Back at the well-lit glass room, Rey saw the two other candidates besides Thomas and the blonde woman in more detail. A frail man in his thirties packing a thick green scarf over a brown jacket, and a sweaty guy in his twenties with nerdy glasses and a gray suit.
They still look proper compared to Thomas, Rey thought.
“Before we move to the dorms, you are required to put on these armbands.”
The golden armbands had a fine black line down the middle, and were put on by clicking both ends together. When Rey put on the armband, he noticed it tightened around his arm all on its own.
“The primary function of these armbands is GPS tracking. They’re necessary to ensure the rules are being upheld by the candidates. You may take them off on Sundays, but otherwise, they are to be worn without any exceptions.”
Rey saw that Thomas put his armband on his right arm, while everyone else put it on their left. Afterward, the five of them were escorted outside. It was a bright and sunny spring evening, and what waited for them was a long, black limousine.
“Very imposing…It’s kind of killing the mood, isn’t it? With such nice weather, I could’ve gone for a walk instead”, Thomas said to Rey.
“Yeah”, Rey answered.
After a ten-minute ride, they arrived at a very inconspicuous downtown office. At the reception, every candidate was given a room key and a golden sticker with a number on it.
“Please move to your assigned rooms and change clothes. Put the sticker on the left chest area on your shirt. There is a training hall towards the end of the hallway on the first floor. We are to assemble there at 6:30.”
Rey looked at the clock above the receptionist’s desk. 6:18 p.m. His room number was 404, and ironically, his sticker had a “4” on it as well. Thomas pointed to the closest room to the reception, room 101, and happily said:
“Well, that’s my room, so I’ll see you in 10 minutes.”
As the other two chose to take the stairs, only Rey and the blonde woman entered the elevator.
“So, is your room 505?”, Rey asked her.
“Y-yeah”, she hastily replied, scratching her arm again.
“By the way, are you feeling better? You seemed really distressed earlier, though I guess you do even now.”
She paused for a second.
“…T-That’s just how I am. You wanted my name, right? I-it’s Bella. I’m Bella.”
The doors opened to the 4th floor, and Rey slowly exited the elevator.
“Nice to meet you, Bella. I’m Rey.”
“O-okay”, Bella answered, with her eyes still darting through space.
Room 404 was a small room with basic commodities. This would be where Rey spent every night from then on. To him, it was a true blessing. No more park benches, no more sneaking into central-heated apartment complex hallways, and no need to cover himself with old newspapers. There was a fresh bed and a nice AC, right there.
Perfect, Rey thought.
He opened the sizeable package sitting on the desk, and grabbed a pack of identical T-shirts and pants. His new clothes were white, adorned with golden stars forming lines. To Rey, they seemed far from fashionable, and the golden glow made them hard on the eyes. After putting them on, he stuck the “4” sticker on his shirt, and checked the clock in his room. 6:25.
“Well, time to see what this is all about, huh…”, he said to himself.
While going back to the 1st floor, Rey was the only one in the elevator. There was another clock above the entrance to the training hall, showing it was 6:27. Rey didn’t think he was the first one, as Mr. Lain stated that they would meet inside the hall, and not in front of it, but he also felt bad about going in ahead of schedule. At 6:29, Thomas came out of his room, letting out a big yawn, and scratching his back.
“Oh, Rey. I almost fell asleep. Too comfortable in there for me, I’ve got to tell you. Let’s go.”
Rey nodded. Together, they opened the door, and saw Mr. Lain together with the other candidates. Not only were the two unknowns from before there, the nerdy guy and the frail man, but also the two others Mr. Lain had told them about. Bella was the only one not present yet.
“It is time”, said Mr. Lain. “Shall we start?”
“W-wait!”
Bella came rushing through the door, her arms fully covered in tape. Thomas yelled:
“Now, that’s an interesting beauty choice! Where’d you get that idea from? Haha!”
“Oh, s-shut up”, Bella replied.
With everyone present, the seven candidates formed a circle around Mr. Lain. He explained:
“The Star Squire project is split into seven levels, each different from another. There will be certain criteria that have to be met to advance to the next level. You will all start at Level 1. We have also determined your profile based on the results shown through our development team’s analysis. An update of your profile will be handed to you every day on a spreadsheet paper at 7 p.m. You are free to do whatever you want with these papers. However, showing them to outsiders will be considered a violation of the key rules. Do you understand?”
“What is meant by profile, exactly?”, Thomas asked.
“Your profile will indicate your health, physical condition, and a progression meter on how suitable the development team has deemed you to advance to the next level. All values are put in concrete numbers for you to improve on. I have already prepared your papers for today, and will hand them out shortly. However, are there any other questions anyone might want to state beforehand?”
The hall grew silent. With this much input, most candidates felt too overwhelmed to formulate any further questions, and instead waited for the handout to happen. Yet, there was one exception.
“I’ve only got one question for ya.”
It was one of the two who weren’t at the golden lobby, a young black-haired man with his hands in his pockets. His eye shadows were thick enough to look like make-up.
“Yes, Mr. Gordon?”, Mr. Lain answered.
“Why us? Why did ya hafta go an’ choose sum hopeless bums from the streets like us?”
Thomas nodded in agreement, while Bella’s grip on her arm tightened. Rey was curious too, but also conflicted about how he hadn’t thought about asking that question himself.
“There are multiple reasons”, Mr. Lain replied. “But most importantly, it is because the chairwoman decided so. I’m afraid I cannot go into further detail at this time.”
“Aight”, Mr. Gordon said. Mr. Lain continued:
“Now, I will hand you your profiles. Please inspect them carefully. You are also free to go to your rooms. Starting from 8 p.m., we will be conducting our first trial. Your profile will show you when your turn starts. That is the time for you to assemble here, in the hall. I will hand you your papers based on your number. That is all.”
He took out a black folder from his suitcase, and started calling:
“Number 1.”
Thomas enthusiastically stepped forward.
“This is where we get into the nitty-gritty, eh?”
“Number 2.”
It was the guy with nerdy glasses, making quick steps to get his paper.
“Number 3.”
The frail man, looking ever frailer than before in his new, thin clothes. Contrary to Number 2, he slowly stepped forward, and softly took his paper.
“Number 4.”
Rey’s turn. He took a deep breath, before walking up to Mr. Lain. The elderly man’s perfume has already become nostalgic to him, but he was still nervous about meeting him eye-to-eye.
“Number 5.”
Bella was a worse case, grabbing onto the sheet with profusely sweating hands.
“Number 6.”
The person Rey knew the least about. A somewhat chubby brunette, who hasn’t said a single word yet.
“Number 7.”
Mr. Gordon, who rubbed his eyes before stepping forward. Before he took his paper, he paused for a second, trying to get a better look at Mr. Lain’s folder. Noticing this, Mr. Lain said:
“Your curiosity is warranted. However, it would be best for you to step back.”
“Ye, ye”, Mr. Gordon smiled, taking his exit.
After Mr. Gordon’s turn was over, Rey turned over his profile. And what he saw was truly incredible. A description so detailed, it far exceeded his own knowledge of himself. He looked over to Mr. Lain.
“Welcome, to the Star Squire project.”
