Reading Between The Lines

The workers' garb was drab and faded. Many years had taken their toll on the frayed fabric, and the hole in the knee of Lea Benoit's pants proved the extensive threadbare quality. She shivered and wrapped a shawl, richly embroidered and easily the nicest thing she owned tightly around her shoulders. The recycled air wafted about the base like a lost child, ever changing and shifting. She regarded the grumbling vent with little more than annoyance; there was likely a clog in the oxygen pipes. A mechanic would fix it later.

She crossed her slender legs at the ankles daintily and raked a hand through her hair. She would be required to return to work at the sounding of the next quarter-hour bell, and would remain at her housekeeping shift until well into the evening. She dreaded it, but it broke up the monotony of her day-to-day life somewhat. On her lap was a magazine of some Earthly fashion rag, shipped with the last batch of supplies in a box marked "ENTERTAINMENT FOR COMMUNITY." It was well-read, since everyone was required to share the scarce materials. Lea flipped half-heartedly through the pages before settling on a page with a model looking...just like her.

"I wish I could be you," she said to the grinning image of the girl. In a downcast mood, she sighed. "You lucky girl."

Blake sighed, lifting her eyes from the monotonous reams of paper, which were set neatly on the clipboard she held in her arms. Inconclusive, her most dreaded word. She'd have to get her subjects back and test them again.
But, until she could, she'd have to courier the results of the previous test to her associate.

The only problem was, she was rather lost, in the cold hallways of the Base. The scientist feared she'd never quite become accustomed to the Moon.
Hopefully, she selected a promising looking room-number, and entered.
Rather than her hardy co-worker, a young lady Blake vaguely recognized as a Housekeeping employee sat, holding a glossy magazine in her hands.

"Oh, hello there." She greeted, smiling sheepishly. "I must have the wrong room."

Lea looked up in surprise. She was hardly ever addressed directly, unless someone needed something from her. "Non, it's not a problem," she said, smiling brightly. "Are you lost?" She stood up from the bed and set her magazine down before walking over to a cabinet. She pulled open a drawer and rummaged through it, emerging with a handful of maps and layouts of the base.

"Which room are you looking for?" she asked, finding a map of the worker's quarters. "This is room 201B." She knew the base backwards and forwards. It was her job.

Blake took a moment to search her mind for the proper room number. She didn't have much a mind for that sort of thing, it was filled more with Tests and answers, and questions and behaviours and subjects.

"I think it was 220B." She said, smiling, "I was close."
Though many of the Scientists were old and crotchety, Blake was glad to find a cheery, helpful young lady in the scientific haven. The bland, sterile environment (and personalities) of the Moon had quickly lost their apparent allure; the young teen was a welcome individual.