espionage [h.s.]

NINE

A.N. updating again bc I'm bored & bc I want to. This chapter is extra long seeing as the previous one was quite short, so pls be active & vote/leave lots of comments, I love all your feedback & reactions! Enjoy x

ROCHELLE

I've been at the institute for about a week now, and I finally seem to have fallen into some kind of routine. Due to the fact that I can still barely sleep, my days often begin early with a few laps around the pool before everyone else is up. As I walk down the silent hallways at the crack of dawn, I often notice Harry in that same training room, repeatedly hitting his fists against the punching bag until he's sweaty and breathless, but I don't want to be too obvious by disturbing him. Sometimes I let my gaze linger on his glistening abs and biceps for a bit longer than I should, but that's about it.

When I'm done with my early morning swim, I usually meet up with the others for a light breakfast, although that's only when we have class first, not training. After a day of class, group training and individual training, we often all end up sprawled somewhere in the rec room, exhausted and complaining before going to bed and getting up to do it all over again. I'm finding it a bit boring and ritualistic, but it's a job, so I just have to get on with it.

Since that almost incident with Issac in the gym, he's stayed far away from me, but I think that's mostly because he's been ordered to, and maybe a little because of the glares he receives from Harry whenever he even looks in my direction. Speaking of Harry, I've been trying to do some subtle investigating about what happened last year and why he gets so angry when it's mentioned, but I haven't had much opportunity seeing as he's not really around much. He trains us along with Louis, being just as bossy and authoritative as he always is, and he shows up to our criminology class, but then he usually slopes off and isn't seen for the rest of the night. I've been tempted to ask if anyone knows where he disappears to, but I don't want to seem suspicious by asking too many questions.

A deep sigh falls from my lips as I spin around in the chair in my room, aimlessly staring up at the ceiling as I have nothing better to do. However, I'm soon snapped out of my daze when I suddenly hear the sound of a faint ringing. I immediately jump up, rummaging around my room as I try to remember where I hid my phone. Once I've eventually found it stashed between some clothes in the wardrobe, I flop back down into the chair as I press answer.

"Hello, Milos," I greet him. "Nice to hear from you again. It's been a while."

"Yes, it has. So I see from your report you sent that you got into a fight with a fellow trainee. May I ask what the fuck you think you're doing?"

I roll my eyes, knowing that he was going to contact me about this at some point, mostly because I had to add it into the weekly report he makes me send him about everything that goes on here. "Look, it wasn't a big deal," I assure him. "I didn't actually hit him, so we're all good."

"No, we are not all good," he snaps, mocking my words. "Unjust violence against a trainee can result in expulsion from the institute. Do you want to know what will happen to you if you get kicked out and sabotage your own mission? I, will personally, expel you from this earth."