Underneath The Hidden Stars

Chapter XIX

Confused, as what she heard was not what she was expecting, Mira was unable to talk without her tongue twisting. She glanced at the men with a terrified and quizzical look on her face, almost expecting they'd laugh it off and say it's a joke. However, they kept silent, staring at her while waiting for the answer.

"A- a, uh, wait... an, uh, intern- internship? Is, uh, that what you just said?"

"Yes, indeed, Miss Fader, we'd like to offer you a chance to experience the life on Level 9 from a brief moment, while, at the same time, gain some experience that could help you later on in the field."

"Oh, uh, this is so sudden, I'm not sure how to react... it's so-"

"It's alright, Miss, no need to panic. I'll be staying on this level for the day, so you have plenty of time to think about it."

"Could I ask a question first?"

"Yes, sure."

"If, for example, I say yes, when would I be leaving?"

"Well, theoretically you could even leave today! If that's alright for you, that is. But if you aren't exactly sure, we'd love to start the whole thing within a week, so leaving in the next couple of days would be preferable."

Mira started thinking. If she went there today, she's get to Level 9 before anyone that is in the company would be able to get there. She'd be gaining experience, and, she'd have the possibility to keep watch of whoever is sent there, making sure to stop them if she could. In a moment, without thinking about herself and only about the wellbeing of the people on the level, she turned to John Walter and looked him straight in the eyes.

"I agree."

"Oh, that's great Miss Fader, so when-"

"I can leave today." she glanced at her wrist watch. "In 30 minutes actually." she glanced at her boss. "That is if our officer here lets me off work today." she smiled.

Level 8's head officer looked a little lost for a moment, but then immediately fixed his posture and smiled.

"You can leave work now, if that's what you want. There aren't many cases to work on at this moment, so you'll only be wasting your time if you decide to stay for the day."

Mira stood up from her seat and went to the door. She then turned to the men for another moment.

"Mr. Walter, I'll see you in the station in 30 minutes." she said and closed the door behind her.

Moments after leaving, she ran home as fast as she could.

"Idiot! Why in the world would you say you'll be ready in 30 minutes? You have to pack stuff for a month, you buffoon!" she yelled at herself and started throwing stuff into her suitcase.

She put in all of the clothes she had, wondering if she would even wear them all, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

"I wear the same shirt two weeks in a row, why in the world would I need 10 of them!" she shouted at herself and threw all of her shirts off the shelf and straight into the bag.

She then remembered her croissant she had left at the station, but realized she definitely doesn't have enough time to pick it up. She glanced at the safety office with a sad look and continued throwing her stuff in the bag. As she threw in her toiletries, almost breaking them all, she realized she only had 10 minutes, and the station was a 7 minute walk away. Hoping she took everything with, she ran out the door, and was about to head straight to the station, but she had to take one more important stop. Mira ran into the safety station, went up 2 flights of stairs in like 5 steps and strode into the kitchen. She grabbed her coffee, downed it all down in one sip and picked up her croissant. As she ran downstairs and towards the station, she stuffed the croissant into her mouth, without even thinking about how ridiculous she must've looked.