly.

  “Whoa…” He couldn’t help but say.

  The skinny man looked at him curiously and smiled. “So you’re an ethereal? Have you never seen a construct before?”

  Zain looked up, embarrassed that it was so obvious. “I’ve seen some of the scales people leave behind on the subway and some of the stuff people have in their hair…but other than that, nothing as detailed as this.”

  The skinny man waved his hand and shook his head. “Yeah, no. Most people aren’t stupid enough to make their constructs so detailed. It wastes too much mana and you can get sick if you use all of it.” He pointed at the woman, whose head was still in the trash can.

  “Don’t you…call me…stupid…” She uttered between breaths, before she once again threw up into the trash can.

  “It’s kind of like being anemic…don’t worry though, she’ll be fine. She’ll drink ether and recover slowly. “ The short man spoke next, pointing at the drink the skinny man had left next to her.

  So ether is like a mana potion. Got it.

  Zain internally nodded to himself. The fantasy elements were always things he paid attention to.

  “I’m Jack, by the way. And this is Danio.” The skinny man pointed to himself then to the short man, respectfully. “That’s Aquea and that’s Barbs.” He drew Zain’s attention to the vomit woman and the laptop lady.

  “It’s nice to meet you. My name is Zain.” He politely returned his own introduction. “Um…If you don’t mind me asking a question, can you tell me how she could make the fish so detailed and why it suddenly turned to water…”

  Jack nodded at the question, “Sure. It’s the least I can do considering the trouble this one caused you. “ He gestured generally at Aquea before continuing. “Since her spirit takes the form of a fish, she of course can forge her constructs like it. Anyone can make theirs as detailed as hers, they just need anatomical knowledge of their spirit in order to do so, but it takes a lot of concentration and mana.”

  “Yes. I understand.” Zain was now sitting in a nearby seat, nodding fervently as he listened to the information.

  Danio stepped forward, adding to the impromptu lecture. Uncapping a water bottle nearby, he began, “Her attribute is water, so when she used her mana to create her construct, it mimicked her attribute. The construct was made entirely from her mana so that is why she used all of her mana when she created it. If she had used water as a base, she would’ve felt fine. “ He waved his hand, moving each of his digits individually as if manipulating a puppet. The water within the bottle spun outward, spiraling in a rose-like pattern. Just as easily, he returned the water to its previous vessel, settling it in an instant.

  “Even though directly manipulating the element that matches your attribute conserves energy, it is much harder to take the form of your spirit. Using your own mana makes the construct look more realistic.” Jack added, waving his pointer finger to punctuate his point. He looked at Danio, prompting him to hold out his hand.

  Danio smiled, then spawned a glass like rose from the palm of his hand, then dismissed it as it dissolved into nothingness.

  “Oooh!” Zain held his chin as he looked at the spectacle, amazed.

  “There’s a lot of different nuances when it comes to mana. That’s just the basics.” Jack concluded with a soft smile.

  Danio placed his hands on his hips and nodded in agreement, “Feel free to ask us any questions.”

  “NO!” Someone interjected before Zain was able to take him on that offer. It was the woman who still sat at the laptop. Now donning an annoyed scowl, she tapped on the desk impatiently. “We have to get back to work. We don’t have time to babysit now, this research paper is due in a week!”

  “Oh come on, don’t be mean Barbs. He’s just curious. Weren’t you just as curious when you were his age?” Jack responded, raising a brow at the woman’s rudeness. “Besides, we have plenty of time. Most of the data is compiled already.”

  “Yeah, don’t you have a heart? You used to be like him. And it’s not everyday you get a student that actually listens to lectures.” Danio added, with sympathetic eyes.

  Barbs scratched her head in slight irritation, “It’s exactly because I’m like him that I can’t let up. I have to stay on top of my game, you know that. It’s the same for him. He can’t be caught slacking off or he’ll get in trouble.”

  Both of the men whined in unison, as if being told by their mother that their playtime was over.

  Barbs rolled eyes in response, then fixed her gaze on Zain again. “You can clean the empty cups in the corner and maybe broom a little so no one complains that you’re not doing your job. You two, get back to work.”

  The two men slumped their shoulders, then obeyed her command. Zain likewise followed her orders, and began to work again. Everyone just ignored Aquea in the corner.

  It did not take long for Zain to finish tidying up (along with changing the trash that Aquea had barfed in), so he began to make his leave.

  “I’ve finished cleaning up for now, so I’m gonna clean the other rooms now. Thank you all for answering my questions. Have a good night.”

  They all waved, saying their goodbyes as well.

  “Wait…” Barbs called before he could close the door fully. Her eyes wandered around the room, before looking at Zain again. “Sorry if I sounded rude before, I just didn’t want you to get in trouble because of my colleagues. “

  “It’s okay ma’am, I understand.”

  She breathed a slight sigh of relief as she also said her final goodbyes. “Thank you. Be careful on your way back. I used to make that commute, and it’s dangerous when you exchange buses near Coralway. Be on guard.” She waved him goodbye as she uttered her final words of caution.

  “I will. Thank you.” Zain closed the door, then made his way out.

  What a nice bunch.

  He smiled, relieved that this work environment was not too hostile.

  Well, mostly, as one glance at his map reminded him of all the crap he still had to do…