Page 11 of A Lab Rat's Guide to Fated Love
“Your blood pressure dropped too low. They said you can go once you’re done with the IV.” Noticing Vir glancing around the room, Fehim added, “Nori and Ryan went back once they knew you were okay. She took your number from me. Said she’d call you tomorrow after she’s discussed things with Tanya.”
Nori didn’t call him the nextmorning. Or that afternoon.
By evening, Vir grew concerned she’d changed her mind. Or found another candidate to work with. Or they could’ve shut the program down entirely.
He reached for his phone to text Fehim when a call from Dr. Tanya Thakur’s office interrupted his frantic tapping. She wanted to meet him in the conference room to discuss his options with the teams again. It wasn’t long before he stood outside the frosted glass door, wincing at the sharp jabs of agitation and raised voices that rang towards him through the panels. Whatever was going on inside, he wanted no part of it.
With a deep fill of the cool evening air, he felt for his boundaries around him, reaching for the edges to pull them in closer towards himself like a cocoon.
Tanya’s muted, “Come in, please,” floated outside when he tapped on the glass. He nudged the door open to find Nori sitting on one side of the large mahogany conference table. While a pair of familiar looking senior researchers from the university occupied the space opposite hers. Doctors Hina and Amit Mohan.
Visibly agitated at first, the siblings hurried to compose themselves as Vir walked in. Nori, on the other hand, looked perfectly calm, leaning back in her chair with her arms crossed against her chest and her face a stoic mask. It was amask, though. Because her insides were a chaotic ball of pure rage. If he could read her mind, he was almost certain he’d find her bashing their heads in with the very chair she was sitting on.
He pursed his lips, resisting the urge to laugh at the mental imagery.
“Come, Vir.” Tanya motioned towards one of the empty chairs. “How are you feeling?”
“All well.” He pulled a chair beside Nori’s while her posture remained unchanged. Still, statue-like. “What’s going on?”
Amit opened his mouth to speak, but Tanya held out a hand.
“Hang on one second, Amit. Let me explain the situation to Vir first. And then we can take it from there.”
Amit’s mouth pressed into a thin line even as he nodded in agreement.
Tanya turned her attention towards Vir. “You’re aware of the situation but I believe it’d only be right for us to reiterate that you have two treatment options to choose from.”
“I’m aware.” Vir nodded once. “And I already gave a formal response to your email last evening. Is there a problem?”
“No. No problem.” Tanya glanced towards Nori, then Amit, before her sight landed on Vir again. “Doctors Amit and Hina here believe you should be made adequately aware of both procedures so you could make a well-informed decision. We’ve called this meeting to discuss both options with you and answer any questions you have. You can take your time, and let us know your decision by next Tuesday.”
Vir glanced sideways at Nori’s still form. There was no change in her expression or body-language, none. But he could almost taste the subtle spikes of nervousness as they started rolling off her. He stared at her, stunned once more at how clearly each layer of her emotions presented itself to him, as if anyone else he’d ever sensed had been through a filter of foggy lenses in comparison.
“That won’t be necessary,” he replied, turning to Tanya. “I’ve thought it through. I’m going with Dr. Arya’s option.”
With the instant wave of relief as it washed over Nori, and by extension him, her posture relaxed ever so slightly.
Shouts of protest erupted from the other side of the table.
“You know this isn’t fair, Tanya,” Hina complained. “Our treatment actually works. We were assured we’d be getting our next subject this round. He was supposed to be assigned to us.” She pointed her index finger in Vir’s direction before shifting it towards Nori. “Her work is purely theoretical. You can’t hand her the only viable candidate over us, based on just the results from her working on mice! I don’t know what lies she has told him, but no one in their right mind would gamble their life away with such unreliable tech!”
“Vir.” Something cold trickled down Vir’s spine as Amit addressed him directly. “Do you have any idea what you’re agreeing to? Her bugs have no human precedents yet. Our state-of-the-art bionic heart is your best option. We’ve had a forty percent success rate in our previoushumantrials. We know what we’re doing. Ms. Arya here might be talented, nobody’s denying that. But she’s still too young and inexperienced. Are you sure you want to put your life on the line for an amateur’s unsubstantiated claims? Are you okay with being a mere kid’s lab rat?”
“Mites,” Vir spoke after a heartbeat’s silence, “not bugs. And, yes.”
The jibes towards Nori were getting on his nerves. But they weren’t being flung around to provoke a reaction out of him. They were for her. And they did nothing to move a single muscle in her features. The stark contrast of her insides, however… he clenched his jaw to resist barking out a laugh.
“Yes, what?” Hina asked.
“I’m okay being the lab rat,” Vir replied, and in his peripheral vision, Nori’s head snapped in his direction. “As I mentioned earlier, I’ve already thought it through. I prefer Dr. Arya’s proposed treatment to getting another transplant, human or bionic. And if that fails, well, I don’t think any of you are going to start without having me sign a waiver. I understand the risks.”
“So,” Tanya cleared her throat after a pause. “I believe it’s settled then.”
“You’ll regret this,” Amit spoke through clenched teeth, giving both Vir and Nori a long, hard look before he stormed out of the room.
Hina shook her head at Tanya before she, too, turned on her heels and followed after him.
“Sorry about that.” Tanya sighed loudly. “They kept threatening to file a slew of complaints to the ministry if I didn’t call this meeting. While the grant isunder university discretion, a complaint like that would’ve unnecessarily delayed things. And a long enough delay could mean having to forfeit this year’s grant and permits, and start over next year. I hope you understand.”
