The trainees at the door slowly crowded into the bedroom.
"Be smart," Stacey told them. "Don't make a big fuss about this and cut your own futures short. Who am I? I'm not important enough for you to make a fuss. Don't get yourselves into trouble because of me. Isn't it only five, no, six performances? Can't we work together and say something through our combined performances when it's all put together as a whole? We don't have to say anything. The public aren't completely dumb. They will understand that something is going on. We just need to hint and point them in the right direction."
"Well said," Beryl clapped a hand on Stacey's shoulder, "but not advisable at this point in time. Not for what topic you're thinking of - you'd be punished as a troublemaker again. The punishment as an instigator will be worse than what you've already experienced. You have a lot of pressure on you and it is likely to get worse before it gets better. Especially if someone reports what you just said to the higher ups. You could get in trouble for inciting others and becoming a public nuisance. Don't even think about it. There are times when your suggestion can hold sway, but not this time. It's just too dangerous. You never know whether there is a spy or informer in your midst. Be careful."
"Life happens," Stacey gave a crooked smile. "I know you mentors can't get too involved. You guys are probably being watched too, right? Don't worry, this much pressure is nothing. My workplace last time was full of opportunistic vultures. I had to learn how to survive if I wanted to keep my job as even the lowest ranking worker."
"Stacey, you used to work?" Mindy piped up all of a sudden, from where she had been scribbling on her clipboard and sending messages on her mobile phone. "Where did you used to work? Or what did you work as? Have you regained some of your memory?"
"Huh?"
Stacey paused, trying to remember and follow the fading thread of where that thought and feeling had come from. She used to work somewhere but where? As what? All she remembered was the difficult and toxic work culture. She said as much to Mindy, while frowning.
Trying to dig into her memories made her head throb painfully. It was piercing and sudden. Stacey couldn't decide whether to sit or stand or lie down with the intense discomfort assaulting her senses.
"Stacey, be careful!"
"Catch her!"
A hand patted Stacey on the cheek repetitively, while various anxious voices called her name. Stacey opened her eyes to look up at the crowd of faces looking down on her.
"Ow," she said, rubbing her head. "What happened?"
It seemed like she'd fallen down and fainted, but why?
"Are you alright? You scared us, suddenly passing out like that," Mindy said, patting her chest.
"I think I was trying to remember something," Stacey said, feeling somewhat dazed, "and then my head suddenly hurt and then… I guess I must have passed out."
"Don't try to remember then," Mindy told her. "We'll just let your memory slowly come back whenever it does. If trying to remember makes things worse, then don't force it. What happened just now was too scary."
Stacey sat up, rubbing her head. The crowd of trainees in the room all looked visibly disturbed and upset.
"We've called for the doctor," Beryl told her, "but if you're feeling well enough, you should go down to get checked out again just to be sure."
"We should finish the filming first," Stacey said, while Zanity, Vera and Chastity were trying to fix her hair. "Then we won't have to worry about it later."
"It would be best if you could," Mindy said, "but how are you feeling? Do you think you can handle it? Otherwise we can come back to it later after you've had a bit of a rest."
"I think I can handle it," Stacey said. "There wasn't much left to do, right? Where were we up to?"
"Your reaction to finding out you have to do six performances a week, five for the ranking challenge," Mindy said, "and one for the elimination round."
"We should have a scripted reaction, I think," Stacey said, after a moment's thought, looking at her fellow trainees. "We can all put our acting to the test. I think you should be able to think of some good ideas for us, right, Mindy?"
"Oh, do I ever," Mindy grinned, rubbing her hands together. "Especially considering what we were discussing earlier, I might be able to put a hint of foreshadowing in. Would everyone mind cooperating?"
"Of course!"
"Count us in"
"Let us know how we can help."
"In that case," Mindy rubbed her chin in thought, "let's do things this way."
The cameras captured Stacey almost falling off her chair. Chastity dropped a fruity yoghurt bottle while her mouth opened wide in shock. A trainee tripped on their own feet only to be caught by another trainee who had raised their arms in surprise and 'coincidentally' been able to catch them.
"Very nice. That's it," Mindy gave them all a thumbs up after reviewing the footage. Then together with the people present, they brainstormed the most appropriate comments and responses, before filming them.
Upon hearing all the issues that had been raised so far, Landen came by with more of the crew to help and prevent anyone or the program from getting in trouble.
While they discussed and planned, Dr Sun Jin arrived to check on Stacey.
"Get more rest later," he suggested, "and don't think too much or try to remember too hard. Things will come back to you eventually. You just need to give it some time."
The doctor decided to stay to help keep an eye on Stacey, while the crew worked with the people involved to put on a show and reaction suitable for public consumption but that would fly under the government's radar. Things went on late into the evening, disrupting the rest of the day's schedule for the girls involved.
By late evening, everyone in the program knew that they now had a new mission. To surreptitiously protest against the government's heavy handedness all without saying or doing a single thing that was out of line. Stacey had also found groups to join and cooperate with for all of her five performances.
By the time it was all over, Stacey was so exhausted that her assistants and roommates directly put her to bed. She was asleep before her head even hit the pillow.