"I'm going to be in a test in another base."
Dr Lupin was quite annoyed about the things that were happening around him. However, he can't but turn his head around after hearing that.
"They say I'm going south. At least, it'll be warmer there than here, wouldn't it?"
The man mopping the kept talking with his face down to the man waiting for the elevator. The doctor glanced at him. He never spoke a word to him, yet the man kept on babbling about himself regardless. The man looked up at the security camera again and thought about when he met the man cleaning the floor when he was dumped in the middle of nowhere.
Then too did the man not bother to look at him. He asked while mopping if the doctor was new and proceeded to tell his name and briefly introduce himself. The doctor knew those words were nothing more than meaningless sentences the man threw to conciliate his loneliness and decided to give a quick look at him. Dr Lupin never spoke privately with any D-Class personnel, but the man seemed a bit surprised at the fact that someone was willing to listen to him.
It was then that the man particularly stickled to the doctor and went on about his endless stories about his life. This man who kept repeating the same stories, again and again, became a new headache material for Dr Lupin, who was basically trapped in this base. He first tried to convey disinterest and frigidity with his facial expressions but to no avail. Instead, as time passed, he discovered himself nodding to the man's stories more and more. Alas, he recited word by word the stories about the bike theft when the man was young, the 40cm long snapper his uncle caught, and the date he first met his wife.
One day the man claimed he was innocent. Anyone who is everyone said they were framed, so Dr Lupin did not bat an eye on him and left the place. Could he have been doing this for parole all along? He wanted this man to admit, honestly. The thought made the doctor angry about himself. He thought it as disappointment at the fact that the person he briefly felt something particular about was just another person giving excuses. He was a D-Class. A man who committed an unforgivable crime. The doctor had no reason to be concerned about him.
However, Dr Lupin sat alone in a windowless room and thought about him all day. He then realised that the feeling was because of the man's calm voice. He didn't show nervousness or anxiety. When he talked about his wife and five-year-old daughter, he almost looked confident that he would return to the outside world again.
"Maybe I'll get paid a bit. My wife used to jokingly ask about why I can't get another '0' on my paycheck."
The letters 'D-3097' on his nametag reflected on the glass window. Could he have done something so horrible? The doctor wished that he was innocent at the corner of his mind. Wait, but doesn't that make him an innocent victim? He couldn't decide which was better. The doctor tried to forget about the experiments the man would be put in and felt grateful at the fact that he didn't hear the word 'freedom' as compensation for participation.
"…Tomorrow's Laura's birthday. Do kids these days like teddy bears?"
The doctor was overwhelmed with an urge to answer that question. He fixed his eyes on the man, wiping away dust with his back showing, barely pushed down the sentence he was about to speak and walked into the elevator. He hesitated and pushed the button, muttering through the closing door.
Of course. They love it.