A Story A Day. Story 331 of 365: Best (Part I).

The alarm buzzed from the other side of the room. Ismene automatically searched for it on the night stand, only to remember she had put it on top of the drawer. She then realized that she had done it for a specific reason, to arrive on time to her new job. She had just graduated after five hard years of doctoral research, it was her first time on her own, as a postdoc, for sure, but more or less on her own.  She stepped in the shower and sang along the radio, it was her morning ritual to try to slaughter as many songs as possible before breakfast. Her short dark hair was easy to wash, but she always wanted to make sure it was impecable. As usual, some of the shampoo got in her eyes and she had to step out of the shower to grab a towel. "I should buy some shampoo for babies" she told herself. After showering and rubbing herself dry, she stood in front of her closet, naked, trying to evaluate her wardrobe choices. Her mother had told her to buy something more professional, but Ismene knew best, a pair of jeans and a plain t-shirt would do. Still, dark or light? She made up her mind and took a pair of dark blue jeans and a light grey t-shirt. She fished for the sneakers under the bed telling herself off for being such a mess. As soon as she was dressed, she grabbed her favorite leather jacked and a handbag, and went to the kitchen. Her phone was charging on the table, and as usual since she had moved there, there was a message from her mother telling her to have a nice day. Ismene's mother, Dora, had had a hard time letting her go, her little baby was fleeing away from her, and she wouldn't be able to see her as much as she wanted. In the end, she realized Ismene was a free soul, and had always been, her daughter had actually split up with her boyfriend because he had suggested for her to stay. Ismene didn't need those kind of ties, she had decided. As she was having breakfast, she sent Dora a quick thumbs up. She looked around wondering whether she would need something else, her eyes landed on some boxes labelled "BOOKS", she still hadn't unpacked them because she was still to find a suitable bookcase for them. Maybe she would need one, she decided, for her commute. She opened the box and took the first one she found. "Wilde. Good." she said to herself as she packed it on her handbag.

Ismene's house was far from the new lab, but the commute was easy, and she had liked the place, it was lively. As she sat on the bus, she started reading her book. People went on and off, without noticing her. At one point, when they were passing by the park, she lifted her eyes from the book and looked into the street. A quaint little bookshop caught her attention, she would need to visit it as soon as possible, it looked promising. The rest of her commute was unremarkable, she had set an alarm on her phone so it would remind her of her stop as soon as they were approaching, and it worked beautifully. She stepped down the bus and looked around, the science campus was new, all its buildings airy and modern, with lots of green areas around them. She spotted some picnic tables here and there, and a bicycle parking lot. She had done her job interview through video-conference, so it was the first time she was around. She had been told to go to the reception and for Dr. Shannon. As she waked in, however, the elderly man was already waiting for her. He asked her for her former boss, who had been his student, and kindly requested her to call him Roger, he would have none of that "Dr. Shannon" nonsense. 

- As you will,... Roger.- she hesitated at calling him with his given name, but he smiled reassuringly 

-Good, as you can see I'm old and close to retiring.- Ismene tried to protest, but he stopped her. - Don't even try to deny it young lady! I know I'm old and frail. Anyway, this means that I won't be your direct supervisor, I'll delegate that burden to dear Dr. Goode who was my first student and who has returned to the nest to take care of me, after flying away for adventures. Follow me, I'll show you around. 

Dr. Shannon turned out to be the perfect host. He had been in the campus for several decades, and saw the new one built from scratch. He would point at her at part of the old buildings that had been integrated into the new architecture, and had anecdotes for each one of them. It was a pleasant walk, Dr. Shannon's lab was the last building of the complex, overlooking a lake that seemed like the perfect place to swim. She must have stopped a second too long staring at it, because the old doctor was quick to ask what fascinated her so. 

-I was wondering,... Can you actually swim in the lake? 

-Well, maybe you should ask the swimming club across the shore who usually train in there.- Roger joked.- Come, I'll introduce you to everyone.- and taking her by the elbow, he dragged Ismene inside.