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 she applied and told her she’d been selected to participate in the study. She had begun the following week. And Brad had been chosen to be her caseworker or the research assistant she worked with. “They’ve added more numbers to the cards. More shapes and colors, too. And instead of the four suits—hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades—they’re using cards taken from a standard deck to see if I can accurately identify both the suit and the number.”
“How’s that going?”
She shrugged. “Okay, I guess. They haven’t kicked me out.”
He narrowed his eyes. “You getting any lotto number premonitions yet?”
She laughed. “No. But I did actually have some money left over in my bank account when I finished paying last month’s bills, so I’m going to take it as a win.”
“Can’t argue with that. Have they mentioned adding any dietary changes or chemical enhancements to your daily routine?”
“Yes. They asked me to start taking a multivitamin, one with a lot of vitamin B and folate.”
He crossed his arms over his chest, brow furrowing. “Did they supply it?”
“They offered to, but I declined and said I’d buy my own.”
“Good. They seem like they’re on the up-and-up, but I’m paranoid enough to worry they might’ve tried to dose you with something they thought might… I don’t know… enhance your psychic gifts.”
“I worried about the same thing.”
He shook his head with a smile. “The world we live in, right?”
“Right. They did ask if I would consider letting them give me a PET scan while Brad asks me questions.”
“Brad is the research assistant you’ve been working with?”
“Yeah.”
“They must want to see what lights up when you employ your gift.”
She laughed. “It’s so weird that they think I’m really psychic.”
“Hey, maybe you are.” Dr. Aguera pressed an index finger to his temple, lifted his chin, and intoned, “I’m thinking of a number between one and a million. What number is it?”
“Easy—742,361,” she promptly replied with a grin.
His eyes widened. His hand fell to his side as he stared at her in shock.
Lisa quickly lost her smile. “What?” She gaped. “Are you saying I got it right?” she asked in astonishment.
Relaxing, he grinned. “No. I just wanted to see your reaction.”
They laughed.
“If they’d said they wanted to do an fMRI, I wouldn’t see anything wrong with it. But I’d avoid the PET scan or any others that involve exposure to radiation. The damage caused by radiation is cumulative, so you only want to get those if you have to for medical purposes.”
“Okay. Thanks again, Dr. Aguera. I never would’ve had this opportunity if it weren’t for you.”
He smiled. “I’m glad it turned out well for you. Have a great summer.”
“You, too.”
Fifteen minutes later, Lisa strolled into the ACRI’s lobby and found it empty.
“Hi, Lisa,” the woman seated behind the desk said with a smile.
“Hi, Carol.”
“I’ll let Brad know you’re here.”
“Thank you.”
Lisa had barely seated herself when the door on the far side of the room opened and Brad greeted her with a smile. “Hi, Lisa. You can come on back.”