[MORNING – CLASSROOM]
The bell rang once.
Not loudly.
Not urgently.
Ms. Mai stood at the front of the room, a thin stack of papers in her hand.
"Today's lesson will be different," she said.
Chairs shifted.
Attention sharpened.
"This is a field-based assignment."
That got reactions.
Whispers.
Interest.
Unease.
She placed the papers on the desk.
"You will work in pairs."
A pause—long enough for expectation to form.
"The objective is simple," she continued.
"Observation. Information gathering. Pattern recognition."
She turned to the board and wrote one word.
INTEL
Some students frowned.
"This is not about grades," Ms. Mai said.
"It's about how you notice the world."
She faced them again.
"I will assign the pairs."
Noah leaned back in his chair.
Lilly straightened unconsciously.
Ms. Mai began reading names.
Neutral voice.
No inflection.
Each pair landed without comment.
Then—
"Sato Noah."
Noah looked up.
"And—Lilly."
The room reacted immediately.
"Oh?"
"Again?"
"Figures."
Lilly turned toward Noah.
He was already looking at her.
"…Us?" she whispered.
"Looks like it," he said.
At the front of the room, Ms. Mai watched the exchange.
No surprise.
No hesitation.
Only confirmation.
"Your assignment," she said, "is to gather intel on a designated location."
She handed out the sheets.
Noah scanned his.
Location: Neighborhood Sector C
Focus: Movement patterns, anomalies, civilian behavior
Restrictions: No confrontation. No interference.
"This is not a spy game," Ms. Mai added calmly.
"If you treat it like one, you will fail."
Her eyes passed over Noah for half a second longer than necessary.
"Questions?"
Silence.
"Good," she said.
"You have three days."
She turned back to the board, signaling the end of discussion.
But the room didn't relax.
Something about the assignment felt heavier than it should've been.
[DESK ROW – LOW VOICES]
"This is weird," Lilly muttered.
"Why intel? Why not a report or presentation?"
Noah shrugged.
"Maybe she's just different."
Lilly glanced toward the front.
Ms. Mai was writing, back turned—but somehow still aware.
"…She's watching us," Lilly said.
Noah didn't answer immediately.
He was reading the assignment again.
Sector C.
Near his house.
Near hers.
"…Yeah," he said finally.
"I think she is."
[MS. MAI – INTERNAL]
Pairs confirmed.
Proximity established.
The choice hadn't been random.
Shared history created variables.
Variables revealed truth faster.
Subject Noah displayed no resistance.
Subject Lilly displayed awareness.
Good.
That meant pressure would work.
She underlined a note on her own sheet.
Observe pair dynamics under mild exposure.
No emotion accompanied the thought.
Only procedure.
[CONTROL ROOM – LIVE FEED]
The classroom appeared on the right screen.
Urban movement data pulsed on the left.
"They're paired," an analyst noted.
The Chief Commander nodded once.
"Expected."
"And the assignment location overlaps with Nana's former patrol routes."
"That's intentional," the Commander said.
No one argued.
Unit Zero didn't test.
They provoked.
[AFTER CLASS – HALLWAY]
Students poured out.
Noah and Lilly walked side by side.
"So," Lilly said, "when were you going to tell me our homework involves surveillance?"
"It's not surveillance," Noah replied.
"It's… noticing."
She gave him a look.
"That was a very specific answer."
He smiled faintly.
"I've had practice."
They reached the stairs.
Ahead of them, Ms. Mai stood near the exit, speaking to another teacher.
As Noah passed, her eyes flicked to him.
Just once.
Just enough.
A signal.
Or a warning.
He felt it.
Lilly felt it too.
And somewhere beneath the routine of school life, something began to move—quietly, deliberately—toward the surface.
The test had started.
Whether they knew it or not.