The Recruit

27. Routine

They had a week off after training finished. Ash went to check out Serena's room now she'd unpacked. He wasn't happy.

"My new timetable is mental," Ash said. "Six hours of lessons every day. Two hours' homework a night and two hours of lessons on Saturday morning. That's forty-four hours a week of schoolwork."

"So?" Serena said. "What did you do at your old school?"

"Twenty-five hours at school and a few hours' homework, which I never did. There's no way I'm doing all that homework."

"Better get used to scrubbing floors then," Serena said.

"For not doing homework?"

"Yep. Or cleaning out the kitchen, mowing lawns, wiping windows. Repeat offenders get toilets and changing rooms. The reason you do all those lessons is you miss loads when you're on missions and you have to catch up. They're not all lessons anyway, some of them are sport and teaching and stuff."

"That's the other thing," Ash said. "I've got to teach maths to little kids."

"All grey and dark shirt kids have to teach. It gives you a sense of responsibility. Misty teaches swimming. Gary teaches martial arts. I've got to do French with the five- and six year-olds. I'm really looking forward to it." Ash slumped on Serena's bed.

"You sound exactly like Korrina, my handler. I can't believe you're happy about all this work."

"It's not much more than I had as a red shirt."

"I wish I'd never come here."

"Stop being a drama queen," Serena said. "CHERUB gives you a great education and a cool place to live. When you leave here you'll speak two or three languages, have qualifications coming out of your ears, and be set for life. Think where you'd be now if you hadn't come here."

"OK," Ash said. "My life was down the toilet. But I hate school. It's so boring I want to smash my head up against the wall half the time."

"You're lazy, Ash. You want to sit in your room with your stupid Playstation going blip, blip, all day. You said yourself you were gonna end up in prison the way you were carrying on. If you get bored in a classroom, how would you like eighteen hours a day in a cell? And take those filthy boots off my bed before I bust your head open." Ash put his feet down.

"Playstation nor Xbox is not a waste of time," he said.

"You want the best reason why you should work hard?"

"What?"

"Leaf. She loves you. If you do good, she'll do good. If you muck up and get thrown out, she'll have to make a choice between staying with you and staying at CHERUB."

"Stop being right," Ash said. "Everyone in this place is clever, level-headed, and I'm always wrong. I hate all of you." Serena started laughing.

"It's not funny," Ash said, starting to smile. Serena sat beside him on the bed.

"You'll get used to it here, Adh."

"You're right about Leaf," Ash said. "I have to think about her." Serena moved a bit closer and rested her head on Ash's shoulder.

"Beneath that dumb exterior, you're a good person," Serena said.

"Thanks," Ash said. "So are you. You're amazing." Ash put his arm round Serena's shoulders. It felt like the natural thing to do, but two seconds after he did it his brain was spinning. What did this mean? Did he want Serena to be his girlfriend, or was it just that they'd been through so much together in training? He'd showered with her and slept next to her, but until training ended, Ash had barely noticed that Serena was a girl. Not a dream girl like Misty, but not bad either. He thought about kissing her cheek, but chickened out.