Agent 024

SEVENTH CIRCLE OF HELL

"No, go away.", I said to no one in particular pulling my sheet back from whatever was trying to take it away.

"It's 4:45 Tisha. Want to get suspended on the first day?"

"What?", I groaned and half-opened my eyes to peep out the window.

"It's still dark.", I said as I plumped down on the bed.

"No.", I screamed as a second later my sheet was snatched away from me and I lay grumbling at the loss of warmth.

"Why do you do this to me?", I said and looked at my roommate, Priya who stood all dressed up in her uniform.

She just shrugged as she popped another spoon of cornflakes in her mouth.

"You're welcome.", she said as I went into the bathroom and I grunted in response.

"Here.", Priya said as she handed me an apple as I stumbled out of the room putting my shoes on and she locked the room after me.

"When did you wake up?", I asked her after taking a bite of the apple.

"Four."

"Why?"

"Bathing praying breakfast - it took me one hour. Although I think I could fit in another fifteen minutes for meditating."

I stopped biting my apple and gave her a serious look. She looked back at me innocently.

"Right. You're not joking.", I said giving up.

I threw my apple in the green bin as we joined our course mates in the field.

Half of them were practically sleeping while standing and I couldn't be happier. 

"Gather around trainees.", our teacher called and we formed a huge circle around them.

"I hear your senior gave you a warm welcome yesterday."

A couple of grumbles rose in response to this statement. People didn't find playing hide and seek for their closest personal belongings fun. Surprise!

He laughed at our response.

"I am Agent Taneja and I will be responsible for your fitness and base training. When I give you a command, you follow it till I tell you to stop. This is not a place for weakness - you do not give up. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir.", a collective cry arose almost instantly. This man commanded respect and obedience instinctively.

"You all will run 10 rounds of the field and I don't want to see one of you walking or the entire team runs 10 more. Understood?"

"Yes sir.", we said again, this time with a lot less conviction.

"Alright then start.", Agent Taneja said and started walking away and we started jogging.

"Amigo.", I said as I caught up to Prakhar after my first lap.

"Tisha, look who just came all alive and awake to the training?"

I managed to give him a sarcastic look.

"Oh aren't you the shine of the party?", I said.

"Priya dragged you out of the bed and into the field last minute, didn't she?", he guessed.

"You keeping tabs on us?", I asked.

"She's in my team. You might have come up in the discussions.", he smiled.

"Traitor.", I said.

I thanked my stars I had taken up athletics right in junior school and ten laps wasn't a big deal for me.  I did 20 for practices everyday.

"Damn Tisha, you want me to get a bucket for you?", Prakhar asked as I drank my fifth glass of water.

"Hey, a girl needs her drink."

"Said no one ever." 

We sat down with bottles of water mixed with glucose. Around 10 of our classmates had finished the laps with us.

"So how'd your task go?", he asked.

"You didn't hear?", I said smiling ready to gloat at the first chance I got. "We were the first team in."

"No way. You're team 4?"

"The talk of the town.", I said bowing like an artist.

"Damn Tisha. Congrats.", he said giving me a high five.

"So what'd they hide?", he asked.

"You wouldn't believe it. My container of ladoos.", I said with exaggerated shock.

"What are you Chhota Bheem or something?", 

"Hey, Joey doesn't share food.", I said.

"FRIENDS.", he said.

"Uh huh.", I nodded with pride.

"Done with the laps?", I heard Agent Taneja's voice and found him standing in front of us.

"Yes.", we all said.

"Proceed to the gym.", he said.

12 of us got up and started walking to the gym.

"Hey.", Prakhar called out to one of our classmates.

He was almost staggering now. I knew this stage of the running well. This was the deciding point. When you decided whether completing the race was worth it. In long-distance runs, your mental state matters almost as much as your stamina. "You decide your breaking point. All you got to say is not yet.", my coach always told me. True I had cursed him for this tough love in the beginning but I could see the benefits of his tough coaching now.

Prakhar ran up to the guy and started walking along him.

"You got this Akshat. We're a team. We'll make it together. You got it man. Keep going." he said, patting his back.

Akshat nodded and continue running. He was no longer staggering. He had made the decision. He had crossed his own breaking point.

"That was nice what you did there.", I told Prakhar when he joined me.

"A team that stays together, slays together.", he said flipping his hair back.

"Said no one ever.", I nodded as we entered the gym.

"Wow.", he said.

"Wow.", I confirmed.

This was a exclusive five star premium membership gym just five times better. There was equipment I hadn't seen before and I couldn't wait to try it out.

"Like the view?", Agent Taneja asked.

"Well, I promise you, you're going to hate it within the next hour."

"Agent Awasthi?", Taneja called out.

A man who was evidently married to the gym came up.

"You thought running 10 laps was difficult? Well, welcome to the seventh circle of hell."

"Uh oh.", I said as the training began.