step out into the hallway, then started off in the direction opposite the waiting room. “If you’ll follow me, we’ll just turn this in, make sure you’re compensated for your time and—if you parked in the garage—we’ll validate your ticket so you won’t have to pay a fee.”
Lisa wished she’d known they validated parking beforehand. She had parked way the hell back in the farthest parking lot to avoid paying a fee, wanting that five dollars to go toward her light bill instead of a shady, convenient parking spot.
Brad stayed by her side and engaged her in friendly conversation, asking what classes she was taking while a woman behind a large desk examined Lisa’s driver’s license, compared her address to that on the forms Brad handed her, then issued Lisa a cash payment.
Cool. She had expected a check.
Brad consulted his watch. “Yes! Time for my lunch break.” He sent her a sheepish smile. “My stomach has been growling for half an hour. I was afraid it was going to distract you during your tests.”
Lisa laughed.
The woman behind the desk rolled her eyes.
Brad tapped the counter. “You want me to pick you up something, Joan?”
“No. I brought my lunch with me today.”
“Okay.” He turned back to Lisa. “Can I walk you out?”
“Sure.”
He led her through a back door and to another elevator. As soon as the doors closed, ensconcing them inside, his stomach growled.
She grinned.
Laughing, he patted his flat abs. “See? I told you. I shouldn’t have skipped breakfast this morning, but I was running late.” The elevator smoothly carried them upward, the motion barely discernable. “You want to join me for a bite?”
Smiling, she shook her head. “Thanks, but I have to hurry back to campus for my next class.”
He smiled wryly. “I know how that is.”
The doors slid open.
Lisa strode with him across the marble floor of the fancy lobby. “When do you think I’ll find out if I was chosen to participate in the study?”
“Depends on how many more people they intend to screen.” He held one of the large front doors open for her.
Heat embraced her as she stepped outside. Bright sunlight drove her to squint after being inside the more dimly lit building.
“Where are you parked?” he asked as the door swung closed behind them. “I’m way the hell back by the cows.”
There was indeed a field dotted with cows beyond the farthest parking lot. “I am, too.”
Together they began to walk through the closer parking lots.
“I’ll see if they validate parking for study participants or just for applicants,” he mentioned, “and let you know so maybe you can park closer next time.”
“If there is a next time.”
He glanced over his shoulder at the building getting farther away behind them, then smiled. “Don’t worry. You’ll be chosen. I’m not supposed to say anything, but you got more right than anyone else I’ve tested.”
Her eyebrows flew up. “Really?”
“Yeah. You did great. For the first time, I felt like I was actually conducting a study instead of just doing busywork.”
She bit back a laugh. “So… you haven’t interviewed any big-time psychics?”
“Nope. Although there was one guy who got so many wrong that I started to wonder if maybe he wasn’t psychic after all. It just didn’t seem possible that someone could get almost every single one wrong without knowing the right answer.”
Lisa laughed.
“Just don’t tell the docs I said that. We aren’t supposed to share results with applicants.”
“My lips are sealed.” Lisa paused when they reached the farthest row. “Which direction are you in? I’m parked over there.”
He jerked his thumb in the opposite direction. “I’m over there.”
She extended a hand. “Well, it was nice meeting you, Brad.”
“Nice meeting you, too.” He clasped her hand and gave it a nice firm shake. “Maybe they’ll assign me to be your caseworker when they choose you.”
“That would be great.”
Still smiling, he backed away. “Have a good one.”
“You, too.”
Turning, he strode down the long line of cars.
As Lisa made her way toward her old, battered economy car, she hoped Brad was right about her being selected for the study. Life had been beating her up for years now. It’d be nice if something finally went her way.
A month later, Lisa handed her final exam to Dr. Aguera. The last to leave, she lingered a moment.
Leaning back against his desk, he set her exam on top of the pile behind him. “How’s the study going?”
She smiled. “Great.” Brad had been right. The Anomalous Cognition Research Institute had called her two days after