Spectrum of Red. [LISRENE]

2

10 August 2019

LISA'S POV

Welcome to the Red Room, where they’ve clearly run out of creativity and just named the massive building after some stupid color. No, seriously.

Red room✨

Sound stupid.

Anyway,

I’m Lalisa Manoban, but you can call me Project 2703—because, apparently, adding “project” before a number makes it sound like I’m on some top-secret mission.

Funny News: I’m not.

Our every day feels like a joyful wake-up call from a bird being strangled to death. My day starts at 5 a.m. sharp, thanks to the world's most soothing alarm.

Nothing says "good morning" like jolting awake in terror. But hey, it's not like I was sleeping well on the cloud-soft bed of nails they call a mattress anyway.

Next up is washing up, which sounds normal, right? Oh no, not in this magical wonderland of no modern conveniences. Cold water, because apparently, heaters are a myth here.

Once we're sufficiently frostbitten,

It's time to report to the senior officer for attendance. Nothing quite like standing in a perfectly straight line while they count us like we’re sheep in a farmyard of doom.

"Oh, thank you, Mr. Senior, for not missing any of us today!"

Truly, their care is heartwarming. After that, they give us breakfast, which—brace yourself—tastes like the essence of nothingness.

It's like they went out of their way to remove every trace of seasoning from the food.

After that gourmet meal, it's study time. And here's where it gets fun—because nothing says education like learning skills for checks notes, drug trafficking, and other charming illegal activities.

But me? Oh, lucky me! I'm in the combat and military department. You know, for when illegal activity needs to meet brute force. But hey, I got special treatment

(please note the heavy sarcasm).

I had to learn computer engineering too. Because sure, why not become the ultimate multitasker—combat expert and tech wizard, all in one!

Physical training comes next. And what do I specialize in?

Kalarippayattu.

Sounds fancy, right?

It’s an ancient Indian martial art, which is basically a combination of yoga, martial moves, and the kind of breathing exercises that make you question your life choices.

Meditation? More like trying to think of a place far, far away from here. Still, building muscle and learning how to kick butt feels almost worth it. Almost.

Then comes lunch, a spectacular follow-up to breakfast. It’s like they gave up halfway through cooking and just said,

"Eh, close enough."

After lunch, we move to

“activity time,”

Where they teach us survival skills like camping, cooking, and sports. You know, because in this highly secretive training, the last thing they want is for us to get caught due to our lack of grilling skills.

Heaven forbid.

After all that fun, we hit 6 p.m., when the senior officer swoops in like a vulture. He takes our test and, for his personal enjoyment, hosts a fight. Yeah, that’s right—he loves watching us kids brawl like we’re his personal gladiators. Gladiator School: Red Room Edition. We all fight for his amusement while he sits there, probably planning our next impossible task. What a guy.