Chapter 3:

April 15, 2017

Pauline 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. The pile of clothing consisted 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 a jacket in the same format as the T-shirt lying there. She got dressed, 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 it, left the room, went down the corridor and found a flight of stairs, which she climbed to get 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 Pauline's presence and told her to sit down on one of the chairs in front of the office. Pauline 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 Pauline was told the chairman was ready. She knocked at the door. From inside she could hear a loud, strong voice saying "You may enter.", 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, a white shirt and blondish-white hair that was dark for an inch/2-3 centimetres at the roots was sitting at a desk.

He greeted her and gestured her to sit down on one of the comfy armchairs next to the fire and took off his jacket. Then he began to speak:

"As you might already have noticed, 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 10 kids. We have a higher proportion of students at top universities than any school in the country."

Pauline interrupted: "But there is a twist, isn't there? I'm an orphan and I'm not going to inherit a lot of money. 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 aren'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: Holly. Holly was in contact with us. She was supposed to look for good recruits. Luckily she found you quickly. Holly is one of the pupils here, but not old enough to do basic training yet. Should we start with the medical exam?"

"Sorry, I have one more question. Has Holly already done basic training? She doesn't look that old."

"Oh sorry, I forgot. Eight and nine year olds who take part in a special course are allowed to go on recruitment missions."

"Okay."

Together they left the office and headed to the the medical building.