I was thankful for the stretching that the early morning yoga provided. It helped to relieve some of the tightness in my neck and shoulders. It looked like some of the others were feeling the strain too. We were using a lot of different muscles that we probably never used before.

When I arrived at the Academy, all my classmates were milling around the front of the class. The results from yesterday's tests were posted on the white board for all to see first to last place order. So typically Asian. I was one who could care less about where I was ranked. 

As Michael Chan entered the room, all the students hustled to their seats.

"Good morning to you all." he said.

The class responded with " Good morning, Chan Sinsangnim," with a bow.

"As expected, this group did fairly well on the language tests and received some pretty high scores. Regardless of your score, we will push you to learn more so to improve  your chances in continuing on as a trainee. Everything you do here and out there goes towards that goal."

He looked right at me. "Because this group has a huge advantage over the other groups, our expectations for you are higher. I will not tolerate anything but your best. Do anything less and you will find yourself regretting it... expect no leniency for laziness."

"Ah, Mr. Kim, is that going to be a problem for you?" he asked me.

"Excuse me, sir?... No, sir." The whole idea of me keeping a low profile seemed to be lost on both Kang and Mr.Chan. I hadn't said or done anything to bring any attention to myself.  But once again, my name was being called out for no apparent reason. The whole class  turned to look at me. I kept myself in check, my face remained neutral. 

The first hour was dedicated to English.  Apparently, at that time, It was to be used exclusively.  I had no problem with that. When Sulli spoke, it was near perfect. I smiled at her and gave her a thumbs up after she read a large section of text.  

The rest of the academy lessons dragged on like typical boring school, we actually got stupid homework in Algebra. What's with that!

Sulli had managed to lose her friends on the guise of having ask the teacher something. She grabbed my arm as I passed her. She whispered, "Can you wait for me outside?"

"Yeah, I guess." I threw my backpack over my shoulder and headed for the door. Once out of the Learning Academy, I stopped at one of the empty benches and dropped my bag and my down.  Most of the students headed straight for the stairs either to go grab some food or head up to their dorms. In the five minutes I waited, the place had  cleared out.

"Sorry, that took longer than I thought. Thanks for waiting." Sulli quickly walked over. Her smile made my heart jump a little.

"No problem. What's on your mind?" I moved my bag to let her sit down. "This place looks pretty deserted. Might be our only chance to really talk without an audience."

"James Kim? Interesting name..." of course she was curious. Who wouldn't be?

"That was my real name before I moved to Korea. My father thought it would be in my best interest to use my Canadian name and keep my parental identity a secret for the time being." I yawned. "Sorry, Excuse me." I quickly covered my mouth. "I think it's going to take a little time to get use to all this."

"I was totally shocked to see you here as a probee. Never thought you would be into this kind of thing." she laughed.

"To be honest... this wasn't my idea and I really didn't have much of a choice. It was either this or back into exile away from Seoul." I stated.

"Exile?... We all thought you were on some sort of vacation." she frowned.

"It was more like prison, boot camp and hell, all rolled into one. Being here is a real treat in comparison." I tried to laugh about it.

"Seriously? You're not playing me?..." she sounded shocked.

"I wish I were. My last month is one that I'd rather not repeat." I stated. "I have nooo wish to go back there anytime soon. That being say. I would appreciate it if you could keep my identity secret. I don't know what my dad will do if I get found out so soon."

"Don't worry. It won't come from me." she smiled at me and gave my arm a squeeze.

I let out a sigh of relief. I knew she would be cool about it but it was reassuring to hear it from her. 

”Well, I guess we'd better go grab some lunch so we have the strength to face the rest of today's schedule." I stood up and extended my hand to help her up.

She grabbed it. "It's great to have a friend here." My heart was jumping again.

"I couldn't agree more, but we'd better play that down or it might get us into trouble." I held the door open for her to the stairwell. 

She agreed. "I hope the rest of our day is a little more interesting. Are you heading to the Caf." 

"Shortly...I want to drop my books off in my dorm. Later" I turned and headed for one of the male stairwells.