fandomhigh | Spy Games, Monday, Period 5

If Sarah didn't seem nervous as she waited for the class to assemble, that was only because she'd spent the last decade keeping cool on the outside no matter what went on underneath. Just teaching for the first time would be bad enough, but there was one student name on the roster that she had very much never expected to see here.

"Welcome to Spy Games," she said with a smile and a twist of her sweaty palms against her skirt as the time came for the session to begin. Her voice came out calm, sure, self-confident as possible. Thank God. "I am your instructor for the next two months. My name's Sarah Walker and, to get this out of the way, I am qualified to teach this class because I worked for the CIA for the last several years. My main focus was protection of national security data."

Anyone at the CIA could say that, but Sarah was hoping to ward off questions.

"If you're here," she went on, "I'm going to assume you want to be a spy, or at least want to know how to be a spy. Maybe you want to work for the government; maybe you just know a lot of people you don't trust. Whatever your experience, there are all kinds of applications for the stuff we're learning here. The syllabus and rules are on your desks, but some of the things we'll cover are lockpicking, disguise, persuasion, and weapons."

"But today, we're talking about basic undercover work," she went on. "If you're undercover, you're lying to everyone all the time. You lie about your name, your family, what you do for a living, maybe your politics, maybe your religion. But under all that, you can't change who you are. You're still you, but the details are different. And the secret of good undercover work is using that."

"For example, I'm not exactly the chattiest person in the world. If I go undercover for more than a few hours and I decide I'm going to be someone who can't keep her mouth shut, I'm going to get caught fast. I'll always have to think about the part I'm playing, and that's when people make stupid mistakes. And a big part of your job as a spy is not making stupid mistakes."

She cleared her throat, finally relaxing into this. "I understand the tradition for the first week of classes is introductions. We're doing that, but with a twist. If you've heard of the game 'Two Truths and a Lie,' we're going to play that -- except you must make one true statement about yourself, one false statement about yourself, and a third statement that can be either true or false. Your fellow students will guess how many lies you told, and which they are."

"Remember that if you're undercover, you're lying for a reason. And in this class, you have a purpose too. Tell lies -- and truths -- that will make me think you have it in you to be a good spy." She pointed out randomly. "You first."

Once the students were done with the game, she smiled before dismissing the class. "Your assignment for the week is to tell one lie. It doesn't have to be a big one or about anything that matters. Just tell it and see how it feels; we'll report back next Monday. And if any of you want to be TA, I could use one. And Miss Bartowski, please stick around too -- I have a quick question for you."

She was impressed how level her tone sounded on that last bit.

[OOC: First posted class of the semester! I will pick up tags in the a.m.]

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"Frikkin' elk in the office." Maybe it wasn't fair for her to be casting aspersions on the elk's clerical skills, but it was convenient. (And 'elk' was a fun word.) "Whoever signed me up for this class wasn't me," Katchoo clarified. So far, she hadn't panicked; she'd count that as a victory.

"Oh." Sarah swept her hair behind her ears, thinking. "Well, do you want to stay here for the term?"

Katchoo did look genuinely uncomfortable for a second or two. "I guess," she said grudgingly; turning tail and running would probably look worse for her.

"I can't force anybody to stick around, Katina," Sarah said, a little laugh in her voice to cover her ... frustration. Something. She wanted to get to know the girl, but being too eager would clearly just scare her away. "If you need me to sign a drop slip, I will."

Katchoo shook her head. Looking too eager to get out might, on her part, clue Sarah in more than she was willing to risk. "Nah. 's not anything I really needed to learn --" being as she knew a little more than she would've liked as it was -- "but it's not going to kill me, right?"

Oh, delicious potential irony, and the way she said it hinted at that.

"I can promise nobody's getting killed on my watch," Sarah said, a touch more serious than she should have been about it as she absorbed the irony. "Thanks for giving this a chance, even if you don't need to learn it."

A beat. "I do still need that TA."

Katchoo took a moment to be amused at how the teachers back at Puncture High would react to her of all people being a frikkin' teacher's assistant, and considered briefly; sometimes proximity was your safest bet, she'd learned that.

"What'd I have to do?"

"Show up," Sarah began. "Help set things up. Run class if I'm not around. I shouldn't have to go without warning. And I'm supposed to get a graduate TA, too, but ~~la la la handwavey~~."

She arched an eyebrow. "I'd be really happy to have you, Katina."

Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep. Katchoo didn't swallow, but the impulse was there, and she jerked her chin downward in a single sharp nod instead. "Yeah, okay, sure," she said, biting off the question before she could ask "Why me?"

if she had asked, Sarah would have told her it was because she was interesting, because she'd stopped, and because she did well in the game.

But she didn't. So. "Then I'll see you next week."

"I'll be here." Katchoo grunted and nodded again, then started to back away.

Oh yeah, this was going to be fun. Augh.

Spy Games, Monday, Period 5

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Re: Talk to Sarah [Spy Games, 5/11]

Re: Talk to Sarah [Spy Games, 5/11]

Re: Talk to Sarah [Spy Games, 5/11]

Re: Talk to Sarah [Spy Games, 5/11]

Re: Talk to Sarah [Spy Games, 5/11]

Re: Talk to Sarah [Spy Games, 5/11]

Re: Talk to Sarah [Spy Games, 5/11]

Re: Talk to Sarah [Spy Games, 5/11]

Re: Talk to Sarah [Spy Games, 5/11]

Re: Talk to Sarah [Spy Games, 5/11]