Chapter 4:
Maxime woke up in a large room that she didn't recognise. She was lying in a big white bed and realised she was naked, which she was weirded out by. She stood up and looked around. She found a pile of clothing and a pair of combat boots lying in front of the bed. In the pile of clothing she found underwear, socks, a pair of (olive) green trousers with lots of pockets at the sides and a fluorescent orange shirt with the words CHERUB and an baby angel in war clothing shooting an arrow on it. There was also an jacket in the same format as the T-shirt lying there. She left the bra and the slip there and put on the boots and made her way to the window. She saw a bunch of kids on a running track doing exercises, while a teacher was shouting at them. It all seemed very military. She decided that she was probably at a military academy or something, she just wondered how she had gotten there. Then she went to the door. She unlocked the door and left the room. She went down the corridor and found a flight of stairs, which she climbed to the top floor. She did this because she thought, that if there was a headmaster or something she was supposed to go to, his or her office would be at the top, because of the top position. She was right. Opposite the staircase there was a big office. Next to the doors there was a glass sign saying Ewart Asker - Chairman. The secretary now noticed Max's presence and told her to sit down on one of the chairs in front of the office. Max presumed the chairman would be something like the headmaster of the place. After only a few minutes an elderly man came out of the office and Max was told the chairman was ready. She knocked at the door. From inside she could hear a loud, strong voice saying:"Come in", so she pushed open the door and walked into the office. A tall, heavy-built middle aged man in a navy suit with a red tie and a white shirt and blondish-white hair that was dark for an inch/2-3 centimetres at the roots.
He said greeted her, gestured her to sit down on one of the comfy armchairs next to the fire and took of his jacket and loosened his tie. Then he began to speak:
"As you might already know, my name is Ewart Asker. You may call me Ewart. I'm the chairman of CHERUB, which is where you are. We have more than 300 pupils, four swimming pools, six indoor tennis courts, an all-weather football field, a gymnasium, a dojo and a shooting range, just to name a few. We have a school on-site. Everyone knows 2 foreign languages, but a lot learn more. Classes have up to 15 kids. We have a higher proportion of students at top universities than any school in the country."
Max interrupted: "But there is a twist, isn't there? I'm an orphan and I don't have a lot of money that I'm going to inherit. All those things together must be extremely expensive. I could get a scholarship, but that's all really. But 300 kids with scholarships, maybe a few super rich kids too?! That can't work!"
"You're right. CHERUB is part of the British Intelligence Service."
"So the kids here are all spies?"
"Not really. All the kids that have passed basic training are spies, but the rest isn't. Basic training is something you have to go through to qualify as an agent, which means you're allowed to go on missions after it. It's 100 days long. Basic training pushes you to your limit, you will discover things you never knew you could do, and it teaches you everything basic. The principle is that it teaches you to not be scared of anything else. You have to be 10 years old to do basic training. Okay? Any questions?"
"I understand. But I have to do some kind of test, right? You won't just accept me like this. And how did I get here?"
"You're right. All kids between 6 and 9 take a medical exam. All kids who are 8 or 9 also take a written exam. The kids who are younger are tested through playing. All kids between 10 and 12 have to do five challenges: martial arts, written exam, moral, a high obstacle course and a special test based on the recruit's weaknesses. If they pass, they do a medical exam too. And for your second question: Zoe. Zoe was in contact with us. She was supposed to look for good recruits. Luckily she found you quickly. Zoe is one of the pupils here, but not old enough to do basic training yet. Should we start with the medical exam?"
"Okay."
Together they left the office and headed to the the medical building.
