Day 4 continued
After the chaotic incident, Syd Barrett had officially been taken away to solitary confinement.
It took more than three strong guards, including Toshi, just to drag him off.
Syd kept threatening to hurt Marie the entire way.
And now—he was gone.
He wouldn't be out again until Day 7 at the earliest, and that might be at night. So really, you could just call it Day 8.
When Syd was detained, even though Jody wanted to go after him, the officials didn't allow it. Not even Toshi let them follow.
That place—the Solitary Block—was off-limits. They would never know which level he was being held on.
Sera, who witnessed everything unfold, felt bad. It was hard not to, given how close she'd grown to Syd.
She'd seen the fury in his eyes the moment he found out Jody had boiling water thrown on her. That wasn't a casual tantrum.
And Sera could tell—Syd wasn't just avenging Jody.
He was avenging her, too.
He'd seen the first day of their training. He'd definitely seen how Marie yanked Sera by the hair. Maybe he even saw it again that morning when he was kicking snow with Mickey.
Sera suspected he did.
And even though Syd usually felt like her natural-born enemy, she was... worried about him.
What he did to Marie was too much. But then again—it was Syd. She got it.
When Syd was being hauled off, what really made Sera blink was what Roxxy whispered to her and Jody:
"Don't worry about him. That guy used to go in and out all the time."
That line gave both girls some new insight.
Apparently, Syd Barrett had a history with the "solitary block."
Which... kind of explained his strange celebrity status here, in a certain sense.
"That's it for today. Dismissed."
Marie, with an ice pack on her forehead, announced the end of the night session.
They hadn't gone running outside today. It was all endurance training in the gym.
"HOAHHHHHHHH!"
Sera collapsed flat on the floor after a 2-minute plank, completely drained and laid out like a beached seal.
"Jodé... wa-wait for meeee..."
She reached out to grab Jody's ankle as she passed. Jody kept walking, dragging Sera along across the mats.
"Syd's buff is wearing off, you know. You're gonna snap something."
"Ughh... this condition is so inconvenient..."
Marie, still pressing her ice pack against her head, muttered.
To be fair—she kind of sympathized.
"Guess that's how it is."
"..."
Jody said nothing more, just picked up her water bottle and walked past Marie.
Sera, still clinging to Jody's ankle, slowly got up and followed.
That left Marie alone in the gym.
Sera had noticed something today.
Ever since Syd had been taken away... Jody had hardly spoken at all. Not even during lunch.
The atmosphere had changed.
She'd become more like the Jody Sera had met back in London—quiet, closed off. Even though her words were normal, the vibe was different. Sera could feel it.
The whole group felt quieter.
Which made it even weirder...
"Let's head back... I'm sticky all over. I need a shower! Shower time!!"
Sera pulled out a wheelchair for Jody, who sat down without protest.
"You know... there's a shower in the gym too."
Marie mentioned casually while scanning her fingerprint to lock the room.
"...Huh?"
Sera turned to look.
"Seriously?"
"Yep. Down that hall to the left. There's lockers too—but you need to be an Agent to access it."
Ahhh... that explained it. No wonder Marie never looked sweaty—she was using that shower!
"Wait... that's great! No more walking around smelling gross. Okay, I'm gonna go grab some stuff real quick!"
Jody: "Hey, Sera—"
"I'll grab your things too!"
And like that, Sera zoomed off to fetch their things, leaving Marie alone with Jody.
Half an hour later.
"Ahhh~ That was so refreshing."
All three women stepped out of the gym showers in clean clothes.
"This shampoo smells amazing."
Marie sniffed the ends of her hair repeatedly. Jody remained quiet, but didn't object either.
"Of course it does. It's Gilmour brand, duh."
Sera flipped her hair like a model in a L'Oréal commercial. It had taken some persuasion to get them to try her shampoo—but their reactions were so worth it.
"...I feel richer just using it."
Marie kept sniffing her hair. She seemed to like it—maybe too much.
"Naturally, darling."
"This stuff... what, 7,000 baht a bottle? I saw it behind glass at Robinson's once. Never thought I'd be using it for free..."
"Remember it. And go buy one when you get home. Okay, Mariii~?"
Sera posed with her shampoo like she was on QVC.
Before she could go full sales pitch, she noticed Jody rolling off toward the elevator.
"Hey! Wait up, Jodyyyy!"
Day 4 was coming to an end.
Everyone had gone off to their rooms to rest.
Everyone except Sera.
She looked at her iPhone.
10 PM.
"..."
Alright.
Vrrrrt...
She stepped out of her room and quickly crossed to the door opposite hers.
Standing with arms crossed, she scoped out her surroundings with a sly smirk. Once the coast was clear, she pressed the doorbell.
Ding-dong.
Ding-dong.
A few seconds later, the door slid open...
Mickey Mannix stood there in an orange M150 polo—the one Syd bought him.
"...Huh...?"
He looked sleepy, his hand braced against the wall, eyes drooping.
"...Whaaa...?"
GRAB!
"Move it."
Sera seized his wrist and yanked him into her room like a woman possessed, dragging him inside before anyone could see.
"Wha—? Hey?!"
Vrrrrt!
The door closed.
If this were the stone age, Sera basically just dragged a man into her cave.
Mickey was tackled inside and pinned against the wall before she slammed the door shut.
THUD!
SMOOCH!!!
"Mmm... smooch... mmmwah..."
Sera broke the kiss for breath, only to push him back harder and kiss him again with even more heat.
"You said 9 PM. I thought you were dead from training and went to bed!"
"I had to shower, okay!? Or do you prefer me all sweaty and gross?"
"...Honestly, kinda yeah."
Mickey slid his hands around her waist and grinned.
"Ew... You're disgusting."
Thump!
Sera kneed him in the groin—lightly.
"Ugh—! What is up with you tonight? You're like, hyped up. Did you snort something?"
Mickey wiped his mouth, but before he could say more—
SMOOCH.
She was on him again. Tongue. Lip. Everything.
"...Ngh..."
His legs buckled.
"The real you is showing more and more, y'know?"
"So are you."
"But I'm not obsessed."
"Excuse me!?"
She shoved him onto the bed.
"Call me mommy."
"You're insane."
"Defiant, are we?"
She climbed on top of him.
They tangled into each other—until—
DING-DONG! DING-DONG!
"...!?"
Sera froze.
"...Who the hell!?"
She bolted upright, topless, and crept to the door panel.
Her eyes widened.
"...Jody!?"
"Who is it?"
"Shhh! Mickey! Shut it!"
She turned and glared at him.
[ Sera? ]
DING-DONG.
"Aren't you gonna—"
"SHH! Mannix! ZIP IT!"
She motioned a zip-mouth gesture while turning to the video pad.
Jody stood there in a turtleneck.
Why was she even awake at this hour!?
Wasn't she usually... ghost mode by now!?
Sera started to panic.
Pretend to be asleep? Ignore her?
[ Sera... I heard you walking out just now. You're still up, aren't you? ]
SHIT!!!
Sera knew Jody had freakishly sharp hearing. She was doomed.
"Mannix! Go—there! Go hide!"
Mickey was shoved into a corner.
Sera dashed to the bed, pretending she'd just woken up, and walked slowly to the door.
"Wow... Academy Award..."
Mickey whispered, earning a glare.
She pressed the speaker button.
"Jody?"
"..."
"What's up? Don't we have early training tomorrow?"
[ Still up, huh... I thought I heard you talking to someone just now? ]
"...Talking? Who would I be—nah, no one. Must've been someone else."
She was sweating buckets.
[ Hmm... Pretty sure I heard you say something like 'move it' or 'quickly' or—something. ]
GULP
"Nope, just me. You must've misheard. I was asleep. Really out of it."
Jody stared into the peephole.
Only Sera could see her.
That was a blessing.
[ You sure? ]
"Yeah, totally. I was out like a log. In a deep sleep."
Sera was a decent liar. Jody, unfortunately, was an expert at detecting lies.
"Did you need something, Jody?"
[ Yeah. ]
Jody replied without pause.
[ P.M. ]
BOOM.
Sera's soul left her body.
P.M.—Pink Milk.
Their private code for covert updates on Syd Barrett. If Jody used it, it meant something important had come up.
In short...
Sera was screwed.
Mickey frowned. He'd been eavesdropping from the corner.
"PM?" he muttered.
Sera's panic hit full throttle.
<< YOU! Shut it! >>
But it was too late. Mickey wasn't backing off.
He was very interested now.
"What's 'P.M.'? Huh, Sera?"
"None of your business!"
[ Sera? The line cut. What happened? ]
Presses button
"Nothing! Uh—it's late. I'm super sleepy. Can we talk tomorrow?"
[ This one's important— ]
"HNNNGGGG—let's just talk tomorrow, okay!?"
[ ...... ]
"PM? And it's important? Hmm~"
Mickey rested his chin in his palm, one brow raised.
[ ...... ]
Jody stood still outside, eyeing the peephole.
Sera silently prayed.
She hoped—really hoped—Jody wouldn't figure it out.
Jody thought... Sera declining? Sera?
Something wasn't right.
"..."
Sera never ignored Pink Milk. Never.
Unless...
Unless she wasn't alone.
[ ...... ]
Jody turned away and left.
Sera exhaled in a silent scream, slumping against the wall.
She was safe.
For now.
But now—her real problem was standing right behind her.
Mickey Mannix.
And he was very curious.
"Alright then... what's this P.M., Sera?"
He blocked her path, both hands on the wall.
"...It's a purse. A new purse collection..."
"A purse?"
He raised an eyebrow.
"Jody? Into purses?"
"She just got into them!"
"Jody?"
"..."
"What brand, exactly?"
"You wouldn't know it."
"Try me. Price?"
"..."
"Company?"
"..."
"Can I see it?"
"..."
Sera stared back at him, projecting as much confidence as she could.
Her legs were shaking.
"..."
Mickey leaned in. Closer. Closer—until their noses almost touched.
Then he smirked.
"...Just kidding."