The hallway is mostly empty, save for the odd student, with the majority of the student body condensed inside the lunchroom. Me and my new employer are given no trouble as she guides me through the spacious hallways as if she has them dedicated to memory. "Now's a good a time as any to explain what we're going to be doing," she says while glancing over her shoulder to look at me. "Assuming you're curious. I can always just give you instructions without context, if that's how you prefer to work, but I assume not. Most people don't." *fake_choice #Context would be nice. I spent a long time taking orders and carrying them out mindlessly. I'd rather not retread old ground. If my new boss wants to keep me informed, I see no reason to dissuade her. "You could start with where we are going." "Principal Gardner's office," she says instantly. "As for the why, there's some things I need to know, and if there's anywhere I can find out it will be on his computer. You may or may not have noticed, but something odd is going on this school. Security cameras everywhere, even in the bathrooms and classrooms. Guards armed with tasers. This school was never particularly normal, but these new security measures are on a completely different scale." It seems this matter is a bit closer to home than I previously suspected. No doubt whatever she finds will link directly to me. It occurs to me that I could clarify the situation with her right now, and explain things without us having to go through any of the clandestine ops that she has planned out to collect the information on her own. *fake_choice #Tell her. *set firearms -1 *set stealth -1 I open my mouth to speak. "I think-" "What's worse, [i]I[/i] didn't greenlight any of this!" Miss Stein says with a scowl. She hasn't stopped speaking, and at this point, it seems more like disgruntled rambling than a proper briefing. "They snuck it all in without my permission, or even my consultation! "I see. If I may interject-" "As student council president, I should have been the [i]first[/i] person they went to for permission to start making modifications to my school!" She continues, oblivious to the noises I'm making behind her back. "I've put up with a lot from Principal Gardner, but this is going too far!" "I thought principal was a higher rank than student council president." This makes her laugh. "Ha! As if I would trust that man to handle more authority than me! He's savvy enough to keep this melting pot running, but that doesn't mean I'm about to let him take care of things without my guidance!" That doesn't exactly answer the question, and I highly doubt I'll be getting one. *page_break Next *goto next #Why bother? *set badworker +1 *set tsundereworker +1 She'll find out anyway, there's no need for me to be the one to tell her. It would probably be better if she finds out from a source she already trusts as credible anyway. "What's worse, [i]I[/i] didn't greenlight any of this!" Miss Stein says with a scowl. She hasn't stopped speaking, and at this point, it seems more like disgruntled rambling than a proper briefing. "They snuck it all in without my permission, or even my consultation! As student council president, I should have been the [i]first[/i] person they went to for permission to start making modifications to my school! I've put up with a lot from Principal Gardner, but this is going too far!" "I thought principal was a higher rank than student council president." This makes her laugh. "Ha! As if I would trust that man to handle more authority than me! He's savvy enough to keep this melting pot running, but that doesn't mean I'm about to let him take care of things without my guidance!" That doesn't exactly answer the question, and I highly doubt I'll be getting one. *page_break Next *goto next #It's unnecessary. *set goodworker +1 "There is no need. Orders are all I require." "I see," she replies. Her voice becomes deliberate and careful. "I appreciate the trust, but that's probably not the healthiest attitude to take with someone that you just started working for. I mean, I'm asking you to help me break into the office of the principal. Most people would reasonably have questions." *choice #She's right. When she puts it that way, Miss Stein makes a good point. "You could start with where we are going." "Principal Gardner's office," she says instantly. "As for the why, there's some things I need to know, and if there's anywhere I can find out it will be on his computer. You may or may not have noticed, but something odd is going on this school. Security cameras everywhere, even in the bathrooms and classrooms. Guards armed with tasers. This school was never particularly normal, but these new security measures are on a completely different scale." It seems this matter is a bit closer to home than I previously suspected. No doubt whatever she finds will link directly to me. It occurs to me that I could clarify the situation with her right now, and explain things without us having to go through any of the clandestine ops that she has planned out to collect the information on her own. *fake_choice #Tell her. *set firearms -1 *set stealth -1 I open my mouth to speak. "I think-" "What's worse, [i]I[/i] didn't greenlight any of this!" Miss Stein says with a scowl. She hasn't stopped speaking, and at this point, it seems more like disgruntled rambling than a proper briefing. "They snuck it all in without my permission, or even my consultation! "I see. If I may interject-" "As student council president, I should have been the [i]first[/i] person they went to for permission to start making modifications to my school!" She continues, oblivious to the noises I'm making behind her back. "I've put up with a lot from Principal Gardner, but this is going too far!" "I thought principal was a higher rank than student council president." This makes her laugh. "Ha! As if I would trust that man to handle more authority than me! He's savvy enough to keep this melting pot running, but that doesn't mean I'm about to let him take care of things without my guidance!" That doesn't exactly answer the question, and I highly doubt I'll be getting one. *page_break Next *goto next #Why bother? *set tsundereworker +1 *set badworker +1 She'll find out anyway, there's no need for me to be the one to tell her. It would probably be better if she finds out from a source she already trusts as credible anyway. "What's worse, [i]I[/i] didn't greenlight any of this!" Miss Stein says with a scowl. She hasn't stopped speaking, and at this point, it seems more like disgruntled rambling than a proper briefing. "They snuck it all in without my permission, or even my consultation! As student council president, I should have been the [i]first[/i] person they went to for permission to start making modifications to my school! I've put up with a lot from Principal Gardner, but this is going too far!" "I thought principal was a higher rank than student council president." This makes her laugh. "Ha! As if I would trust that man to handle more authority than me! He's savvy enough to keep this melting pot running, but that doesn't mean I'm about to let him take care of things without my guidance!" That doesn't exactly answer the question, and I highly doubt I'll be getting one. *page_break Next *goto next #There is no need. *set goodworker +1 "There is no need." "...Well then, I guess we'll just walk in silence the rest of the way." She says, and we walk in silence for exactly four seconds. "Somehow, I get the feeling you've done this before." *page_break Next *goto next *label next It doesn't take long before we're standing at the doors of the front of the school, and just across the hall from the main office. "Principal Gardner typically takes his lunch off campus," Miss Stein informs me as we recon the area from a short distance. "For that time, his office is empty except for the secretary working the front desk. Luckily, she owes me a favor and won't stop me or inform on me if I walk in unannounced. Once I'm inside, I'll be able to get access to his computer, copy his files, and read through them later when I have more time." "I see. And my role?" "Too easy. Just stand guard outside the office. If security or Principal Gardner start coming this way, knock on the glass." *if (destroyed_school_security =false) "What about the cameras that are currently looking at us right now." Miss Stein spares a brief glance toward the walls and their eyes staring at us. "I can't do anything about that," she says with annoyance. "I'll deal with it later." *page_break Next My first job under the employ of Miss Stein. Not the most difficult of assignments. Just standing guard. That's probably intentional, a way of gauging my ability to take orders with an easy yet essential task. I don't hear anything more of Miss Stein after she goes in, and choose to take that as a good sign. Generally when on guard duty, absolute quiet and uneventfulness is a good sign. Tedious, but good. That tediousness was broken up when I saw a lone figure walking toward me. Judging by his height and clothing, I identified him as faculty, most likely a teacher. Miss Stein didn't mention faculty, but I imagine it couldn't be much different that with security. Just before I'm about to knock, however, he calls out a name. My name. "${fullname}. I'm glad we got a chance to talk." He stops at a fair distance from me, roughly 10ft, and I take a moment to more thoroughly examine him. There's a discomforting evenness in his voice, his smile is unwavering, his stance is still. Something about him is...familiar. *page_break Next "Identify." "Very well. My name is Professor Patel. I am to be your point of contact whenever you are within the walls of this building. Someone to approach if you are in need of advice, and to apply the whip if you get out of line." He says calmly. Unnaturally so. "I was also supposed to be your psychology teacher today, before you quite rudely decided to skip my class on the first day. Poor form. After learning about yours and Lucy Stein's extracurricular activity, I couldn't help but indulge in my curiosity." *if (destroyed_school_security =false) He knew we were here. The only way he would be able to know that is if he had access to the security feed. Which begged the question, why would he have access to that if he's just a teacher? *if (destroyed_school_security =true) He knew we were here. I wouldn't have thought it possible. We didn't tell anyone what we were doing. Nobody followed us. The security feed was destroyed this morning. There is simply no way that I know of in which he could have possibly known our exact location and what we were doing. Tread carefully. "I have to admit, you've chosen an odd companion." He continues. His voice doesn't deviate or alter pitch at any point throughout his speech. "I hadn't expected Lucy Stein to be the one you gravitated toward. Quite interesting. Perhaps, is this an instinctive measure for you? It would be quite understandable if you had difficulty functioning without clear orders from a superior. You are quite the source of interesting data." "You seem familiar," I tell him. "Where have we met before?" "You don't remember." He nods, "Not unexpected. I'll refresh your memory for you. I was one of the psychologists brought in to examine your mental state when Agent Daniel Decker first brought you in." He continues with the same even tone. "The third one, I believe." "You are with the CIA, like Daniel." I observe. "So you also helped get me into this school." He chuckles softly, "Oh no, I think you have the wrong impression of me." He shakes his head, "My recommendation had been to see what information we could gain from you, then send you to Hell." My fist instinctively clenches at his shamelessness. "I see. Fortunately you did not have the final decision." "Fortunate for you," he agrees, nodding his head. "I suppose time will tell if it is fortunate for the rest of us." He chuckles and continues on, almost as if remembering something. *if (incidents =0) "To your credit, you've managed to keep your nose remarkably clean so far during your stay within these walls. Much better than any of us estimated." *if (incidents >0) "You haven't exactly maintained the cleanest record, and you've been within these walls for less than five hours. That does cast some serious doubts on the rest of the school year." *page_break Next "Now that introductions are concluded, I suspect it is best for me to leave. No doubt it would be quite embarrassing to be caught chatting during guard duty by your new employer. Quite embarrassing indeed." "Before I go," he adds as his feet make the motion to turn, "You should know that I'll be keeping a close eye on your activities for so long as you're here." "I assumed." "You don't need to be so tart," he grins. "Admittedly, I didn't see much hope for you when you were first brought in and was quite the strong advocate for your termination. But now, I'm content with how things turned out, and quite eager to observe how Agent Daniel Decker's little experiment will carry on." He adds, with a glint in his eye, "Whether you live or go to Hell, it should provide quite the source of interesting data." Well after he's out of sight, Miss Stein comes walking out. "Alright, that's all taken care of." She says with satisfaction, holding a portable device that I don't recognize with a thumb drive inserted. "Anything interesting happen out here?" "Nothing happened." *page_break Next As we walk away from the scene of our crime, the bell rings overhead. "It seems seventh hour is creeping upon us." Miss Stein comments lightly. "Walk me to my next class." As we do, she flips through her portable device, focused on it and relying on me to make sure she doesn't run into any students. "I can't read all of it right now," she explains to me, "So for the moment I'm just reading file names and looking for things that jump out." "Do any?" "Not particularly...hold on a moment," she says, looking more intently at the screen and stopping in place. "Hold on...what the hell?" Something evidently caught her attention. I'm mentally prepared enough to explain whatever she's just found, should she start asking difficult questions. "Find something?" "Just this one really weird thing," she explains, having composed herself. She seems much more confused than she does hostile. "Some students, near the end of last year, put together a petition to have me removed as student council president. About 30 signatures." "I see." Not what I was expecting, then. Though this might provide a new problem. "Is your position secure?" "Oh of course," she says as if it's obvious. "30 or 300, it doesn't really matter. But it's the reasons that are bothering me. There's the usual stuff: 'I don't remember electing her. Where did all the power come from? Does she even know what a student council president is supposed to do?' But there's one of these that is just kind of...odd." "That is?" "'She's too tall.'" She repeats slowly, not quite comprehending the statement even as she says it. "Like, what the hell does...I'm only 5' 11"! And besides, what does that have to do with elected officials?" I let it tactfully go unsaid that she's about 11 inches taller than me. "I thought one of the grievances was that you were not elected." "Not the point! This...person's grievance is just ridiculous! It makes no sense! I am honestly tempted to track this person down just to ask how me being 5' 11" is a legitimate reason to remove me from office! I am really curious about what this person's mental processing is!" "Let me know if I can help with that." "I might, I really might." She nods. Her confusion now being replaced my humor. "Ha, just...some people. Anyway," she says as we've approached her next class, "Thanks for your work today. Don't worry about after school, I have a driver that can take care of me. You did well for a first day. Focused and polite, that's what I like in employees, and I get the feeling we're going to really get along." I nod in response, and she nods back, turning around and heading on her own way. As I head in mine. *page_break Seventh hour... *goto_scene 1-11seventh-1