Jo knocked on the office door of his advisory at exactly 9:00am Monday morning. His first week of standard classes had gone well enough, mostly boring general education requirements like reading, writing, math, and history. What he was really looking forward to was his first assigned mission. Well, a mini-training mission, but a mission none-the-less! The now familiar voice of his academic advisor, Li Rei, called him in. ”Good morning, Jo. How was your first week?” She asked cheerily as he took a seat opposite her desk.
”Fine, I guess. Just some basic classes.” Something in his voice must’ve betrayed his disappointment, because she smiled brightly and started shuffling through some papers on her desk.
”Oh, I know your GER courses are boring, but they’re important skills everyone needs to have. Here, this should cheer you up!” She handed him a flier. ”There’s a guest speaker coming in to give a lecture this week from Lightning National University. You should attend! It ought to keep you interested.” For a split second, Jo thought he saw a sinister glimmer in her eyes; a glimmer that said ’You’ll attend and you’ll LIKE IT!’ Just as fast as it appeared, the glimmer was gone; leaving Jo wondering if it had ever been there to begin with or if it was just his imagination. ”Besides that, I have a special assignment for you!” Jo leaned forward in his seat, eagerly awaiting his mission. Rei reached forward and rested her right elbow on the desktop, her forearm raised and her hand held open. ”I want you to arm-wrestle me!”
For a couple of seconds Jo sat there dumbfounded. This scrawny lady who resembled a librarian more than an advisor at a shinobi academy wanted him to arm-wrestle her? The evil glimmer returned to her eyes. ”Did I stutter?” She said in a sickeningly sweet voice that betrayed her annoyance just as well as shouting.
”N-no, ma’am!” Jo quickly stammered, sliding forward in his seat and setting his arm on the table, clasping her hand in his.
”Good! Now, on the count of three, give it all you’ve got! One!, Two! Three!” Jo pushed as hard as he could against Rei’s hand, throwing his entire weight behind the effort; but it was like pushing against a brick wall! Jo wasn’t small or weak for his age; in fact, he’d been one of the best arm-wrestlers in his class at his old school. ”Come on now, I said “give it all you’ve got”! Are you even trying?” After a full minute of embarrassing straining, Rei sighed. ”Oh well. I guess you leave me no choice!” Without any effort at all, she slammed Jo’s hand down into the desktop. Then, without any warning, she used her other hand to fling the massive hardwood desk out of the way as if it were made of cardboard, crossing the now empty space between them with one quick stride and kicking over Jo’s chair, landing him on his back. Before he could get up, she planted one high-heeled shoe square into the center of his chest, effectively anchoring him to the floor as effortlessly as if he were a piece of paper. He didn’t even notice that he could see straight up her skirt from his position. His eyes were firmly affixed on hers in stunned disbelief.
”A Shinobi’s first weapon is their body, and yours is pathetic and weak! Your first assignment is to start a workout regimen. I want to see a detailed exercise schedule and evidence that you’ve either acquired an in-home gym or are attending a local fitness center. I also want to see a weekly report so I can monitor your progress. If you can come to me with this information by Wednesday, I’ll even give you another assignment; for reduced pay of course. I can only give students so much money per week, and you can only be expected to do so much in such a short amount of time.” She said all of this in her sweet, calm voice, as if they were still talking over the desk that was now tipped over against the wall. ”Now go on, you’ve got a lecture to get to!” She lifted her foot enough so that Jo still had to scramble to get out from underneath it, muttering “yes, ma’am”, and “right away, ma’am as he bolted out the door.
…..
Two days later
…..
Jo’s entire body ached and burned as he walked down the hall towards Li Rei’s office. One hand held a stack of papers; receipts for an entire in-home gym system, detailed descriptions of exercises along with a workout schedule, a chart depicting his first two days of working out, and even a meal plan that would provide him with optimal nutrition. The other hand felt like lead as he raised it to the door and hesitated before knocking.
”Well don’t just stand there! Go on in!” Her friendly voice chirped up behind him, making him jump and drop all the papers. He turned to see Rei standing behind him with a cup of coffee in one hand, the other hand on her hip as she tapped her foot impatiently. ”Now really, Jo. What a mess!” She stooped to help him gather the papers as he stammered apologies. Halfway through the cleanup she placed her hand on his, effectively paralyzing him. ”Hey, calm down. I’m not going to hurt you. I was just trying to get a point across on Monday. I’d never hurt you. O.K.?” Jo nodded silently, quickly gathering the remaining papers and following her into her office. ”Well, not seriously at least.” She muttered.
”What was that?”
”Oh, nothing! Just thinking aloud!” She said cheerily, sitting behind her desk (which was back where it was supposed to be) and accepting the paperwork. She sipped her coffee as she glanced over everything, nodding approvingly at the dietary guide. ”Good job! If you keep up a training regimen like that you’ll be plenty strong in no time at all!” Reaching into her desk, she produced a wad of cash and tossed it to him. ”Here you go! Payment for this weeks assignment plus reimbursement for the gym equipment. Think you’re ready for some extra credit?”
Hesitantly, Jo nodded…
(Extra credit pending approval of this weeks second solo-mission post as per the new rules recently announced in THIS topic.)
WC: 1063
”Fine, I guess. Just some basic classes.” Something in his voice must’ve betrayed his disappointment, because she smiled brightly and started shuffling through some papers on her desk.
”Oh, I know your GER courses are boring, but they’re important skills everyone needs to have. Here, this should cheer you up!” She handed him a flier. ”There’s a guest speaker coming in to give a lecture this week from Lightning National University. You should attend! It ought to keep you interested.” For a split second, Jo thought he saw a sinister glimmer in her eyes; a glimmer that said ’You’ll attend and you’ll LIKE IT!’ Just as fast as it appeared, the glimmer was gone; leaving Jo wondering if it had ever been there to begin with or if it was just his imagination. ”Besides that, I have a special assignment for you!” Jo leaned forward in his seat, eagerly awaiting his mission. Rei reached forward and rested her right elbow on the desktop, her forearm raised and her hand held open. ”I want you to arm-wrestle me!”
For a couple of seconds Jo sat there dumbfounded. This scrawny lady who resembled a librarian more than an advisor at a shinobi academy wanted him to arm-wrestle her? The evil glimmer returned to her eyes. ”Did I stutter?” She said in a sickeningly sweet voice that betrayed her annoyance just as well as shouting.
”N-no, ma’am!” Jo quickly stammered, sliding forward in his seat and setting his arm on the table, clasping her hand in his.
”Good! Now, on the count of three, give it all you’ve got! One!, Two! Three!” Jo pushed as hard as he could against Rei’s hand, throwing his entire weight behind the effort; but it was like pushing against a brick wall! Jo wasn’t small or weak for his age; in fact, he’d been one of the best arm-wrestlers in his class at his old school. ”Come on now, I said “give it all you’ve got”! Are you even trying?” After a full minute of embarrassing straining, Rei sighed. ”Oh well. I guess you leave me no choice!” Without any effort at all, she slammed Jo’s hand down into the desktop. Then, without any warning, she used her other hand to fling the massive hardwood desk out of the way as if it were made of cardboard, crossing the now empty space between them with one quick stride and kicking over Jo’s chair, landing him on his back. Before he could get up, she planted one high-heeled shoe square into the center of his chest, effectively anchoring him to the floor as effortlessly as if he were a piece of paper. He didn’t even notice that he could see straight up her skirt from his position. His eyes were firmly affixed on hers in stunned disbelief.
”A Shinobi’s first weapon is their body, and yours is pathetic and weak! Your first assignment is to start a workout regimen. I want to see a detailed exercise schedule and evidence that you’ve either acquired an in-home gym or are attending a local fitness center. I also want to see a weekly report so I can monitor your progress. If you can come to me with this information by Wednesday, I’ll even give you another assignment; for reduced pay of course. I can only give students so much money per week, and you can only be expected to do so much in such a short amount of time.” She said all of this in her sweet, calm voice, as if they were still talking over the desk that was now tipped over against the wall. ”Now go on, you’ve got a lecture to get to!” She lifted her foot enough so that Jo still had to scramble to get out from underneath it, muttering “yes, ma’am”, and “right away, ma’am as he bolted out the door.
…..
Two days later
…..
Jo’s entire body ached and burned as he walked down the hall towards Li Rei’s office. One hand held a stack of papers; receipts for an entire in-home gym system, detailed descriptions of exercises along with a workout schedule, a chart depicting his first two days of working out, and even a meal plan that would provide him with optimal nutrition. The other hand felt like lead as he raised it to the door and hesitated before knocking.
”Well don’t just stand there! Go on in!” Her friendly voice chirped up behind him, making him jump and drop all the papers. He turned to see Rei standing behind him with a cup of coffee in one hand, the other hand on her hip as she tapped her foot impatiently. ”Now really, Jo. What a mess!” She stooped to help him gather the papers as he stammered apologies. Halfway through the cleanup she placed her hand on his, effectively paralyzing him. ”Hey, calm down. I’m not going to hurt you. I was just trying to get a point across on Monday. I’d never hurt you. O.K.?” Jo nodded silently, quickly gathering the remaining papers and following her into her office. ”Well, not seriously at least.” She muttered.
”What was that?”
”Oh, nothing! Just thinking aloud!” She said cheerily, sitting behind her desk (which was back where it was supposed to be) and accepting the paperwork. She sipped her coffee as she glanced over everything, nodding approvingly at the dietary guide. ”Good job! If you keep up a training regimen like that you’ll be plenty strong in no time at all!” Reaching into her desk, she produced a wad of cash and tossed it to him. ”Here you go! Payment for this weeks assignment plus reimbursement for the gym equipment. Think you’re ready for some extra credit?”
Hesitantly, Jo nodded…
(Extra credit pending approval of this weeks second solo-mission post as per the new rules recently announced in THIS topic.)
WC: 1063