Page 48 of The Guru: Shadow
Only this was supposed to be a life-changing event, not a high-security wing.
“Name?” asked one of the people.
“Julie Regan, Emma Richardson.”
“Alright, please proceed to Point 4 for check-up.”
Like I said, prison.
“Hi, my name’s Meera. So nice to meet you,” beamed a very young-looking, very excited Indian-looking girl at them. “I’m your team leader for this weekend. Please turn off all your electronic devices and put them into the designated box here, they will be stored safely and given back to you after the weekend.”
No way in hell am I storing my phone in a box where I can’t reach it for two and half days.
“Em, do it.”
“Absolutely not. I thought this was to make my life better, not more miserable.”
“The event is designed for your focus to be a hundred percent present. It is essential there is no outside communication. It will be so amazing, give yourself a push,” Meera told her.
Damnit.
“Julie, I’ll kill you personally for this Sunday.”
Julie laughed. “On Sunday, you’ll be so excited about life, I promise you’ll thank me for this forever.”
“Never. Promise,” she growled but then surrendered her phone, her laptop, headphones and smartwatch into the box, which was then sealed with a bracelet.
“This,” said Meera, handing them each the bracelet, “is your key. You can enter designated areas with it and access your box with it on Sunday.”
“So, we’re being tracked.”
“You are monitored in case something happens.”
“Something happens? Like what?”
“It’s just a precaution. Nothing physically dangerous will happen. Some people might just have a more fragile constitution, and we’re taking care of you.”
Or you’re doing risk management. Fragile constitution, as if,she thought with a cocked eyebrow at Meera, who was way too happy and bubbly.You are wearing a mask, too, Meera. Definitely hiding something behind the excitement. I can see it in your eyes.
“We’ll do a small checkup, if you’d please fill out the questionnaire on the tablet, you can take it to the room over there” - she pointed to an open door behind them - “and take your time please. When you are ready, please return the tablet to Matt, he’s the one by the door, and he’ll give you an overview.”
Being handed a tablet, she scanned the questionnaire.
Definitely risk management.
They asked for previous known diagnoses and psychological disorders; she saw questions that tried to rule out or flag mental issues, known past traumas, overall state of health and joy in life, even questions about relationships and parents. She had seen it before in evaluations of her psyche, and those questions told a lot about the person answering them. In her spread the feeling of violated privacy, nowhere in hell would she fill this out truthfully. She had no idea where she was, who these people were, or what they’d do with the information linked to her name.
So instead of self-assessing herself as a walking red flag, she certified herself to be in the best health and purposefully lied on the parents’ questions.
Desperate times,she told herself to quieten her conscience.
Matt was a man with very soft features and a voice like silk that made her want to listen to him forever. He explained the rules of the weekend, but somehow, she couldn’t follow a sentence straight. Rules was a love-hate relationship to her. A part of her loved rules, but only the ones she set. Other rules she couldn’t follow, hell she couldn’t even process them.
“Any questions?” he finally asked, and her mind set in again. And as they had none, he showed them to the door to the main area.
“Sounds so exciting, don’t you think? Like a mission.”
She could see in Julie’s eyes how exhilarated she was. She loved stuff like this, she loved to dive into the unknown, meet new people, and do everything social and adventure-related in general.