The morning had dragged on since she had woken up the second time. After she had read the note, she had taken a shower, trying to untangle her silver hair and scrubbing the rubble out of the scrapes on her knees. The water that morning was freezing. Her parents must have used the only hot water they had that morning, and there wouldn't be more until that evening. On top of power cuts, there were water cuts, and heat was scarce. Mai could practically see her breath. She could have waited until the water came back, but she had to be washed up for her visit in case her agent had to do some physical exams. There were bruises every all over her arms from this morning, and even though she could clean her cuts up, the bruises stayed. When she had finished getting cleaned, Mai got dressed in a pair of black leggings and a loose grey tunic. She practically drowned in the long shirt, but there wasn't much else for her to wear since most of her clothes looked the same. They had all been the same since she was in captivity, and it would probably be the same until she died.<br/><br/>Mai was setting up the living room when the doorbell rang. She had pushed the furniture back against the walls, and pulled out a pedestal the sat in the center of the room. That was were she would stand during her examination, like some animal on display. When she was first brought home, it was her father who would set up the room, but once it became routine, Mai took over. She could see how uncomfortable it made him and her mother. It wasn't took difficult to do, it was just tedious. Once the room was set up, she went into the kitchen and pulled out the only nice serving platter from the fridge. Her mother insisted on having refreshments out for when government people came over. The officers rarely touched the food and drinks. It never met the standard to the food from the inner city, but her mother said it was a courtesy thing. If Mai had a choice, she wouldn't waste rations on people who were ungrateful.<br/><br/>Before she opened the door, Mai double checked everything she needed; Food, pedestal, herself, and on a lanyard around her neck was her ID card. It wad all there the way it was supposed to be. With a deep breath to calm herself, Mai opened the front door. Cold air seeped into the house, and she had to steel herself from shivering. Her face was neutral. "Officer Kasarov," she said with a curt nod. She didn't even wait for a response before she stepped out of the way for him to enter. Right before she closed the door behind him, she snuck a peak outside. There were more black vehicles outside than normal. It wasn't just his car this time. That wasn't a good sign. Her heart started to race a little fast, but she steeled her face so that the panic rising in her chest wouldn't show.<br/><br/>With the door shut behind her, Mai made her way to the pedestal. She stepped onto it quickly, and turned to face Kasarov. "I'm hoping this is business as usual," she started. "Everything is the same as last month. Normal blood pressure. I haven't lost or gained weight, and I am still short." She repeated her information in a monotone voice. It was like reciting a script that was pre-programmed into her. Each month for the last five years, since she was released from the military site, they have done the same dance. He showed up, ran a test, checked her health, nodded without much of a word, and left, and even though she had seen the other cars out front, she had hoped that it was just her imagination that something was wrong, and he would be out of her house in 15 minutes.