He returns a few minutes later with a tall, muscled man with a scared, haunted look on his face, and a woman of average stature, with an average face and an average hairstyle, looking very much like she'd be much obliged if she could wake up back in her place already, thank you very much.

Hollister starts arranging the plastic chairs in a rough circle, and says, "Come on, come on, do sit."

Matt and Rachel both get up from their seats at the bar and move over to the plastic chair circle.

They do in fact sit.

The large man does, too, but the woman needs some prodding to do so.

"Okay, so, that's Jayden and Sarah," the guidance counselor identifies the two new arrivals, "and these are Rachel and Matt. Together, you’re Group Four. And you know me, I’m your good buddy Hollister. Welcome to Orientation! Let’s hear it for Group Four, people!"

The other two don't cheer.

Rachel… smiles at the attempt, but also doesn't cheer.

Matt seems a little confused by Hollister's behavior.

Yeah. He's definitely a bit 'um'.

He clears his throat and moves on.

"For the next few days I'll be teaching you fine folks all about the City of Angles," he said. "That's angles, not angels. Common rookie mistake, but you, you're not common rookies, right? When we're done you'll be rip roarin' ready to go and start your new lives! Like Rachel and Matt here. They came right out of their rooms and decided to enjoy the pool, isn't that right? It was all their idea that we hold our first session out here, instead of that musty conference room. Good thinking! Let's hear it for Rachel and Matt!" This time he tries to start the applause himself.

Matt: still seems confused.

"Um. I was actually just trying to find where some people were?" says Rachel.

He clears his throat again and moves on when no one else seems to join in on the applause.

"Even better, then! Meeting people, a key skill you have to have to do well in the city. It's the reason I'm in this job! I'm a people person. I like to get people things they want, things they need. Hook-up Hollister, that's what my friends call me—and I've got a lot of friends. Like you! I'm here for you, to make sure you're ready to go, to make sure you're happy. Best way to do that is to get to know you, really know you, as people. So we're going to start out not by cracking open one of those boring three-ring binders and getting right into the lessons, like the Department wants. We're gonna get to know you." Pause. "Jayden? You want to start?"

"Huh?" Jayden says, startled out of his thoughts.

… Rachel would probably rather crack open the 'boring binder' since it presumably contains information they should know.

But okay. She can just… look through it later, maybe ask for a copy or something if she needs it.

"Let's get to know you, Jayden," Hollister repeats, leaning forward into Jayden's personal space to show how much he cares. "Tell us about yourself. Who you are, where you're from, what you want out of this city."

"Oh. Well… if I gotta. Name's Jayden," he says, despite having been called by name already "I'm… be honest here, may as well be given the situation I'm stuck in, I'm just some kid from Sacramento—I'm not a kid, I mean, I'm twenty-one, got the card to prove. Raised by my aunt until she went, then back to my moms. Learned tough after that. Uh, but I'm not really lookin' for any trouble or… lookin' for anything. Nothin' specific. A job, I guess. They get you a job if you sit through this thing, right?"

Twenty one, he says. Twenty one, he does not seem.

Exciting stuff here. Not that she's sarcastic or anything, no.

"That's the plan, my man," Hollister promises, oblivious to whatever Rachel may have picked up on. "I mean, they'll try. Things can be tricky. But you? I think you'll go places. I barely know you but I've got a good feeling, you know? Right here. Gets me right here."

"That's your stomach," Jayden points out.

"Here," Hollister corrects, pounding on his chest over his heart. "Sorry. I missed breakfast. So, how did you get to the city, Jayden?"

"I was just down by the corner store with my boys, you know, just hanging out," he says. "Summer, you know? No school, nothin' to do. Anyway, went in to get somethin' to eat, and I was busy payin' for it when BAM! everything went weird an' the whole store got moved to this crazy-ass city. Took me and the poor old bastard who runs the place with it. ...where's he now? Mr. Fong. He doin' okay? I was figuring I'd meet up with him when they said new folks go to Orientation, but..."

Hollister looks a bit uneasy. "Ah... well... some adapt better than others," he explains.

…

That sounds a little ominous.

She'll just… sit here quietly until Jayden's totally done with his introduction and-or she gets called on.

Matt seems a little bit bored? Maybe slightly confused.

He continues. "I saw his file when I was reading up on you folks, and... Mr. Fong, it's cool, it's cool, he's getting the treatment he needs. He'll be able to accept the transition eventually, don't you worry. The Department of Resources may even let him work in his store again! He's like family to you, huh?"

"Naw, I just know him, s'all," Jayden says, with a rolling shrug. "Doubt I got any family here. And if they're right, and there's no way back... well... damn. There's no way back, right?"

"I really hate to bear bad news, but no way back, that's right, correctamundo," Hollister replies. "It's harsh to say, I know. But people have been looking for decades, and nobody's found a way back to Earth yet. That's why we've got Orientation, so you can learn to embrace your new lives fully in all its excitement!"

"Mmm."

"Anyway! Rachel, Matt, and Sarah, let's get to know you. Which of you wants to go first?"

Sarah does not want to go first.

Rachel would… rather not go first of the second lot!

Matt would even more rather not go first of the second lot!

… It would appear that Rachel will in fact go first of the second lot, in that case.

No going back to Earth. Well. She assumed as much. She's not sure if she was actually told that outright.

"Sure," she says. "I'm Rachel, I was a high-school student – senior – and I lived a really boring life full of boring meaningless fun, since I was only in high school." She pulls a bit of a face. "I'll miss people – my parents, for starters, people I knew at school, that sort of thing – and they'll probably miss me but they'll get on without me and I think I'll be able to get on without them. … Oh, and I was imported into the Sideways, that was fun."

His eyebrows shoot up, and his mouth opens and closes a few times soundlessly, like that one officer in the mall. "...the Sideways?"

"Oh yeah, it was great fun." She gives him a bit of a look. "Would you like me to go into detail?"

"No! No, um, I'm sure it's a great story but we don't wanna get derailed, right? Right." He turns to Sarah, apparently trying to change the subject from that. "How about you? From your file, it says you're from Georgia...?"

Sarah and Jayden look confused at the sudden shift, and Sarah looks down at her feet. "I... I want to go home," she mumbles. "Please. I have a family, I have children. They need me..."

Hollister gets his confidence back, back in his element. He reaches over and puts a hand on her shoulder, adopting his most comforting voice. "I know this is hard to accept, Sarah," he says, "but you're here, now. There's no going back. But I promise you, I swear to you, your family will be fine. You don't need to worry. Right now... what you have to focus on is your own life. It's a new day, a new start! What you do with it is entirely up to you. ...ah, just, it can't involve going back."

"But, but my husband, my children..."

"You've got a loving husband and good kids. I read your file. They're going to be fine—and so are you. You're a strong woman, Sarah. Wife of a pastor, pillar of her community, supporter of charities and champion of the homeless, yes...? Some people, when they come to the City, they're complete unknowns. But your works echoed even here! We've got reports from people who came to this city before you that know who you are. Do you remember Yvonne?"

"Yvonne? Here? Are you sure? I just saw her a month ago," Sarah says. "We've been working at the city shelter together for the last year. She was getting back on track after losing her house..."

Rachel in fact does look somewhat sympathetic at this.

The poor woman seems so lost.

"I know, and her orientation records had your name in them as a possible point of contact," Hollister says, with a grin. "See? You're not totally alone here. Listen, she's working out in the Suburbs at the mo', but I'll put in a call and see if she can spare some time to visit. Okay?"

Still unsure, Sarah offers a tentative little nod.

Which Hollister takes to be a gleeful nod of assent. "That's the spirit!" he says, removing his hand from her shoulder to offer her a thumbs up. "Okay, and, Matt, I think it's your turn!"

"Um," he says. "There's not really much to tell? I'm Matt, I was also in high school, I'll miss people, I got imported, they'll miss me – I sort of and sort of don't hope – and, uh." He thinks for a moment. "Yeah. I think that's about it."