Monday came slowly. The hope and excitement in Sarah's mind having kept her up for much of the night. Sleep only came after she'd decided to take some sleeping pills for the fourth night in a row that week.

But once it did come - once sunlight beamed down upon Sarah's closed eyes, they shot wide open. A smile spreading across her face almost instantly despite the sleepiness which begged her to sleep longer.

But her mind was far too awake now as she reaches over towards her alarm clock, turning it off five minutes before it was set to go off.

Within an hour she was heading out the door wearing a black pair of low cut converse, blue jeans, and a black tank top. She was indeed, just as the commercial had said, heading straight for the nearest Cosmolex IPRC building. Which rather than being a pharmacy, happened to be a five story administrative building.

Of course there was a Cosmolex pharmacy nearby as well - but she thought perhaps going straight for the pencil pushers themselves would increase her chances of being accepted into whatever program it was that she was about to sign herself up for.

It isn't long before she's stepping through the double glass siding doors into a wide open welcoming room filled with tall windows and high ceilings. She looks from left to right at the vast number of seats which lined the walls - most of them empty.

The majority of people who were there sitting in them however, appeared to have much more official appointments rather than simply dropping in for an application. She smiles, wondering if she was one of the first or perhaps one of the only people in the city considering it.

Feeling a bit of a flutter of nervousness, she takes a tentative step towards the front desk, "Excuse me," She asks, the receptionist looking up with a smile.

"How can I help you?" The woman on the other side of the desk asks,

"I was, um, I was wondering if you might have some of those applications for the product testing thing?" Sarah asks.

"Oh! The subject applications?" The woman asks, looking downwards as she starts to go through the desks drawers, "One moment." She says as she pulls open a drawer and opens up a file. Soon retrieving a stapled set of papers and handing them towards the girl,

"Here you are," She says with a smile as Sarah blinks, taking the stack of ten or more papers from the girl and looking it over.

"Thanks..." She says, staring. Having not expected it to be so thick. (I suppose it really couldn't be that easy... Otherwise everyone would do it.) She thinks to herself as the receptionist nods and hands her a pen.

With that, Sarah turns and goes to take a seat herself. Setting to work on the application which for the first two pages was the standard set: First name, last name, age, date of birth, place of residency, place of employment, that sort of thing.

But from there it moved into things like medical history and a long set of legal jargon and fine print explaining just what it was that Sarah was applying for. Going on to explain that this was merely the application - and didn't at all bind her into an agreement with Cosmolex or even ensure she would be able to gain a place in the program.

Beyond the jargon was a questionnaire of the kind of 'package' Sarah was looking for. A one month, two month, or four month program. Naturally, the longer the program, the more money that was offered for compensation.

The girl sighs lightly as she flips through the pages, filling out everything she can see and think of that might give her a better chance over other applicants. Such as being open to advanced testing. While she fills out the paper, she barely notices the arrival of a wider black suited woman with long curly brunette hair and green eyes clicking her large heels all the way towards the receptionists desk.

Before long, that same mature and professional looking woman is walking straight towards Sarah herself.

"Excuse me, miss?" She asks with a warm smile, looking to be perhaps in her late 30's or early 40's.

"Hmm?" Sarah mutters lightly, looking up.

"Are you writing out an application for the test subjects program?" She asks,

Sarah nods, wondering what the woman wanted.

"Great!" She smiles, "Here," She says, offering out a hand for the application.

"But I'm not done yet." Sarah says sheepishly,

"That's quite alright, dear. You're the only one who's come in yet and I can already tell you'd be an excellent fit for the program. Hand me your application and I'll take you in to my office and we can discuss the program in greater depth and get you signed up and on board." She says, Sarah blinking as she nervously hands the woman the stack of papers and stands to her feet.

Following off behind the mysterious woman towards her office down the hall.

"What's your name, dear?" She asks as they reach her offices door and slides a key in to unlock it.

"Sarah." The girl replies,

"Sarah? What a pretty name! I'm Mrs.Landon, but feel free to call me Brenda.

Sarah smiles, blushing lightly at the compliment. "Thank you." She says as the woman pushes the door open and they both step inside of the large but average seeming office.

Pictures of Mrs.Landon's children sitting up around her computers monitor and two chairs positioned before it for guests to sit in. Sarah taking the nearest seat as its offered to her while Mrs.Landon sits herself down into a large leather chair behind the desk.

"So, Sarah, are you in school? In between jobs, or, what's your reason for applying?" Brenda asks, trying to get a feel for the girl and also make conversation as she starts her computer back up.

"I'm in school. But my work hours are being cut in half because they're hiring some new people." Sarah explains nervously.

"Awe, really?" Brenda asks, shaking her head, "That sucks. What are you taking at school?" She asks, beginning to type into the PC and bringing up some windows.

"Um, geology!" Sarah smiles,

"Geology huh?" Brenda asks, "That sounds like an interesting field of study. What got you into that?" She asks as she turns back to face Sarah; beginning to go through what she'd filled out of the application.

"I guess I've just always had a big interest in things like earthquakes and how mountain ranges are formed." She says.

"It is very cool, isn't it?" Brenda asks, before clasping her fingers together and sitting up straighter in her seat. "So, Sarah, I can see here that you're looking to apply for the four month testing program." She begins,

"We generally pay applicants anywhere between $3,000 and $9,000 very much dependent upon their level of commitment and contribution to the studies." She says, "You can contribute in many ways, for example: Telling your assigned handler the sort of changes you're noticing once treatment begins, how they make you feel - whether you feel better or worse. Um, filling out questionnaires on the products such as how you feel about their presentation or design. That sort of thing." She smiles,

"Of course, the more time you spend working with our research professionals, the more likely you'll be to receive a larger pay cheque." She explains.

Sarah nods along, "So, how does the payments thing work? Is it a lump sum at the end of the tenure or do I get paid like as if I was working at a job?" She asks.

"Well, there are a few options, but generally speaking we tend to pay subjects at the end of every week. That way if they decide they want to or have to back out for whatever reason, they've likely already been paid for what they've accomplished. It saves a lot of paper work. However, for the more advanced programs - such as those that you're applying for, once you're in, you're in. There is no backing out until your term is up." Brenda explains.

"But..." She smiles, sensing some nervousness in Sarah, "That's why they get paid more." She nods.

Sarah smiles lightly, feeling a bit reassured as she nods once more. "Okay - and um, what kind of products will I be testing?" She asks, wanting to be filled in as much as possible.

"Well, it varies. Generally speaking for the more advanced studies we're seeking to get as pure of results as possible. And with things like pharmaceuticals, if you tell the subjects what sort of products they'll be testing they're going to be expecting certain kinds of reactions. I'm sure you've heard of placebos, right? We don't want any placebo effects you might have to contaminate the research being done. So its likely you'll be kept in the dark." She nods.

"In the dark." Sarah nods, feeling another light rush of nervousness.

"I know, I know. It all sounds very scary, but I assure you that you'll be well taken care of. There are always health care professionals on site and our staff always has your best interests in mind. We don't intend to give you anything that will harm you, believe me." Brenda smiles a reassuring smile and leans back into her chair.

"So, what do you think, Ms.Kipling? Are you interested in signing a contract?" She asks. "If you have any doubts, I'm certain I can work in some kind of incentive that will clear your mind." She smiles.