08.02: School Days (JP)

“Wakey wakey,” Shakeel said, flicking Jamie's ear.
Jamie’s head shot up from his desk. He opened his eyes, inhaled deeply and looked at his watch. It was after ten o’clock.
“Oh my days,” Jamie said, startled. “If I don’t get this history report done by tomorrow, I'm dead meat. It’s a two-thousand-word essay and I haven’t
even read the chapters in the textbook.”
"Get a deferral," Shakeel said, he was Jamie’s neighbour across the dorm corridor.
"I’ve had a deferral, Shak. And I've had a deferral of the deferral. I've got extra laps to run before school and mowing after. There aren’t enough hours in the day. I spent all day Sunday doing homework and I still keep getting further behind."
"You should speak to your faculty mentor."
"I tried," Jamie said. "You know what Drake said?"
"What?"
"He said, if I was so snowed under with work, how come I had time to spend sitting in his office whinging."
Shakeel laughed.
"I swear, they're trying to kill me," Jamie moaned.
"No," Shakeel said. "They're trying to instil a sense of discipline in you Downton. After a month of being worked like a dog, maybe you’ll think twice about ignoring the rules next time. It’s your own stupid fault. All you had to do on holiday was keep in half reasonable shape and study the briefing for the hostage training.”
“I did study it,” Jamie protested
“You went out for the afternoon on a jet ski.”
This was actually true, put Jamie on a beach and he flipped to party mode. He had indulged in the weeks on Crete in messing about, dirt bikes, and spending the nights binge watching TV with masses of crisps, popcorn and chocolate.
“Everybody warned you buddy. Me, Jack, Noah. But you always reckon you know better."
Jamie angrily swept his arm across his desk, shooting his books and pens onto the floor.
"Good idea," Shakeel grinned. "That’ll solve your problems."
"Spare me another lecture," Jamie shouted. "I'm so knackered I can hardly keep my eyes open and I'm sick of everyone saying I told you so."
"What's that report you're doing?" Shakeel asked.
"Two thousand words on the foundation of the CIA from what was done in the Second World War."
"Interesting stuff," Shakeel said.
"I’d rather eat a bowl of snot," Jamie said.
"I might just be able to help you out there, Downton.”
Jamie had got used to his nickname, although only his friends got away with using it. “I did that course two years ago. I've got my old notes and an essay on my laptop. I can airdrop it you."
"Cheers, Shakeel," Jamie grinned. a "You're a lifesaver. You did it two years ago?"
“Dad’s doing. Had me in here ASAP.”
Jamie remembered that Shak was Jim Rhodes’ foster son.
"Twenty bucks," Shakeel said.
"What?" Jamie gasped. "Some friend you are, trying to make money out of me when I'm at my lowest ebb."
“This essay is a beauty, Jamie. Grade A material. The girl who I nicked it off is now studying history at Harvard."
"Ten," Jamie said. He reckoned the essay was easily worth a ten. He would have to swap bits around and retype it. But that would take about an hour, whereas doing the essay from scratch was a whole night's work.
“Ten? Screw that, you are loaded. Twenty five.”
“What? What kind of haggling is that?” Jamie protested.
“Your family has more money than your average Russian oligarch. You can afford it.”
“Okay twenty.”
“Price was twenty-five. Thirty now.”
“You thieving little git.”
“I'm a little low on funds. You can have it, if you give us the money right now."
Jamie went in his desk drawer and got three tens out of his wallet. Shakeel stuffed it in his pocket.
"This had better be a good essay," Jamie said.
"Anyway," Shakeel said, "I didn't come here to help with your homework. I've got the heads up on a big mission that’s coming up. Surprised you haven’t heard, ‘cos you are on the list of possibles. Bobby Drake is heading this one up.”
Jamie wasn't that enthusiastic.
"I don't want to work with Drake as my mission controller. I have him all the time here. He's a psychopath."
"He is the nicest guy on campus. And he raves about you," Shakeel said. "He thinks you did a great job on that school raid.”
“That wasn’t me, it was Noah.”
“Oh.”
"Who is in the mix for the op?" Jamie asked.
"Me, of course," Shakeel said. "Illyana and Nori. She's walking with a stick, but they reckon she'll be healed up before we are ready to go.”
“Is Nori going as a boy or a girl?”
Jamie was still getting his head around Nori Ashida. Noritaka lived in the boys’ dorm even though physically he was partially female. He wasn’t fazed by seeing other boys naked in the shower room, but found it more than a little unsettling to see a male body with female genitalia.
“Nori will always go as a boy, you know that. Eva was going but she's being held back for something in Australia."
"Angel Jones?" Jamie asked.
"Who?" Shakeel asked.
"You know her," Jamie said. "Redhead. She was on my basic training and quit after one day. Got her red shirt at the second attempt. I think she's done a couple of first contacts, but nothing major."
"I think I know who you mean," Shakeel said. "Is it that girl with the huge chest you're always going on about?"
"She is so stacked," Jamie grinned.
"Jamie," Shakeel said, indignantly, "you can't pick a girl for a job because she has big breasts."
“Why not?"
"Well, for starters, you are being a sexist pig."
"Come on, Shak. Angelica's a really good laugh. She's in my Russian class and she's always extra laps for messing around. Who cares if it's sexist or not?"
"I’ll check with Bobby to see if she is on the shortlist,” Shakeel said, reluctantly. "But he’ll only pick her based on merit. The first briefing is tomorrow. There's tons of background studying to do."
"Oh, great," Jamie said. "When would I get time to do that?"
"Didn't I mention?" Shakeel said innocently. "It's been arranged by Bobby. You still have to do morning laps, but they will cut out some of your lessons and Sam Guthrie has agreed to knock the mowing on the head."
"Cool," Jamie grinned. "Another two weeks of that workload was gonna send me under. What lessons have I been dropped from?"
"Art, Russian, religion and history," Shakeel said.
"Superb," Jamie said, deliriously drumming his hands on his desktop. Then the penny dropped. "Did you say history?"
"Uh-huh," Shakeel nodded.
“I just paid you thirty dollars for a history essay."
"A good price for a good essay."
Jamie leapt furiously out of his chair. "I don't care if it’s written on parchment by Simon Scharma," he spluttered. "I don't need the essay if I don't have to go back to history class."
"It goes to prove the old saying," Shakeel giggled.
"What saying?"
"Cheats never prosper."
"I tell you who’ll never prosper," Jamie stormed, grabbing one of the pens off his carpet. "You. And you know why? Because you're gonna have an extremely
hard time prospering after I've rammed this sharpie up your nose. Give me my money back."
"What money?" Shakeel asked. "I don't recall any money. Did you get a receipt?"
Jamie gave Shakeel a shove.
"You're a bandit, Shakeel. Normal people don't go around conning their chums."
Shakeel backed up, with a giant grin and his hands out in front of himself. “Chums? And you wonder how you earned being called Downton, I tell you what, I'm seriously short of cash. So, even though it goes against my sacred ethical
code, I’ll do you a deal."
"What deal?"
"If you let me keep the money, I’ll put in a word for Angelica."
"That’s worth it," Jamie smiled. "What’s this mission about anyway?"
"Purifiers," Shakeel said his eyes going wide.