Manipulation and persuasion turns out to be a pretty interesting class. You learn about Niccolo Machiavelli and how to switch yourself off from the norms of society, to treat conventional morality as a tool, and to use whatever means at your disposal to lie, cheat and deceive yourself to a positive outcome. It's definitely an eye opener and not something that you'd be taught at any conventional school you would've attended in your old life.
It's lunch time and immediately after class, Jenny's memories guided you straight to the cafeteria. The food is surprisingly good but you just have a lean salad. Even though you crave something more filling, Jenny needs to keep her shape after all and you have to stay in character. As you eat silently, you see Alex sauntering up to you. You deliberately ignored him as you left the classroom. Your memories tell you that Jenny and Alex have a sort of love-hate relationship where she plays hard to get and he does all he can to keep you engaged. As he approaches, you review the memories you have on him. The two of you have been dating for at least a year within the facility. Although all the trainees are closely monitored, you lost your virginity to him just a few months ago in a storage closet; not the most romantic location but your cells aren't exactly open for this kind of behaviour. Jenny's memories show you how much she cares about Alex, even if she does play hard to get. There's definitely a strong mutual attraction between the pair and you have to do your best to keep that up.
There's no greeting of any kind when he arrives. He grabs you by the neck and shoves his tongue down your throat. You try your best not to be disgusted (you are a male after all), but you push him away. Although you did your best to do this in a playful manner, Alex's face betrays the fact that you did something out of character. He's trying to haze me, you keep telling yourself, as he strokes your face gently.
He leans in close and whispers in your ear, "You're going to have to work on your acting Jenny" before giving you a wink and walking away. It's strange. In some odd fashion, you feel that this trainee is actually trying to help you improve your performance. There were so many different ways that he could've embarrassed or humiliated you but he went another route. You feel a twinge of gratitude to whoever's beneath that handsome Alex face.
*****
It doesn't take you long to figure out the schedule. There's strict timing in place everyday and at least two classes per day. There's classes on everyday except Sunday where you get to socialise with the other trainees. The facility is monitored very closely and you get the feeling that you're being watched at literally every moment of your life there. A few creature comforts exist; television, video games and internet rights have to be earned in response to good performance in class. Obviously, there's no contacting the outside world but you get the newspaper everyday to keep you up to date on current affairs.
Every Sunday, you return to Gunther for a new identity. To prevent the other trainees from figuring out who everyone else is, cells are randomly reassigned every week. None of you have any real possession and these are automatically moved between cells by some mysterious force which you have yet to identify. About a month as passed and you've grown more comfortable in other people's skins. Today it's a nubile young teenager by the name of Christina. Her memories tell you she grew up in the South and has ambitions of being Miss Universe. Today is also an important day. It's the day of your first test.
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