CHAPTER ONE | i hit a guy in the head

THE RANDOM SONG OF THE CHAPTER

Don't Be Suspicious : The Pojammer

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I dare you to text "baby shark doo doo" to the person you sent your most recent text to. But if it's someone like your aunt or teacher then maybe don't.
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To be perfectly honest Borg Tower is overrated.

I mean- it was cool and all, trust me. I did say a giant "WOOOAAHHH!" that made people look at me funny but it was too empty. Too boxy. Too many machines and not enough...homey feels.

The building was giant with slick floors that if you scooted around in socks you'd feel like you were ice skating. The ceilings were so tall that your voice seemed to bounce off everything. It made you want to say "HELLO!" like in all the movies and wait for it to relay back to you. Technology was everywhere doing everything and there were thousands of people rushing around like ants.

But until I see lasers and a good ol' fuzzy beanbag I didn't care for it.

Now you must be thinking: "Gwen, if you don't like the place, why are you there?"

Good question! Honestly, I was wondering that myself as I stood among all the other interns. I felt like a pretzel in a bag of jellybeans. Lost and confused. And a little salty. All the people there had glasses, clean business-like clothes, perfect hair in buns and ponytails, and notebooks that are actually for notes.

And there I was in my yellow leather jacket from the thrift store. Scuffing my red converse on the ground as I played with my avocado necklace. The only notebook I had on me was a sketch pad that was mostly filled with unflattering cartoon drawings of my teachers. A total sore thumb in a room full of pretty pinkies.

It was my father who made me apply for the internship program. His big dreams of making me some mechanic or fancy engineer was what pushed me straight into Ninjago City and what sent me to NGCU. Sure, I met some nice people there but I was a girl majoring in all that science-y stuff I still used the word science-y instead of whatever we did.

Apparently, the other interns were thinking the same thoughts as I did, giving me funny looks or judge-y up-and-down surveys of disdain. I mean seriously people, this isn't high school.

Clearing my throat awkwardly and brushing my light brown hair back I followed the guide as she showed us around, waving at certain things like they were important.

Well, I'll give the snack bar the benefit of the doubt. I thought with a smile as I watched people serve themselves some jello and any other goodies displayed.

I was so busy eyeing the food I didn't realize the group had stopped. Like the clumsy oaf I was, I tripped.

Are you waiting for the cliché meet-cute that involves me smacking into someone's back and then falling in love? Yes, I do love those little romances but that wasn't exactly what happened.

My sketch pad went flying from my hands as I pitched forward, my feet staggering to regain balance as the pad flew through the air and smacked a boy right in the head.

"OW!" A short slightly rounder boy in glasses yelled, spitting out a curse word that sounded eerily like elvish from the Lord of The Rings.

Oh no, I hit a nerd.

"Crud." I scurried to grab my notebook as the kid held the back of his head with a pained expression. "I'm so sorry!"

The boy glared at me, his lips pulling into a pout. "Watch where you're going, ungainly ruffian!"

That one was new. I've been called many things, I have a jerk older brother, so I've had a million insults thrown my way in my life. I've been called a clutz, spazz, dumbie, and even Peregrine Took before. But never an 'ungainly ruffian.'

"You're not so perfect yourself, Sheldon." I retorted, unable to keep my temper down. The tour guide called for us to calm down as the boy continued to rub at the bump on the back of his head.

"She just used the Big Bang Theory on me!" The kid whined.

The tour guide, Jenna, I think was her name, sighed. "Can someone get him ice or something?"

I made a face at the boy while one of the other interns strolled over and inspected him. The guy was tall, taller than me, and I was known as "noodle-legs" in fifth grade. Pale with light blonde hair that almost looked white. He too wore proper clothes, decked out in a white collared shirt and a dark blue sweater vest.

"Do you feel pain if I apply pressure to your head injury?" His voice was odd, not entirely emotionless but had this...less authentic feel to it.

Mr. Fancy glanced briefly at me. His gaze wasn't critical, which was nice but that wasn't what caught my attention. They were just so blue. Orbs of almost glowing light icy colour that seemed to stare into your soul. Coolio.

"It hurts there." Whiney-Pants poked at the back of his head with a finger. I suppressed a roll of my eyes and tried to appear apologetic. Look, I was sorry but not that sorry. This guy is a teenager nearing adulthood and he couldn't take a small bump in the head. Besides, he called me names like a seven-year-old.

The other boy gently pressed a hand over it and turned to the guide. "You can carry on, he'll be fine in a moment."

Jenna nodded, motioning us all forward. I started to make my way after when a strange blast of cool air made me involuntarily shiver. I turned to look back. The first boy was touching the back of his head in confusion.

"That was cold." He commented, brow furrowed.

The taller one stepped back, his very empty hand curled and pretended to hold something. "It was an ice pack."

My eyes narrowed as sir-complains-a-lot looked skeptical but ran to catch up with the rest. The blonde caught my gaze but quickly looked away, pretending to drop the 'ice pack' in the chest of drinks nearby and hastily moved past me.

That's sus.

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"The interns will all get their own various responsibilities. Depending on your skillset and their rank some may help in the lab, others may do filing, or simply clean and get coffee. Once you prove your worth you'll get more important jobs and maybe one day you will work here." Jenna smiled, opening her arms towards the hustle and bustle of the engineering lab.

Interns made noises of excitement as they gazed at the machines and talked about all the stuff they were going to do. I caught sight of a nice looking laser in the corner. There you are!

"You're here to learn and gain experience. Please be ready to listen and take on new ideas, as well as respectfully adding in your own." Jenna led us to a room to the side.

It reminded me of a classroom with long desks positioned at different levels near aboard. But there were charts and diagrams spread around, various ideas scribbled everywhere and cabinets full of files.

"So, this where they create their evil master plans," I murmured under my breath. It came out a little too loud, making everyone look at me. About half shot me a dirty glare. Who knew engineering interns were so rude? My face reddened but cheery laughter redirected my attention.

"Yes, this is where we plot the best way to take over the world." A man chuckled, rolling in. Cyrus Borg. His glasses fell on his nose and his mouth spread into a large grin as he gazed at our excited faces. He straightened his grey tux and positioned his wheelchair at the front of the classroom.

"Why don't you all take a seat." Cyrus gestured with a hand.

I jumped out of my skin as everyone bolted for a seat. Practically shoving and tripping over each other in their haste. At last, everyone had a spot without too many fistfights. Cyrus and Jenna looked at me expectantly.

Oh right. I slid into the first chair, my face burning as I set my sketch pad on the surface.

"Welcome to Borg Tower, the very centre of Borg Industries. Think of it as the brain of the body." Cyrus raised a remote, pressing a button as a hologram appeared. A 3D image of the big tower appeared, rotating and zooming in on the people bustling around in it. "Here we build, experiment, and fix things all over Ninjago City, manufacturing the best tech out there."

I watched as people scooched forward in their chairs and gazed at the inventor with admiration glowing in their eyes. It was cool, yes, but I still felt the odd pit in my stomach that made me doubt my place here.

My gaze slid to my sketch pad. My fingers slid between the pages and opened the book. The sides of my mouth tilted upwards as I looked at the carefully drawn images. Sketches of flowers, character drawings of aliens and fantastical creatures scribbled on the sides, and a messy charcoal picture of my brother with a goatee and a humongous nose.

I pulled a pencil out of my purse and flipped to a fresh page. The pencil lead hit the crisp paper and immediately I was lost. Straight lines moved upwards, shadows falling to the sides, tiny little shrubbery lining the sides, shaded silhouettes of people walking around at the bottom. The world faded away as I relished in the beautiful feeling of my pencil dragging along the sketching paper, eraser bits spread all over my desk and the bottom of my hand turned a silvery colour from the image.

I wasn't aware the Cyrus Borg has rolled over to investigate what had captured my attention until a shadow appeared on my drawing. I jerked my head up and twisted to see him smiling gently a the picture.

"That's beautiful miss...?" He trailed off, looking at me expectantly.

I swallowed, feeling caught. My heart fluttering in my chest. Is he insulted? When I didn't respond Jenna stepped in for me, glancing at her clipboard.

"Gwendolyn." She told him. "Gwendolyn O'Hannah."

"This is a wonderful drawing." Cyrus glanced at me for my permission. After I nodded he picked it up so he could look at it closer. It was an abstract take of Borg Tower. The tall building was covered in unique shapes and designs that gave it a new perspective.

"You have talent, Gwendolyn." Cyrus continued, he turned to meet my gaze and slid my book back. "How would you feel about being apart of the design team and doing a few more unique drawings like these there?"

I blinked, I could see my classmates in the corner of my eye. Most just stared, some scowled, Mr. Meanie glared at me with venom, the tall strange one simply blinked, watching for what I would do with those striking eyes.

I looked back at Borg. "I would love that," I spoke to him for the first time. I smiled at the man, who returned it with bright eyes.

"Please call me, Gwen."

Authors note****
Yes, I rewrote the whole thing.

I felt that was going too slow. I was starting to lose interest already and I didn't want to lose my readers. After looking at some books I enjoyed I noticed that they introduced the interesting love interest much earlier on and I realized that when I read books that had the love interest come in later I grew bored.

Hope you liked the changes. I have the original chapter saved and I may add it later at the end of the book just for a little bonus thing.

I love writing Gwen so much. She's just a fun character! 😊

I hope you enjoyed it!

LuckyBugBooks 🐞