Night School: Legacy

Allie watched him out of the corner of her eye as his expression clouded. She didn’t say anything but she was glad he wasn’t always OK with the things Night School demanded of them. That he could look at it all and wonder, as she did, Is this fine? Or is this really not fine at all?

‘Well, it won’t work. We’re too nice for them. They will never succeed.’ She pushed open the door to Training Room One. ‘They’ll learn …’ But as she looked inside she lost her train of thought. The blue mats were gone. A table stood at one end of the room, faced by metal folding chairs arranged in rows.

Looking over her shoulder, Carter murmured, ‘What the hell …?’

Exchanging a worried look, they walked in together, slipping into two free seats.

‘What’s going on?’ Allie whispered, but Carter shook his head. He didn’t know either. Worry chilled Allie like a cool breeze. The room had the ambience of a church sanctuary before the sermon began – everyone sat in poses of subdued reverence. She got the feeling nobody knew what was happening, but they all knew it wouldn’t be good.

By the time the doors swung open ten minutes later the air fairly crackled with tension. The Night School leaders walked in together like they were heading into battle – Eloise, Isabelle, Zelazny, Jerry and Raj, all dressed in black and matching each other stride for stride. They didn’t look at the students until they’d taken their seats at the front of the room, then their eyes swept the room impassively.

Allie twisted the edge of her shirt around one finger so tightly it cut off the blood flow.

Raj spoke first. ‘What you’re going to do this week isn’t easy, but it is critical. Each of you will be assigned one person to interview. You are to ask your subject about every aspect of their life and produce a written report. In that report you will decide whether or not the person you investigate is telling the truth. Throughout the week you will each receive one-to-one training in lie detection. By the end of the week we expect you to be able to identify all the signs of falseness – vocal tics, mannerisms, tells. You will use those to determine the truth.’

He leaned back, and Eloise took over. ‘Assigned subjects will, in many cases, be someone you already know – in fact, somebody you know well.’ A dismayed murmur crept through the room. ‘Through this you will learn how to separate your emotions from your work. However, you should know that your subject will never see the report you write for us. This will be completely confidential and should, therefore, be the unvarnished truth.’

Placing her palms flat on the table, she emphasised the next words. ‘Lying to your interviewer is grounds for expulsion from Night School and Cimmeria Academy.’

As Zelazny took over, Allie felt herself move back in her chair, as if to get further away from them all.

‘Subject assignments are secret – only you and your subject should know you are investigating them. Do not reveal these to anybody else.’ His icy eyes surveyed them. ‘Anyone found to have revealed this information will be punished.’ Reaching into a briefcase on the floor beside him, he pulled out a stack of thin black folders. ‘When your name is called, please come forward to collect your assignment. Anderson …’

As a tall, slim girl walked to the front of the room for her folder, Allie and Carter exchanged a quick despairing look.

While the stack of folders dwindled in front of Zelazny, Allie watched as first Lucas then Jules collected their assignments.

When Zelazny called out, ‘Glass!’ Zoe strode past them, visibly fuming. She snatched the folder from his hands. ‘This is lame,’ she muttered as she passed Allie on her way back to her seat.

Finally, Zelazny barked, ‘Sheridan!’

Taking a steadying breath, she walked to the front of the room. She kept her face blank although her hands curled into fists at her sides. She made herself meet Zelazny’s frigid eyes as she took the cool folder from his hands. The entire process of walking from her seat to the table and back again must have taken less than a minute. It felt endless.

Carter’s was the last name called. As he stood up he gave Allie a helpless look.

‘You now have your assignments.’ Isabelle’s cool, clear voice rang out after he returned to his seat. ‘Your absolute discretion is required with this process.’

While she spoke, Jerry took off his wire-framed glasses and wiped them with a cloth. When finished, he took over for the final part. ‘Spend time with your subject. Learn to ask the right questions. And to tell truth from a lie. This is important.’ Replacing his glasses on his nose, he studied them all solemnly. ‘Somebody in this room is working for Nathaniel. Lying to all of us. You could find that person. The process starts tomorrow. There will be no Night School training this week – we want you to focus solely on this project.’

As the students shuffled out of the room, Allie and Carter caught up with Lucas and Jules.

‘Can you believe this?’ Lucas looked disgusted.

Shaking her head, Jules glanced up at Carter. ‘I don’t like this at all.’

Her worried expression made Allie nervous.