-John & Paul's POV-
"Let's play a game of pretend Mr. Jenkins." The kid's eyes shot up in surprise at John's statement. kid isn't the right description, he was 15.
Both John and Paul had lost count on how many interviews they had done already. Whoever made it through the interview portion of the selection process would move on to the obstacle course that Thomas and his friends were setting up around the halls of the school. So far John had only ok'd three kids to move on to the next round. It didn't look good for Jenkins.
"Let's pretend your life situation is different. Your father owns a factory, you live in a house on the better side of town, and you go to the best school. You are the eldest of your siblings and you are set to take over the factory when your father passes. What do you do until that time?"
Jenkins shakes his head in confusion and his eyebrows furrow. "I don't understand the question sir." Paul tries to phrase it a different way.
"You know you will take over your father's factory, but probably not for twenty or so years when he passes. What do you do with your days for these next twenty years? You can afford to do almost anything." Jenkins still looks confused, which does not make him look like Academy material. Paul still tries to help him out though. "You could go to college, you could travel, you could work in your father's factory to see how everything runs." Jenkin jerks his head back which stops Paul in his list of possibilities.
"You mean work on the floor at the factory? Why would I do that if I didn't need the money?" He looks at both John and Paul like they have two heads. Paul looks at John to see who would answer Jenkins. John just tilts his head to Paul, indicating that Paul can take the lead on this one.
"In time you will be the one overseeing that factory. Don't you think it would be wise to know the ins and outs of it? Maybe there's something that you could change to make it more efficient that you wouldn't notice unless you were actually down there doing the work."
Jenkins shook his head. "Don't think so. First, I have seen factory workers when they get off shift. They look like a horse and cart ran them over half the time, why would I do purposefully do that to myself if I don't have to. Second, I'm sure my fancy father would have everything figured out, that's why we are rich right?" And that's when John officially lost hope for Jenkins. There are a lot of different ways you could answer his question which would show some kind of characteristic or quality that would make you a good fit for The Academy. Jenkins didn't come close to any answer they would have accepted.
John and Paul both look down at their list of questions and notes. Things they would ask of the potential members, situations they would present to see how each kid would respond. There were still half a dozen things they could go through with Jenkins, but what was the point.
"Thank you Mr. Jenkins." John stood up, pushing his chair slightly back and holding his hand out in front of him. Jenkins awkwardly stood, obviously expecting that there would have been more questions. He shook John's hand, then Paul's. He held his wool hat between both hands. "Professor Hart and I have a lot of interviews to conduct today, so you can head on home. We will be sending formal invitations to those that qualify for the next round."
Jenkins nodded, opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but quickly shut it. He walked to the door and slipped out.
Paul and John sat back down. John let out a sigh. Jenkins response was a lot like the others that didn't make it to the next round. "They think they are here to qualify for a scholarship to your school, yet they don't even pretend to have ambition when we ask that question."
Paul nodded. "I know it is hard for these kids to imagine a life where they wouldn't have to work only to still be behind, so the fantasy of not having to work takes over any ambition they might have had."
"That's the point though Paul. If The Academy can do what we want it to do, our members will be able to do what makes them happy. If they can't even pretend like they would still work to better themselves, even if it is in a dirty factory, then what would they do if that situation was actually presented to them?"
Paul shrugged. "I know. I understand the reasoning behind our questions. It just seems like we are eliminating a lot of kids today."
"Good. I want the best kids in The Academy. I don't want to sacrifice who we let in just because we start to feel bad for them."
***
By midafternoon there were only twenty kids left in the gymnasium. They were sent back there if they passed through John and Paul's interview. John and Paul walked in, nodding at the kids as they passed by.
John stood up on a platform that Thomas had brought in and raised his hand to get everyone's attention.
"Congratulations to everyone in this room. If you are here you made it to the next round. We would like to remind you that what you do here is to be kept between you and us. We don't want next year's candidates knowing what we might have in store." John winked and smiled. The candidates laughed at his joke, still believing that they were here to win a scholarship to the school. "The next round is something a little more fun than the last. You can work individually or in teams, but either way you have to make it through our obstacle course." A few candidates started talking to each other. John held his hand up again to silence them. "In a few minutes you will all be handed a piece of paper with the first set of directions. Follow the directions and you will find the next clue. Keep going until you make it to the final location. Some of my fellow instructors and a few volunteer students that you have already seen today will be walking around, offering help should you need it. Again, feel free to work together or alone, it is not a timed race, so it does not matter who finishes first or whether you had help or not."
John nodded his head to Thomas and Mick, who were standing behind the candidates with the first set of directions. Thomas and Mick began handing out the papers to each candidate and watched as they scrambled out of the gymnasium. John walked up between both guys.
"Time to start your rounds boys. I want you both at the final location within the hour, that will give you plenty of time to get there before even the fastest kid. I want details on anyone you encounter, how they acted, if they asked for help, anything. I also want to know the order in which they enter the final spot and their reaction."
Both boys nodded their heads and smiled as they walked off. Thomas had told John a few months ago that this was one of his favorite tests. He had been looking forward to being a part of it ever since John asked him to help out today.
Paul walked up to John. "Did you see that the Jacobs boy didn't even look at the directions before he ran out of the gym?" Paul shook his head. "He was the first one out of here, what was his plan?"
John laughed. "I don't think he had one. I wasn't totally sure about him during the interview, but I thought he might have something so I pushed him through. We'll see though."
"I know, I was surprised you let him through, but I agree, he had something in that interview. I was pretty impressed with Robert's interview." John nodded in agreement. Phelps's son showed some real ambition in the interview. It was easier to talk him through some of the "what if" scenarios, since he really was in a position that he could skate by in life without pushing himself. John knew that some of it could have been for show, but they had kept the interview questions a secret from Randall Phelps, to make sure he couldn't coach Robert. And he was one of the only ones in this group that took a few beats to read the directions fully before heading out of the gym.
John and Paul headed out of the gym, splitting up once they got in the hall. They would walk the hallways around where the clues were leading the boys. By the end of the day they would make a decision on who would officially make it through to the probation period.
