Spy School: The Rise of Gama

Chapter 7: A Broken Promise

A sharp knocking at the door pulls Ahara from sleep. The knocking is followed by Carol’s harsh tone. “Wake up. You’re to take your simulator suit and report to simulation room A in half an hour.”

Ahara groans and rolls over, pulling the pillow back over her head. It’s too early for this. She was in the middle of a great dream too. Maybe if she can fall back asleep now she can resume the dream.

“Now, Ahara.” The knocking at the door echos around the room again.

“Fine,” Ahara mumbles through the pillow, throwing her sheets off. “I’m getting up, okay?”

The feeling of the cool carpet under Ahara’s feet makes her want to curl back up in bed. Instead she walks to the bathroom where the tile is even colder. Switching between balancing on each foot so neither is touching the tile for too long, she brushes her teeth and combs through her hair. Once she’s finished with that she leaves the bathroom and grabs the simulator suit from her closet and puts it on. After a final glance in the mirror to make sure that she looks okay, Ahara leaves her room to head downstairs to the simulation rooms.

Following the directions on the map from her folder, Ahara manages to find the simulation rooms on the first floor. There are seven doors in a row, the first six labeled A through F, the final one leading to the control room. She leans against the wall across from the door labeled A to wait for Carol.

Instead of Carl, Mrs. Sanders arrives a few minutes later. She silently looks over Ahara, her dark eyes glaring coldly. Ahara glares right back but is soon uncomfortable. When she finally drops her eyes in defeat Mrs. Sanders smirks slightly.

“Ahara, detention here works a little differently than at normal schools, as does everything else. There are three forms of detentions handed out here. Physical, such as running laps or being told to do push-ups or sit-ups,a private simulation where you will go through a short mission on your own with no team to help out, and mental training where your mind and emotions are put to the test. Usually the teacher who hands out the detention will specify which type you are to receive, but since this is your first offense Carol has given you a choice. You may choose between a simulation or mental training. Which will it be?”

“Um,” Ahara looks at the door to the room then back at Mrs. Sanders, “the private simulation.” She pulls at the sleeves to her suit, suddenly unsure that this is such a great idea. A sense of anxiety begins to creep up on her, making her feel small and powerless. She forces herself to stand up a little taller and appear more confident although she knows Mrs. Sanders has already seen through her act.

“Take these and put them on.” Mrs. Sanders takes out a small black case from her pocket which contains the contact lenses and earpiece for Ahara. As Ahara is doing so, Mrs. Sanders pushes open the door to the room. “These simulation rooms are fairly new. There are still a few glitches. If the images in front of you turn fuzzy, give it a few seconds to sharpen before continuing.”

Ahara nods, handing the case back to Mrs. Sanders. She takes a deep breath and turns, cautiously stepping into the room. As the door closes behind her she glances around the plain white room. A sudden buzzing in her ear causes her to jump slightly.

Mrs. Sanders’s crackles to life in the earpiece, “This is your first time on this side of a simulation, isn’t it? You’ll get the gist of how it works as you go. Your mission is to successfully pilot the helicopter from point A to point B. Seeing as how you did so well yesterday, this shouldn’t be too difficult for you. Simulator launching in three, two, one.”

Everything goes dark causing Ahara’s breath to catch. A few moments later, the room around her starts to lighten once again, only this time instead of being in a plain white room she’s standing outside in a forest. Up ahead of her is a clearing with a helicopter sitting in the middle of it. Ahara instantly recognizes this as the clearing where she landed the helicopter during the previous day’s mission simulation.