The Interns
1891 Words
Because of the life on the Orpheus, I missed my school frequently.
I have to attend the school every now and then to keep up my appearances.
Since I had an art class that day, it motivated me to attend school.
I went and took my place, but Damien didn't come that day just as he didn't attend the school for the whole week. I wanted to know what happened to him. So I asked the art professor Benjamin about Damien.
He told me that Damien had left school a week ago. According to the Principal, Damien didn't mention the reason why he was leaving the school.
I wondered what happened to him. Though I was not a reserved kid anymore, I didn't make any new friends. Most of the kids were mean anyway.
Mia is the only friend in school that I had, and I was okay with it. I didn't feel the need to make many friends after all quality is important than quantity.
It's been a week since Mia had moved into our home, and surprisingly she blended in just fine. It felt like she had been living with us for a long time.
Even though I was on Earth, all I thought about was the results. I wanted to share my anxiety but cannot without looking like a freak. I was happy now more than ever but felt a glimpse of loneliness.
By this time, I have figured out the time variation between the two worlds. The time on Orpheus is twelve times faster than that of on the earth.
Five minutes on the Earth = 1 hour on Orpheus.
Sometimes due to various factors like not able to sleep at the required time or miscalculation of the time or late notice on the ST resulted in either not attending the class or being late.
Since I was able to be in sync with all the classes despite of my tardiness, both the Master and other trainers did not rant me.. What caused me a great shock is even Master Asahi, who is very strict regarding the rules and regulations, had never rebuked me.
It was still afternoon, but I had to get back to Orpheus to check the results. Our lunch period lasts for an hour, so that would probably give me a few hours to check and come back.
I went to the library and found myself a corner spot and tried to sleep. About 15 minutes later, I felt drowsy.
Since I was leading two completely different lives, I could easily sleep whenever I wanted because of all the additional exhaust and tiredness.
-----*-----
My ST was glowing, and when I checked it, I learned that the results are going to be displayed in the Notice Centre. I immediately locked my cabin and waited near the Centre. I didn't want to be alone at that time.
Suddenly, someone put a hand on my shoulder from behind. I turned to see who it was, and it was Steven.
' I was just thinking about how nice it would have been if someone would've been here with me . '
' And here I am. '
' Where's Josh? '
' You know him. He hates to wait. '
' Yeah, but I got so uptight with the results, so I headed down here. '
' Relax, you did great in your classes. '
' But do you remember how tardy I had been? '
' Ooooh! That's a sensitive area. '
As we were talking, the area got crowded. Everyone started to come close to the screen, and we realised that the list is about to be displayed.
I took a deep sigh and stared at the screen. There was a countdown from 5 to 1, and the list of selected students appeared one by one.
1. Ayami Suzuki
2. Steven Ball
3. Yugi Harper
4. Seema Mehta
5. Ryan Gloom
As soon as we saw the results, I and Steven, fist-bumped each other. I have been relieved from great pressure.
Josh came from behind and said, ' Looks like I am getting abandoned by you two. '
' We are sorry, Josh. You will definitely make it next time. Now come here, you i***t. ' I said, and we had a group hug.
I really admired Josh for taking the news so sportively. I couldn't be as smiling as him if I were in his shoes.
Apart from Steven, I didn't know any other shortlisted students. How would I possibly know when there were dozens of combat classes just like mine.
I, Josh, and Steven went to Gyro to celebrate the happy news. There, I got bumped into Evelyn, who was eating with Bob and Justin.
I introduced Evelyn to my friends, and then she went back to her friends.
Josh: You see, Steven. Our Ryan has already set a chick for himself, who is an L1 Protector. You dog.
Ryan: It's nothing like that, Josh. She kind of helped me settle down when I had some troubles in the beginning. She is the first friend that I have made here. That's it.
Steven: You are right, Josh. Just look at him blush when he's talking about her.
Ryan: For heaven's sake, Steven, I don't even know her age. '
Steven: Alright, then let's play truth or dare, and it has one rule.
Ryan: What is that?
Steven: You only have to pick dare.
Ryan: In that case, the name of the game doesn't make sense, do it?
Josh: It makes perfect sense, my dear friend. How the heck are we gonna know if you are telling us the truth? Also, truth is boring but dare on the other hand is thrilling, don't you think Steven?
Steven: Hell yeah, it does.
Ryan: Fine. Let's get on with it. What's the dare?
Steven: It's quite simple. Just go over to Evelyn and find out her age.
Josh: Ah! I am sure gonna enjoy this.
Ryan: Are you both out of your mind? What is she gonna think if I ask her about the age?
Josh: That's the beauty of the game, Ryan. You need to buildup spontaneous dialogues and make her tell it.
Steven: What's the use of being in Innovative One's when we are not capable of applying it in real life.
That point of Steven felt like a challenge, and I hate to lose a challenge.
So I stood up and walked to Evelyn's table.
' Hey, Evelyn. Can I talk to you for a second? '
' Yeah, Ryan. What is it? '
' I was wondering when is your birthday. '
' Why? '
' Well, you have been there for me during my hard times. I thought I'll surprise you on your birthday. You know, to make you happy. '
Evelyn looked at my friends, who were laughing uncontrollably.
' Is this a dare, Ryan? '
' Maybe. '
' I figured. Just ask me the question. '
' How old are you? '
' Oooh. '
' I'll understand if you don't want to say. '
' It's not a big deal. I am 28. '
' Really? '
' Why would I lie? '
' Thank you so much, Evelyn. '
I went back to my table.
[ At Evelyn's Table]
Bob: Don't you think you are being more than friendly with him?
Evelyn: Nothing like that, Bob. But there's something special about him.
Dustin: Wow, Eve fell in love with Ryan.
Evelyn: Shut up, will you, Justin?
Dustin: I'm just saying. It's natural to fall in love with younger ones, you know.
Evelyn: Maybe for you. Not for me.
I approached my table with a sense of pride in my eyes.
Ryan: She is 28.
Steven: You told her it's a dare, right?
Ryan: Yup.
Josh: Well done, mate.
Ryan: Oh, come on. You guys were laughing like mindless monkeys. Even a kid could have figured something's going on.
Josh: You got to know her age, that's a victory at least.
Steven: Dating a girl who is older than you. I don't know how it feels.
Ryan: I choose to be silent. Keep saying what you want.
Steven: Ooh. Someone's enjoying when we tease them with Evelyn.
Josh and Steven continued to pick on me.
After five minutes, both mine and Steven's ST lit up. We checked, and it was a call by the L1 association asking us to meet them.
Josh also looked at the message and said, ' So this is where we part our ways. '
Ryan: Don't be like that, Josh.
Steven: Yeah. We'll be in touch with you no matter what.
I and Steven left for the location as per the ST.
The entrance to the L1 association overwhelmed us. It appeared as a big step up from L0, which isn't even a thing, I guess.
We went inside, and we didn't understand what to do.
I saw a woman standing at a corner who looked like a receptionist. I went to her and showed her the message. She escorted us to a lift and pressed the floor 'U' and left.
I thought 'U' stands for Underground. I realised that the real Protector stuff happens underground.
Even though we were going down literally, I felt like we were going up in the sense of responsibility.
When we reached down, it was all empty, and there was only one door.
We were confused, and there weren't any people to ask. So we both decided to open the door and check for ourselves.
When we approached the door, we learned that it is heavily reinforced and also has many sensors and scanners.
The moment we approached the door, we heard a voice.
Voice: Please show your ID to the scanner.
Ryan: Ah! We don't have any.
Voice: What's the purpose of your visit?
I showed the message to the scanner that we received in the ST. It scanned and then said, ' Access Granted. '
And the doors opened with a hissing sound. We felt like we were in a sci-fiction film.
The interior was awesome. People running here and there, surveillance systems, training rooms, big monitors that were displaying the feed from security cameras.
We both stood there with our mouths open. Some guy who was passing by said, ' If you are amazed by this, wait till you reach L2 and above. '
We ignored him and continued to look at everything. As I was taking a look around, I spotted the Asian girl in a room, along with two others.
I walked towards her wondering what she was doing here, and Steven followed me. When I went inside the room, I realised that she is the Japanese girl, Ayami Suzuki, who I misunderstood to be Asian.
Finally, I found her name. That's a great relief, I thought.
It looked like a waiting room. We waited inside without even having an idea of who is going to address us. I and Steven, talked with each other since we already knew each other, and the rest of them remained silent.
After 15 minutes, Mr. Reynolds came to the room. I felt relaxed since I already met him.
Mr. Reynolds: First of all, I would like to congratulate all of you on your success. Mr. Gloom, I'm glad you made it. So. it's time to apply what you have learned. You guys are the interns now. Are you ready?
" Yes. " We said in unison.
Mr. Reynolds: These are your temporary Protector ID's for L1.
He handed over the Ids to us. They neither had our photos nor our name on it. The temporary ID cards disappointed me.
Mr. Reynolds: Well, Ladies and Gentlemen, follow me.
- Writer
