"I'm sure I had them in here somewhere" I laughed, confident then paled when I came up empty, standing up to find nothing. Quinn stood up.
"I_I don't know" I stammered and paled, Phantasma's expression changed.
"Where are my earrings?"
I was done for, those were worth a fortune and could pay my college fund halfway through_ counting on my accommodations of course.
"I swear, they were in here somewhere"
She grew into a fit and in all my life, I had never heard so much profanity from a person's mouth__I'm just exaggerating. The others gathered and whispered amongst themselves.
"Who is she?, she looks so young, eww a redhead, shh!"
Quinn put a hand to her shoulder
"Phantasma, please be reasonable"
"I will not, those were a token from the commander and she stole them!"
My lips thinned "I am not a thief" My fists clenched and she scoffed.
"Oh, you wanna brawl?"
"It hasn't come to that" I wasn't much of a fighter but if there one thing Jacqui taught me was to stand up for myself no matter what.
"Real mature, hand it over Red bandit"
"Stop!" Quinn cut in with a serious tone, everywhere quieted.
"According to section 108.9, it clearly states that anyone accused of stealing within Umbra property will be given an ultimatum of 48 hours to compensate or else they will face severe punishment for failure to retrieve stolen goods"
Phantasma folded her arms "Hmm, 48hours, sounds good to me and you had better return them or else"
She left, the small crowd dispersed murmuring.
"I didn't steal them"
"I don't know, " the tone of disbelief in his voice, I couldn't blame him but I did appreciate his intervention.
"I guess I'll start looking"
Roughly 36 hours have gone by and I still couldn't find them, they were too small to see and nearly impossible to find in such a big place. I sat down and dipped my legs into the water, a man with bronze skin drying his curly black hair coming from the showers joined me.
"Hey there" African American
"Oh, hi" I said flatly.
"Why are you here all by yourself?"
"I'm looking for something"
"Oh"
We sat back and enjoyed the coolness of the water, it wasn't as cold as before.
"I haven't had this much time since last week. Hello silence, have you missed me?" He said into the large room, I giggled
"I should give you two a moment"
"No, I don't mind."
He pulled out a bag of chips "And I don't mind sharing a late-night snack either" he shook it and his eyebrows rose.
Late-night...I thought, tomorrow was the deadline
"Thanks, I think I'll pass"
"You sure?, it's my cheat day and I need a partner in crime" He urged, I reached in to get a handful, I packed them into my hoodie.
"Anything wrong?" He asked
The thought of Phantasma irked me
"This has to be about the worst week of my life. I'm gonna get punished for something I didn't do"
"Yeah, things can get a little outta hand around here"
"I'd like things to go my way for a change"
He chuckled "That's not gonna happen to be honest"
I sighed "I know" I didn't need the realist lecture.
"Well...I did something very horrible to a lady, I tried everything I could to fix it but "
"I'm sorry to hear that" I felt better
he shrugged
He ate the last of the chips and left me a soda. He had a good sense of humor and I felt comfortable talking to him.
"How long have you been here?"
"Long enough to see this longue room under construction." he grinned and stood up hanging the towel over his shoulder.
"Lights are gonna be out at any moment and we'll be on lockdown. So hurry up"
I nodded, alone again. My eyes lowered, an object caught my eyes, it danced in the wavy waters. I held my breath and took a dive, swimming as fast as I could to the object.
The lights went out, I gasped air bubbles and swam to the surface
No no no!
My eyes darted around, I was locked.
"Hello!?"
I coughed up water but then I swam in and felt at the bottom of the pool, there was a purple glow in front of me, a bit startled until it covered my eyes, the next moment the pool was bright as day.
I brightened up when I found the object to be a pair of interlocked owl earrings. They must've rolled out of my pocket when I yanked out the chocolate bar.
I resurfaced and I could see everything in the longue. Remembering the day Quinn had walked carefully in the factory and when Wade turned on the lights.
"I... have night vision?"
I swam to the edge and got out looking around, I held out my hand to see if the glow was still there, it was gone but I could still see.
I had more hours to spare! How was I going to leave this place?, frantic, I looked around for a possible exit. None. I took off my wet clothes and squeezed out the water, it splashed on the ground. Hanging them over another chair beside me.
It was cold so I curled up on a lounge chair and my eyes fluttered shut.
*******
The clock was ticking, I ran to the training station and ran past a class with a bay window. Reverting to see Phantasma, they were vigorously training, it was choreographed and moved in sync with one another. She paused when she spotted me then continued trying to keep up with the rest.
I walked in hesitant and gasped at a tall cyborg who turned to me, he looked more like a black power ranger but with metallic breastplates, knee guards, and an owl emblem on his chest. His visors projected red rays and it scanned me from head to toe.
"Identify yourself"
"I_I just need to return this" I held out her earrings. I heard snickers from the group, Phantasma blushed and scowled at me.
"I believe I asked you to tell me who you are, not why you came here"
"Darcy Griffith"
"Griffith... I'll need to see some ID"
I was running out of time "But I_"
"Present evidence of your membership here or I'll be forced to eliminate you"
I backed away, someone took my shoulder.
"Penumbra, agent 6268" I looked behind me at Sith who held out a tablet, was that the picture from my driver's license?. I had a whole profile with all my personal information on it.
"She'll be enrolling here at the academy"
His visors projected red rays and it scanned me.
[Enrolled]
Codename: Penumbra
Serial number: 6268
Rank: Trainee
Blood pressure: Optimal
Health: 67%
"It seems to me you're a little too young and a little too late"
"Oh come on, Wade"
The whole class ooh-ed when she referred to him by his first name. That was Wade? the man from the headquarters?.
"She'll pull everyone back, I'm not taking in any more trainees"
"There's always room for one more, one of our best will be graduating this week and will be deployed for a mission any time soon"
Her eyes were crinkled.
"Dr. Singh_"
"You wouldn't want to commit mutiny since the commander asked me to keep an eye on you. Cybernetic organism"
She emphasized the last part, her hand tightened on the tablet. His bionic armor folded back into his body
"You don't wanna do that" his voice became low and throaty
"I can and I will" Sith seemed serious
his eyes fell on me and were reduced to slits.
"You start tomorrow"