The simplest solution is typically the best one after all. Why bother sneaking around and getting in fights when I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing? All it ends up taking is walking straight up to the front door, staring the security camera right in the lens, and saying "I surrender." Just like that, free escort to the principal's office. Upon entering the main office I realize right away how much of a good idea this was; because sitting right in front across the room is the camera feed. From what I can tell from the massive number of screens, every camera in the building appears to be rotating through the screens on a continuous cycle. The officer escorting me into the office nudges me lightly when I stand for too long and I cast him an annoyed glance, "Shush, I'm learning." He stands stunned for about a few second, a few seconds that I use to commit everything I see on the feeds to memory. Who would have thought that abandoning my plan to scout out the building would actually end up getting me more information than I could have possibly gained otherwise? *set memorized_school_layout true After a few seconds have passed I feel yet another nudge in my back. I sigh and... *fake_choice #Walk into the principal's office *set reflex -1 *set explosives -1 It's not like I'm not used to being nudged. Hell, he could beat me into a bloody pulp and it would still only register as a Tuesday in my mind, though the odds of him beating me are considerably lower than was the case with my previous employers. #Give him a light threat *set bored +1 I calmly look over my shoulder and say in a neutral tone of voice, "Don't do that again, or I'll kill you." He looks at me, first a wave of surprise goes over his face then is quickly replaced by something that isn't quite anger but is more than annoyance, I can't find the right word for it. The English language is so much more restrictive than I'm used to. Anyway, I see a slight flinch in his arm, the beginning of a wind-up to a nudge, and I prepare to make good on my threat... "That's enough of that!" The two of us turned to the new person who just walked in from the principal's office, "Do you take some odd pleasure in assaulting our faculty?" I try to explain the necessity of always following through with one's threats, but he refused to hear me out and just ordered me to go to his office #[i]Break his kneecap *set bored +1 His weight is shifted back and to the side in a casual stance, making his kneecaps incredibly vulnerable. It wouldn't take a large amount of force to shatter or otherwise cave in the knee. All I need to do is turn sharply to the side and use the momentum to drive my foot through. I meet with very little resistance and his leg bends inversely, causing him to fall on top of it. "What's going on here! Was two not enough?!" Pretty soon the principle is running over and kneeling by the guard, looking like he felt he had to do something but wasn't entirely sure what that what. Eventually, he just glared at me, "My office. Now!" I'm not sure why he felt the need to shout. I was going there anyway. Once we're finally inside the principle sits behind a desk, upon which lies the nameplate Gardner, meaning this was definitely the man that the two officers from the beginning were talking about. "Young ${man} I hope you realize how much trouble you've caused. You are aware that our staff are here to protect you and do not appreciate being hospitalized!" "They'll recover in less than a few months." "That's not the point! I cannot- will not accept bouts of savagery like that on our school grounds! Now I'm understanding, I sympathize with your history and I accepted you with the knowledge that there would be some friction; but this is beyond what is acceptable! You're not in the Middle East anymore; this isn't a warzone, this is a High School!" *fake_choice #"All it'd take is one bad day." *set bored +1 I've been known to start a few wars myself. It really doesn't take all that much; anywhere you can find a large group of people, you can find people who want each other dead and all it takes is pushing the right buttons in order to make them act on that impulse. All it'd take is one person who knows how to do that walking into the neighborhood, and I'd be right back home. Rather than thank me for pointing out this flaw in his philosophical beliefs, however, the principal's face scrunches up in anger. I guess you just can't teach some people. #I let him ramble *set explosives -1 *set reflex -1 After a point it all starts to sound like just white noise, like that buzzing you hear after a fragmentation grenade has shattered your eardrums. In order to block it out I begin focusing on little details; what's he wearing, how many buttons are on his coat, what brand of shoe does he have on, how many pens are on his desk, are the blinds open or closed, is he right handed or right handed, which hand is closest to me, what type of wood is the door made of. Asking these questions in my head allows me to become numb to any sounds or physical stimuli that are assaulting me directly, which is useful for blocking out pain and discomfort, something they taught me and had me practice while learning how to resist interrogation. It's also very useful for getting through being grilled by a drill sergeant. Apparently realizing the futility of this conversation, Principle Gardner angrily rummages through his desk and pulls out a piece of paper, which he subsequently slams in front of me with an audible crack and leave it there for me to read, "Your schedule." At the top, I see; *fake_choice *if (female =true) #Jane *set firstname "Jane" *set fullname "Jane Decker" My name, ${mr} ${fullname}, printed with big bold letters. It was weird to think of it as my name; nobody knew what my actual name was, if I ever had one, so Daniel ended up picking one out for me. He said the name Jane suited me; as in Jane Doe, the woman with no name, no past, no identity. Perfect for a fresh start; or so he put it. #Henrietta *set firstname "Henrietta" *set fullname "Henrietta Decker" My name, ${mr} ${fullname}, printed with big bold letters. It was weird to think of it as my name; nobody knew what my actual name was, if I ever had one, so Daniel ended up picking one out for me. He told me I was named after some woman from a long time ago named Henrietta Lacks, whose cells had managed to live long after she died and survive multiple splits. A testament to their survival instinct, although I didn't understand a word of it until we started my biology lessons. #Joy *set firstname "Joy" *set fullname "Joy Decker" My name, ${mr} ${fullname}, printed with big bold letters. It was weird to think of it as my name; nobody knew what my actual name was, if I ever had one, so Daniel ended up picking one out for me. *if (hatedan >0) I'm pretty sure the name is meant to be ironic seeing as how I haven't smiled in...well, I haven't smiled. If he meant it to be serious then he had a very poor sense of judgment when he named me. *if (hatedan =0) At first I thought he meant the name as a joke until I asked him about it. He said his hope was that someday the name would fit, and so every time I heard it I would be reminded of where I was trying to be. He wasn't sentimental very often so that moment always stuck out to me. #Jeannette *set firstname "Jeannette" *set fullname "Jeannette Decker" My name, ${mr} ${fullname}, printed with big bold letters. It was weird to think of it as my name; nobody knew what my actual name was, if I ever had one, so Daniel ended up picking one out for me. He said I was named after an American girl named Jeannette Walls, who was able to grow up in some of the worst conditions possible and still come out as a person, and even wrote a book about it. I never got around to reading it, but I admit I wouldn't mind swapping stories if I ever met her. #Joan *set firstname "Joan" *set fullname "Joan Decker" My name, ${mr} ${fullname}, printed with big bold letters. It was weird to think of it as my name; nobody knew what my actual name was, if I ever had one, so Daniel ended up picking one out for me. He named me after a woman who became some kind of holy soldier a long time ago. I don't know much about holiness, but I recognize the soldier part all too well; which is why I suppose he figured it would be a good name or me. #It was slightly misspelled, so I corrected him *input_text firstname *set fullname (firstname&" ")&lastname "${mr} ${fullname}, you say? Well, I'll be sure to have them fix that," he said somewhat annoyed at either the printing company or at me for pointing it out. It was weird to think of it as my name; nobody knew what my actual name was, if I ever had one, so Daniel ended up picking one out for me. *if (male =true) #John *set firstname "John" *set fullname "John Decker" My name, ${mr} ${fullname}, printed with big bold letters. It was weird to think of it as my name; nobody knew what my actual name was, if I ever had one, so Daniel ended up picking one out for me. He said the name John suited me; as in John Doe, the man with no name, no past, no identity. Perfect for a fresh start; or so he put it. #Pinoccio *set firstname "Pinocchio" *set fullname "Pinocchio Decker" My name, ${mr} ${fullname}, printed with big bold letters. It was weird to think of it as my name; nobody knew what my actual name was, if I ever had one, so Daniel ended up picking one out for me. I found out in our literature lessons that I was named after a fairy tale character who started out as a lifeless puppet but through hard work and a little help managed to become a real boy. I suppose he was trying to be poetic. *if (daniel_warden =true) I thought it was a really stupid story. #David *set firstname "David" *set fullname "David Decker" My name, ${mr} ${fullname}, printed with big bold letters. It was weird to think of it as my name; nobody knew what my actual name was, if I ever had one, so Daniel ended up picking one out for me. He chose David from the old biblical story, David and Goliath. Supposedly about a man who, with a slingshot, killed a giant with the help of his father, though the story didn't explain how his dad helped him; I assumed he provided some kind of sniper support from far away and let his son take the credit, though apparently he didn't coordinate this to his son because the son kept telling everyone that it was actually his father that killed the giant, but they made him a king anyway. I didn't really get it but apparently this kind of stuff is very popular in America. #Rommel *set firstname "Rommel" *set fullname "Rommel Decker" My name, ${mr} ${fullname}, printed with big bold letters. It was weird to think of it as my name; nobody knew what my actual name was, if I ever had one, so Daniel ended up picking one out for me. Daniel was apparently a history buff, cause he named me after a German general in a war from a long time ago. Apparently he was pretty good cause he wrote a few books; though if you ask me, he couldn't have been that smart if he wrote down all his tactics in a book for his enemies to read. #Bruce *set firstname "Bruce" *set fullname "Bruce Decker" My name, ${mr} ${fullname}, printed with big bold letters. It was weird to think of it as my name; nobody knew what my actual name was, if I ever had one, so Daniel ended up picking one out for me. Bruce was apparently the most boring and unassuming name in all of America, which made it perfect for blending in. I could see the reasoning behind it and thought it was pretty smart of him. #It was slightly misspelled, so I corrected him *input_text firstname *set fullname (firstname&" ")&lastname "${mr} ${fullname}, you say? Well, I'll be sure to have them fix that," he said somewhat annoyed at either the printing company or at me for pointing it out. It was weird to think of it as my name; nobody knew what my actual name was, if I ever had one, so Daniel ended up picking one out for me. Beneath my name, I see what according to Principle Gardner is going to be my schedule for the rest of the school year. 1st hour: Family and Consumer Science 2nd hour: Personal Finance 3rd hour: Algebra 4th hour: Art 5th hour: Language Arts Lunch 6th hour: Psychology/Sociology 7th hour: History All the classes appear to be tailored to be as non-combative and friendly as possible, presumably training me to be the complete opposite of what I'd been brought up as. Or maybe this was just the standard for all Freshmen, I didn't really have anything to compare with. Maybe they just wanted all 14-year-olds to be really good at History. "I have it memorized," I say, sliding the paper back to Principle Gardner "Good," he said, ignoring the gesture in favor of staring at me, "Then head to your first hour and wait there until school starts. Don't wander off this time, don't take any detours, and don't assault anyone. Welcome to High School." *page_break First hour... *goto_scene 1-4first-1