Jaoi leaned against 7348’s door, “What’s your name?” Emery looked over to the thin man, “What do you want from me?” 

“Nothing,” Jaoi replied, “however, I think you can help me with something.” 

“I’m not stupid, I know what you want. You’re just like them, trying to warm us up to catch us off guard but not today sir.” 

“What are you talking about,” Jaoi stood up straight, a bit confused. 

“You know what I’m talking about,” it wasn’t until Emery noticed the white badge on his coat, “Wait… You don’t work on this  level?”

“No ma’am.”

The two awkwardly stood just a few feet away from one another, it was until Emery spoke up once more, “What do you need?” 

“I’m glad you asked,” he walks into Emery’s room, containing his distance from the girl. “You have been selected for an important cause. You can help this facility get closer to its goal, all while helping with mine.”

Emery got up from her bed, her cell door was wide open. She could make a run for it but how can she? She doesn’t know the layout of the building, only the green level. She thought for a moment, if she stayed and help the strange thin man with his problem, she could gain his trust, and she can learn the layouts. Jaoi noticed Emery staring at the wide open door, “I see, If you want to escape, you can forget about it.” 

Emery looked up at Jaoi and shook her head, “I’m not dumb. I know what happens when anyone tries to escape.” She sighed before continuing, “I’ll help you.”

“Excellent, we can go now,” said Jaoi in an excited voice. He then lends his hand to Emery which she hesitantly grabs onto. They checked the hallway for any guards, but none were in sight. As they walked down the hallway and onto the staircase, Joai says, “The only thing I can inform you about is that you will meet a white status, Number 2091.”

“Why,” Emery asked. She didn’t mind but she wanted to know why she was meeting a specific person. 

“That’s all I can tell you. If you know any better, you will keep your curiosity to yourself.” 

Emery kept quiet as they walked down the staircases, eventually arriving at the double doors that Jaoi was once at. He scanned his index finger, Emery keeping a close eye on everything for future purposes. Then, there they were, on the white level. Emery looked around, “Nothing has changed.” She let go of Jaoi’s hand and walked around the cafeteria. 

“In the green level, we only have one hour per day to interact with other greens. I miss being here.”

Jaoi felt empathy for the girl but shook it off, it is unprofessional for a scientist to have any emotion that could represent having a bond with an experiment. He grabbed her hand firmly and started walking out of the cafeteria. 

“Can I trust you?”

“You can,” replied Emery. 

“Stay here then, if I see that you have run off, I’ll make sure you get an orange badge when they capture you.”

It wasn’t like Jaoi to threaten any experiments but if he was going to help Josefina from being terminated, he had to put his foot down at some point. He let go of Emery’s hand, signaling her to stay put. He then disappeared through a foggy clear door, one can only see the blurry figure of the person. As she waited, she looked around and notice the small vines poking out from the ceiling, single evidence of a world outside. It wasn’t long until she saw the same blurry figure approaching, only this time there was someone else. 

“Number 2091, meet 7348, she will be your new friend,” Joai said as soon as the two of them went through the door. 

Emery wasn’t expecting a girl such as Josefina, she could only infer that she was about her age by her outward appearance. Besides that, everything else was different from her. Josefina seems to be a bit detached from reality but still somewhat aware of her surroundings. At first, Josefina was uncertain about the new person in front of her. She looked up at Joai, Joai nodded, signaling it was okay. So, she slowly grew closer to Emery and lifted her right hand. “Hello,” she said. 

“Hello,” Emery responded while lifting her own hand and shaking it with Josefinas. 

“Go sit and talk for a bit,” Joai said as he pushed them to a table and distanced himself from the girls. The two of them sat down and looked over at Jaoi, who has now seated a table away while having a notepad out and scribbling down notes. 

“Anyways,” Emery started, “How old are you?”

“I’m about fifteen, I’m turning sixteen soon I think.” 

“Oh. So… How long have you been in white level?”

“I don’t know.”

Emery nodded, seeing how Josefina was simply just answering questions and not engaging in conversation. Emery figured out how Josefina didn’t have any friends, she lacked comprehension of what it means to have one. Emery looked over to Jaoi with a, ‘what should I do?’ expression. Regardless of her attempts to grab his attention, he was too busy writing down notes. 

“What’s your name,” Josefina finally asked. 

“My name?”

“Yes silly,” She said. She leaned closer to Emery, looking at the ruffles on her dress. 

“I don’t think I’m allowed to say my name.”

“Mister isn't even paying attention.” Josefina was indeed right. 

“I guess you’re right,” she paused for a moment before responding, “My name is Emery but you have to call me 7348 around others.”

“Emery? That’s so pretty!” Josefina was now fully leaning against Emery's shoulder, “My name is Josefina.” 

Emery also leaned towards Josefina, oddly enough she felt comfortable with her. She held her hand until Jaoi came up, “Alright girls, We got things to talk about,” he said while sitting right across from them. “You two will meet every single day during number 7348, free time, and lunch. You will bond and you will succeed.” 

Emery wasn’t sure of what he meant by the last part of his sentence but she concluded that it was about her. On the other hand, Josefina was excited about the news and couldn’t wait to spend more time with Emery, who was now considered her best friend.