Atlas Academy: Secrets Uncovered
Friend or Foe p3
We were silent for a few moments, and then the room went quiet as Mr. Atlas stood and said, “I hope you’ve all enjoyed your first day here with us, and I hope there will be many more to come. Your duration here at Atlas will be challenging in many ways, and each year there will be more will be expected of you than you yet realize. You are all here before me now, having agreed to take this long and trying journey with us, and in just doing that you’ve put yourself one step closer to the rest of your life. You may eat.” He then snapped his fingers, the servers poured out from their doors, and with them they brought; salad, a beef stew, pizza, bread sticks.
***
After dinner we all made our way back to our dorms, me still feeling like crap. I hoped to get a little relaxation in my bed for those two hours and have some quiet peaceful studying before Bear. When Mickey and I entered our room, we found another girl inside.
It was the girl I’d seen running in the lead to Bear earlier. She was even more painfully beautiful close up. She had a tall and lean hourglass figure, her long and luscious mahogany colored hair now whipping around as she turned to face us. Her olive skin was flawless and her green eyes, with their brown rings around the inner and outer edges, just added to it. “Hi, I guess you’re my new roommates.” she said, and then her eyes landed on me. “I’m Sasha Pierce. You’re Rylee, right? Sarah Mansfield’s daughter?”
“Yep, that’s me.” I said, nodding and smiling. We all shook hands and then they started unpacking their things while I laid down on my bed.
“So, how do you like the school so far?” she asked, her back turned to us as she folded her clothes on her bed.
“Everything is so much more than I expected, but it was pretty good.” said Mickey. I didn’t say anything.
“It really is, more than people realize. I especially enjoyed Active Studies, though I heard it was a little too much for some people. I even heard some girl got beat up by one of the animatronics monkeys in my class. I didn’t see the girl, but it just made me wonder who, when they found out they were going to come here, wouldn’t try to prepare for it. Unless of course it was one of the scientists; they’re the only ones who kind of get it easy with not being as athletic as the rest of us.” She laughed then and Mickey and I shared a glance.
“Well, that’s the teachers’ jobs right? To make us all better, no matter what our level?” Mickey said, trying to sound light. I just laid there, not knowing what to say. This girl was talking about me and laughing at me. Why? She didn’t even know me.
“I guess so, but there’s only so much they can do, if you know what I mean. Personally, I feel bad for her. Because if she can’t handle the physical aspect of this school, then there’s no way she can do the rest of it.” She then turned to us and said, “Do you know who she was?”
“Uh, no I don’t.” Mickey started to say just when Sasha saw the dried blood on my hand. I still hadn’t gone to the nurse yet, but after the bleeding stopped I figured it was okay.
She looked from my hand to my face and said, “It was you?” I just looked at her, my expression showing I really wasn’t in the mood for this. “But you’re Rylee Damien. How could the daughter of the greatest spy in twenty years get beat up by a monkey on the first day?” She tried to hold back her laughter, and though it was obvious for unknown reasons that she was quite enjoying this.
“I wasn’t beat up. The monkey had a malfunction and bit my hand. It could’ve happened to anyone.” I said, giving her a look that said I was done talking about this as I stood and began unpacking.
She stood there for a minute, looking between me and Mickey, and then gave us a slightly disdainful look before saying, “If you say so.” She apparently wasn’t going to take back the things she’d said earlier and try to be nice. I just wanted to know why she seemed to be enjoying this so much. I glanced over at her as she announced she was getting in the shower to see her give me a once over, conveying her haughty thought of superiority to me.
“I might as well take one too.” Mickey said, grabbing a small shower caddy and a robe. They walked up to the closet door near the foot of my bed as she added, “
“I might as well too.” Mickey said, grabbing the same things. She and Sasha walked up to the closet door near the foot of my bed as she added, “You gonna take one?”
“Nah, I’ve got my first session with Bear tonight, remember?” I said and she nodded.
“What?” Sasha had stopped in her tracks and looked at me with shock. “What do you mean you have a session with Bear?”
“Well,” I said, wanting her to go away as soon as possible, “he apparently feels the same way you do about my skills and has decided to bless me with extra lessons.”
“He’s tutoring you?” she said, her voice sounding shocked and almost angry as a sort of pinkish hue came into her face. Mickey and I again shared a wide-eyed glance, but before we could say another word, she touched something on the closet door frame and disappeared inside with a slam of the door behind her.
“What was that about?” Mickey said, looking at the door, but after a pause added, “And why’d she go in the closet?” I shrugged my shoulders and she opened the door. “It’s just the closet.”
“She pushed something on the door frame, didn’t she?” I said, glancing over.
“Wow.” Mickey said, pushing the two miniscule protrusions that were painted the same color as the wall and almost invisible. Then she looked at me and as she walked in said, “This place is awesome.”
I returned to unpacking, and as I hung up my clothes, I was even to depressed to care about how the closet had turned into a bathroom, and then back to a closet again. I sighed as I placed my now empty luggage bags into the closet, and as I closed the door I noticed a sheet of steel on the wall above my bed that oddly blended into the paint. Pressing my thumb to one, I pulled out my Codes homework and settled into my bed. Might as well do something while I wait to get killed. I thought.
***
***
After dinner we all made our way back to our dorms, me still feeling like crap. I hoped to get a little relaxation in my bed for those two hours and have some quiet peaceful studying before Bear. When Mickey and I entered our room, we found another girl inside.
It was the girl I’d seen running in the lead to Bear earlier. She was even more painfully beautiful close up. She had a tall and lean hourglass figure, her long and luscious mahogany colored hair now whipping around as she turned to face us. Her olive skin was flawless and her green eyes, with their brown rings around the inner and outer edges, just added to it. “Hi, I guess you’re my new roommates.” she said, and then her eyes landed on me. “I’m Sasha Pierce. You’re Rylee, right? Sarah Mansfield’s daughter?”
“Yep, that’s me.” I said, nodding and smiling. We all shook hands and then they started unpacking their things while I laid down on my bed.
“So, how do you like the school so far?” she asked, her back turned to us as she folded her clothes on her bed.
“Everything is so much more than I expected, but it was pretty good.” said Mickey. I didn’t say anything.
“It really is, more than people realize. I especially enjoyed Active Studies, though I heard it was a little too much for some people. I even heard some girl got beat up by one of the animatronics monkeys in my class. I didn’t see the girl, but it just made me wonder who, when they found out they were going to come here, wouldn’t try to prepare for it. Unless of course it was one of the scientists; they’re the only ones who kind of get it easy with not being as athletic as the rest of us.” She laughed then and Mickey and I shared a glance.
“Well, that’s the teachers’ jobs right? To make us all better, no matter what our level?” Mickey said, trying to sound light. I just laid there, not knowing what to say. This girl was talking about me and laughing at me. Why? She didn’t even know me.
“I guess so, but there’s only so much they can do, if you know what I mean. Personally, I feel bad for her. Because if she can’t handle the physical aspect of this school, then there’s no way she can do the rest of it.” She then turned to us and said, “Do you know who she was?”
“Uh, no I don’t.” Mickey started to say just when Sasha saw the dried blood on my hand. I still hadn’t gone to the nurse yet, but after the bleeding stopped I figured it was okay.
She looked from my hand to my face and said, “It was you?” I just looked at her, my expression showing I really wasn’t in the mood for this. “But you’re Rylee Damien. How could the daughter of the greatest spy in twenty years get beat up by a monkey on the first day?” She tried to hold back her laughter, and though it was obvious for unknown reasons that she was quite enjoying this.
“I wasn’t beat up. The monkey had a malfunction and bit my hand. It could’ve happened to anyone.” I said, giving her a look that said I was done talking about this as I stood and began unpacking.
She stood there for a minute, looking between me and Mickey, and then gave us a slightly disdainful look before saying, “If you say so.” She apparently wasn’t going to take back the things she’d said earlier and try to be nice. I just wanted to know why she seemed to be enjoying this so much. I glanced over at her as she announced she was getting in the shower to see her give me a once over, conveying her haughty thought of superiority to me.
“I might as well take one too.” Mickey said, grabbing a small shower caddy and a robe. They walked up to the closet door near the foot of my bed as she added, “
“I might as well too.” Mickey said, grabbing the same things. She and Sasha walked up to the closet door near the foot of my bed as she added, “You gonna take one?”
“Nah, I’ve got my first session with Bear tonight, remember?” I said and she nodded.
“What?” Sasha had stopped in her tracks and looked at me with shock. “What do you mean you have a session with Bear?”
“Well,” I said, wanting her to go away as soon as possible, “he apparently feels the same way you do about my skills and has decided to bless me with extra lessons.”
“He’s tutoring you?” she said, her voice sounding shocked and almost angry as a sort of pinkish hue came into her face. Mickey and I again shared a wide-eyed glance, but before we could say another word, she touched something on the closet door frame and disappeared inside with a slam of the door behind her.
“What was that about?” Mickey said, looking at the door, but after a pause added, “And why’d she go in the closet?” I shrugged my shoulders and she opened the door. “It’s just the closet.”
“She pushed something on the door frame, didn’t she?” I said, glancing over.
“Wow.” Mickey said, pushing the two miniscule protrusions that were painted the same color as the wall and almost invisible. Then she looked at me and as she walked in said, “This place is awesome.”
I returned to unpacking, and as I hung up my clothes, I was even to depressed to care about how the closet had turned into a bathroom, and then back to a closet again. I sighed as I placed my now empty luggage bags into the closet, and as I closed the door I noticed a sheet of steel on the wall above my bed that oddly blended into the paint. Pressing my thumb to one, I pulled out my Codes homework and settled into my bed. Might as well do something while I wait to get killed. I thought.
***