Page 6 of The Life Experiment
Opening the notification, Angus saw it was the woman from last night.
Her bio informed him that her name was Fiona ‘Fifi’ Fortston. His finger hovered over the ‘follow back’ button, but he didn’t commit to the gesture. Instead, he went back to his homepage. There, something caught his eye.
Do you ever wonder where your life is heading?an advert asked.
Swallowing hard, Angus read on. The more he read, the more the blank stretch of days ahead filled with colour. This experiment would last ten weeks, and that wasn’t including the application process. That meant that for at least ten weeks, he would be busy. He would wake up with a purpose.
Before he could talk himself out of it, Angus clicked the link and submitted his details.There, he thought, settling into his pillow.You’ve done something with your day, after all.
3Layla
Layla flicked through the thirty-three-page document loaded on the iPad before her. As question forty-nine caught her eye, she raised an eyebrow:How would you describe your appetite for sex?
Gulping, Layla glanced at the woman sitting at the other end of the long assessment room table: Dr Saira Khatri, head of The Life Experiment. She would soon know more about Layla than Layla’s own mother did.
Layla knew she shouldn’t be surprised by the intensity of the questions. She had researched OPM Discoveries thoroughly after they got in touch about her application. A globally renowned research hub, they trained leading scientists, produced Nobel Prize winners and created lifesaving vaccines. Naturally, their process would be rigorous.
Layla was flattered to have made it this far. After the initial expression of interest, she had been sent a lifestyle questionnaire to complete. Next came an hour-long video interview with Dr Khatri and two senior members of the research team. After that there were a series of online tests, food and exercise diaries and a family history report to complete, as well as a week of sleep monitoring.
Today was Layla’s first in-person session at OPM Discoveries headquarters on the outskirts of Birmingham. Taking personal leave to attend made Layla break out in a cold sweat, but the examinations and interview with Dr Khatri could only be completed in person.
If she passed this, Layla would receive one more set of online tests and complete another in-person interview. After that, she would be invited to be part of the study. She would find out the aim of the research and have a week to decide if she’d like to proceed.
Then, on the 2nd of October, the experiment would begin.
A nerve-racking thought, but any apprehension Layla felt dissolved as soon as Dr Khatri greeted her, fresh off the train from London, with the warmth of an old friend.
Layla’s nerves about the medical side of the process soon disappeared too. Shortly after arriving, she was taken to a lab where she underwent a series of physical examinations, including blood tests, an eye test, an ECG, and finally a full body scan. The scan had required Layla to step into a machine that looked like it came from the set of a sci-fi film. While she stood still, whirring sensors swept over her body. Whatever they were scanning for, they were doing a good job of hunting for it.
Layla turned her attention back to the questionnaire. She marked herself highly throughout, because admitting the truth would have been mortifying. Confessing her lack of travel would make her seem less cultured; owning up to her lack of fitness would seem unhealthy. OPM Discoveries clearly wanted solid candidates, and Layla was determined to appear more solid than anyone else.
‘Here you go, Dr Khatri,’ she said, handing the iPad back after submitting her answers.
‘Thank you,’ Dr Khatri replied. ‘And please, call me Saira.’
‘Saira,’ Layla repeated, testing the name.
Saira was older than Layla – early-fifties, if she had to guess – but she had the style of someone younger. Dressed in an orange blazer, a white t-shirt and a pair of patterned trousers, she looked significantly trendier than Layla.
Her sense of style wasn’t the only thing Layla admired about her. When Saira had taken Layla on a tour of the OPM Discoveriescomplex, everyone they met seemed to adore and respect her. Layla knew that balance was hard to strike, but Saira made it look easy. The fact that she was witty and charming didn’t hurt, either.
On the table, Saira’s phone buzzed. She checked the notification. ‘I hope you don’t mind, but I might push our one-to-one back. The gym instructor is available earlier than expected. It would be best for you to complete your fitness test now.’
Layla faltered. ‘A fitness test?’
‘Is that okay? Don’t worry, it’s one of the last things you need to complete today.’
Layla instantly regretted scoring her fitness eight out of ten on the questionnaire she had just submitted. ‘That’s great,’ she replied, wondering if Saira could detect the lack of enthusiasm in her voice. ‘The thing is, I haven’t brought any workout clothes with me.’
‘That’s okay,’ Saira said, rising to her feet. ‘You don’t need them.’
‘Oh, perfect,’ Layla replied, sinking into dismay at whateverthatmight mean.
‘I promise it’s nothing to worry about. A few weights, some reflex work, a little running, that’s all. If at any point you need to stop, let the instructor know.’
Layla nodded, silently trying to figure out when she had last been to a gym. Was it two years ago? Three? Longer than that?
Sports had never come naturally to Layla. Compressing her body into a pair of lycra shorts and heading out for a run never sounded fun. Working out was for people with an athletic body type and time on their hands. Layla had neither.
