Saving The Mission, page 15
part #1 of The Race to Space Series
The woman in the green jacket, whose hair draped behind her through the hole in the back of the green cap said, “move to the side please, you will be searched.” Samantha gathered her bag and shuffled across to the next woman. She felt like a piece of meat being processed along a conveyor belt.
Samantha heard a shout of a female voice and turned to see another green jacket shout “stand here, arms and legs apart.” Apart from the voice, Samantha would not have known if, through the masculine build, the person in front of her was male or female, the cap hiding any facial features. Samantha did as she was told, already feeling a little less human than when she had arrived. They got out her purse and searched through it, and returned it to her. Then took out her phone and put it to one side. They continued to pat her down all over and Samantha felt slightly violated. The woman shouted “Next” so loud it made Samantha’s ears ring. Samantha reached over to grab her phone, but before she could, a woman in a green jacket behind the desk had grabbed it. She handed her a key and said “It will be returned to you at the end of the day. Next!” Samantha picked up the key with the number 56 on it, grabbed her bag and walked towards the entrance hall. Along the wall were various large paintings of men and women in old fashioned dress that covered the walls. Samantha felt like she could be in an art gallery and considered that if this had been at her school, they would have instantly been defaced.
She approached the main hall and then saw Mike running towards her in the opposite direction. “Mike! How did you…” He just tapped his nose, smiled at her and ran towards security. She heard the confusion that followed. She could imagine how the emotionless Green Jackets felt about an unscheduled arrival. She wondered if he would be let in and wondered how he had made it at all. She was surprised that she actually felt pleased he had made it. Samantha wasn’t sure if this was as a result of the appeasing of her guilt or a genuine growing liking for him.
She continued walking down the hallway and walked through some large wooden doors at the end. There was a golden plaque on the doors with black shiny letters showing “The Grand Hall”. Samantha could only imagine the hall in front of her. As she entered, there were several red leather chairs on a wooden floor. The windows were large, showing the green grounds outside, letting lots of light in which shined off the immaculately polished floor. There was a podium at the front with a golden coloured lectern and red leather chairs either side. She looked up. The ceiling was separated by four glass chandeliers that seemed to glisten light all around them, giving the impression of being in a prism, as if she was walking into a dream. The hall was half full and Samantha guessed there were around seventy people present. She made her way down the aisle and around halfway down squeezed herself passed several people and into a seat in the middle of the row. She sat down and turned her head around to look left and right. There was a mixture of people present: some young, some old and a mixture of male and female. Most appeared smartly dressed and Samantha put her bag in front of her legs to hide the tight leggings she had decided to wear. Samantha got out her notepad and pen in readiness for the meeting to start. As she looked back up, she saw a person she recognised, Carly Bright. She was surrounded by a group of people who looked as immaculate as she did. Samantha rolled her eyes, the day hadn’t even started and Samantha felt like she was already back at school.
There was a hushed silence as a woman approached the podium. She was older, Samantha thought maybe in her late forties. She wore a black pencil skirt, large stiletto yellow heels and a yellow top. Samantha thought she looked like a wasp and wondered if that was the impression she tried to give, that if you got too close, she would sting you. Her hair was short and spiky and Samantha could tell she was not a woman not to be messed with. As she was about to start, the doors behind made a loud creak as they were being shut. Samantha heard a shout of “wait” that sounded familiar and saw Mike run in as the doors were closing and take a seat at the back. The doors immediately shut behind him. There was a banging on the doors but they did not open again.
Samantha looked to the right of the woman and noticed two men sat down. One man in tattered jeans and a white shirt who looked vaguely familiar. The other man was slim and wore a light blue shirt buttoned up bar one button and dark blue suit trousers with blonde hair which was cut fairly short. Samantha thought the two people could not have been more different in appearance and yet both looked oddly out of place.
The woman held the lectern and spoke. “Hello my name is Andrea Moore and I am the CEO of Channel 3. I’m sure you are all wondering why you are here and what is in store for you; so let me begin.”
14.
Samantha listened intently and noted that Andrea Moore had the room holding on to her every raspy word. “Well as you have all passed the initial mental challenges, you are all smart enough to know that if I am here, then the programme that you will ultimately be competing for a place on will be aired on Channel 3. The set-up will be similar to that of our hit show ‘The Group’, in that you will all be competing with each other for a prize. However, this is a physically and mentally challenging programme. You will need to demonstrate individual excellence as well as the ability to work together to solve challenges and puzzles along the way. The winner will be voted for by the public. As to the prize, well, that will be revealed later, but all I can say is that it is one you do not want to miss.”
Samantha watched as Andrea released her grasp from the lectern and started pacing around the podium. “On to today. You will be put into teams to work with each other to solve various problems. You will be put into ten groups of ten people. There will be three challenges in total. We have selected your teams for you, which should be a mix of personalities and abilities as you would have in any business. The ability to succeed in these challenges is reliant on your ability to work as a team. Your results will be analysed by experts and assessors along the way.”
Samantha saw the girl in front turn to her newfound friend and overheard her say, “the man in the jeans is Tim Sykes, FriendFinder founder. I wonder what he is doing here?” She was immediately shushed by the person next to her. Samantha suddenly realised that the girl was right, that it was Tim Sykes and she recognised him from the artificially friendly welcome message she received when she first created her FriendFinder page.
Andrea’s voice boomed across the hall, filling it and making everybody sit up. “You, the two girls in the middle row who just spoke just now. Stand up.” To Samantha, it looked as if she was pointing at her. Samantha froze. Everyone looked in her direction, it made Samantha wonder if she did actually refer to her. Samantha doubted herself and started to grab her bag. She bent her head down to pick up her bag. When her head lifted and she was about to stand up, she saw the two girls in front of her stand up. It seemed to be in slow motion and Samantha could see every tremble through their body as they stood.
The two girls stood awkwardly for a minute before Andrea put them out of their misery. “You are dismissed. You can leave by the door you came in.”
The girl who had shushed her protested. “But I told her to shush, I didn’t say a word!” She was elbowed by the girl she had spoken to and they stood glaring at each other. Samantha wondered if this is what they were looking for, friendships to be ruined. In the space of two minutes, the friendship they once had evaporated. They now spoke to each other with loathing rather than friendship.
Andrea stood firm. “I said you are dismissed. My decision is final, now leave.”
The girls stood silently for a couple of seconds as if stunned and then created a Mexican wave of people standing up to let them through. There was silence as everyone watched the scene in front of them. They watched every shuffle, every muffled angry word they said to each other until they finally witnessed the wooden doors being unlocked and them leaving. The door made a loud creak in the silence and slammed shut. The noise of the key in the lock turning once again echoed through the hall.
Andrea waited for the attention to be solely on her once again. “As you will have noted, we are very strict. Any talking when a speaker or teacher is talking will not be tolerated. Any lateness will not be tolerated. Any disruptive behaviour or cheating will not be tolerated. We want the best and only the best. You will be called up by name when it is your turn. Enjoy your day. Good luck and godspeed!”
She turned and sat down next to the two men. The entire room was filled with the noise of her heels clicking against the wooden floor. Tim Sykes, Andrea and another man that Samantha did not know sat firmly looking out to the group. Samantha and the rest of the hall, looked at each other in confusion, wondering what they were meant to do next. The sound of a door opening and closing was heard and everyone looked around to see where the noise had come from. A man in a military uniform, which was dark blue with several multi-coloured stripes on his left breast pocket, approached the lectern. He had short brown hair which was tightly clipped. Samantha thought that even without his uniform, his walk and general posture showed he was military. Samantha swallowed hard, she could feel her throat burn as her mouth was so dry there was nothing to swallow. She wondered what was in store for her. “My name is Scott Dudley. I will be your tutor and leader today. When I call your name, make your way across to the stage.”
Samantha listened to several names being called and the excited chatter as people stood up and made their way to the front. When a group of ten names were called, Scott lead them through to the back of the room and was followed by Andrea, Tim and the other man. The group was then left on their own. The tension evaporated in the room and everyone picked up their conversations where they had been left off. Samantha turned to her left and right. She had a man her age with short brown hair and glasses to her left who was deep in conversation with the people to his left and an empty space to her right. She sat in silence.
Samantha pondered how dull it was to just sit in silence with nothing to do and no-one to talk to. She turned around and managed to see a glimpse of Mike. She couldn’t catch his eye and just watched him as he talked to the people around him. Samantha turned back around, knowing he had already made friends. She knew he would. She was confused as to why she cared and sat with her notepad in her hand doodling and trying to keep herself entertained.
She checked her watch, it was 11:10am and her name was still not called. She had been sitting in silence for an hour and had watched as the hall around her had dwindled. Scott Dudley approached the podium again for the fifth time. He held his clipboard and shouted. “Next team: Mohammed Akmed, Tina Carrie, David Dryden, Miles Flagton, Bethany Gore, Samantha Harrington, Elizabeth Haywood-Turner, Rowan Morrow, Ross Templeton and Gracia Zafia. Please make your way to the stage and follow me.”
Samantha stood up and slid past the people in her row who were still seated and made her way to the stage. She looked around at her group and thought that they had certainly made sure it was a mixture of backgrounds. Although she tried not to, Samantha immediately made snap judgements on the people she had not even spoken to. Samantha believed that Bethany looked like a fitness fanatic and was probably in her late teens. On the other end of the scale, Samantha thought that the fully suited David Dryden was probably in his late fifties. She wondered how David was going to fair in the physical challenges. The thought made her relax a bit more and selfishly thought to herself that at least she wouldn’t be the last.
They followed Scott to the end of the hall without speaking for fear of being dismissed like naughty school children. They left the hall and walked down a long corridor. At the end of the corridor was a table with paperwork on it. Scott turned to them when they approached the desk.
“All of you grab a pen and a medical questionnaire from the table. When you have done, hand your completed questionnaire to me as I call your name.”
The group dived to the table and grabbed a piece of paper with a series of questions on it. While Samantha was completing a series of questions about her mental and physical wellbeing, she noticed a box at the bottom to say that she consented to her medical records being accessed. She looked around, everyone had their heads bowed over the paper, they did not seem fazed by the fact that their every personal ailment would be studied in scrutiny. She ticked the box giving her consent. She noticed a question about how many units of alcohol she drank a week, she lied and stated that she only drank two units. She didn’t think it would be found out.
While many of the group were finishing their forms, Scott started to speak. “This first challenge is an individual challenge which will test your ability to work under physical pressure. You will be called through alphabetically. Any questions?” There was a deathly silence. Samantha immediately looked at David who stared at the floor. “Good. Have your form ready to hand to me when I call your name. First up, Mohammed Akmed.”
Samantha watched as Mohammed walked through the oak double doors to whatever lay beyond. Mohammed was tall with a muscular build and appeared to be of Sikh origin. He said nothing as he walked through the doors. She calculated that if they were calling them through alphabetically, then she would be the sixth person to be called through.
After Mohammed was called through, there was an awkward silence between them all and they looked at each other, waiting for the first person who dared to speak. Samantha wanted to say something, even just to evaporate the tension in the room. She opened her mouth but found that no words came out. She closed her mouth again, having looked like a goldfish.
The silence was broken, David spoke first. He looked around and said, “I feel a bit old for this looking at you guys!” The welsh accent was immediately evident. It was the kind of accent that automatically puts you at ease, a classic call centre voice. Samantha looked at David, he seemed to have a kindness in his eyes, a trusting face. He was wearing a full black suit with a red tie. However, she could tell that with his round face with grey hair and rotund stomach that he was overweight.
Elizabeth was the first to reply, she had a posh accent that gave her clipped tones as if she had learned to speak from listening to the Queen. She was of slim build with long ginger hair. She was wearing black work trousers that were slim fitting and a black and red smart t-shirt. Samantha thought that she had dressed perfectly for the occasion, unlike poor David who would struggle in his suit. “Don’t be silly, they wanted a variety of candidates after all. It’s David, isn’t it? What do you do for a living?”
David replied, “I’m a mathematics teacher by trade at a local school in Cardiff. How about you?”
Elizabeth smiled, “I can see why the sudoku puzzle appealed!” She laughed a fake but posh laugh. “I own my own riding school, teaching children and adults how to ride our beautiful horses”
Samantha rolled her eyes. She sat quietly hoping that no-one asked her what she did for a living. She felt like David, like she didn’t belong, but for very different reasons. Even though, she did not know what lay ahead, she would still prefer that to standing around having to make polite conversation. Elizabeth was just about to speak again when Scott reappeared and silence fell. He walked in, stood up straight and said “Tina Carrie.” A woman in her mid-thirties with short brown curly hair and big red glasses, who like Samantha had said very little since they were called through, made her way through the wooden brown doors without saying a word.
After Scott and Tina had left, a woman that Samantha recalled was Gracia spoke. “I wonder what is behind there?” Gracia’s accent was European and she had soft tanned skin and long dark hair cascading behind her back. She was wearing tight three-quarter black jogging trousers and trainers. Samantha marvelled at her natural beauty, with beautiful skin, thick black hair and a slim figure.
David shrugged. “Who knows. It’s not easy to predict with what we have faced so far. If it's 100m sprint I’m screwed anyway!” He laughed a hearty laugh and made the others join in with him. He had the effect of putting everyone at ease. Samantha for some reason instantly felt a bond with David, perhaps because he was out of place too. Samantha kept to herself without saying a word. She felt naked without a mobile phone to bury her head into, unable to block the world out with headphones.
A tall man with dark long hair down to his chin said,“I just hope they keep my bloody phone safe, it cost almost $1000 dollars.” Samantha recognised the man as Ross. He had the air of a businessman about him. He was dressed in smart trousers and an open neck shirt. He gave off the air of arrogance and Samantha immediately disliked him.
Then a young, slightly squeaky, voice came from the corner. “I know. I thought they couldn’t do that. Against our rights or something?” Bethany looked more ready for a photo shoot for a sports designer than for an interview. Samantha thought she must still be at college as she didn’t look much older than 18. Samantha wondered if she had lied on her application about her age. Ross gave a hearty laugh and Samantha just caught him looking at Bethany either judging her or checking her out, either way, Samantha disliked it.
“Nah we do it at interviews for my company too. Then you know people aren’t cheating.” Samantha rolled her eyes, what a surprise. Ross didn’t seem the type to be able to work under anyone, he did not seem the type to deal with another person's authority. The group turned as the doors squeaked open. Scott burst through the door. “David Dryden.” David sheepishly pushed his way past the group. As he walked past Samantha he turned to her and mumbled. “Wish me luck!” Samantha smiled and nodded, not daring to speak.
