Ryan looks up at the stately building. He last visited here on a Grade 6 field trip, seven years ago. This would be a very different experience.
Ryan walks through the main door, passes through a scanner at a security checkpoint, and follows signs downstairs to the West Service Rooms, where another security guard waits behind a window.
“I’m Ryan Ganter, I have a 14:00 appointment,” he says to the guard.
“ID, please?”
Ryan shows him an ID, and the guard swipes it on his computer. “Yes, you’re in W7. This is your first time, it says. Welcome. You’re quite early; fourteen is actually the time we expect you to check in, and your service will start later. Here is your key.” The guard hands him a grey plastic ring. “You put it on your finger. When I buzz you through the doors, you’ll need to press it up on the reader at the same time. You’ll also use it for your locker. Put absolutely everything you have in your locker: all your clothes, your phone, any jewelry you may have, absolutely everything you have except that key. There are wraps for you to wear; that and your key are all you can bring inside. Once everything you have is in your locker, you can go through screening and into the waiting room. Got it?”