CHAPTER 9: MISSION AUCTION

The next day, we did our routine morning ceremony at the stadium as usual. All the students and teachers at this spy school stood under a healthy morning sunlight.

This time, it started with Mr. Catra, who was in charge of every yellow mission.

"Hello, all, good morning," greeted Mr. Catra waving to all the students who were forming a tight line, both guys and girls. "Listen to me. From our thirty yellow missions, there are four that can be auctioned today."

If any secret missions were auctioned off, that meant the mission had failed. Therefore, the mission was going to be sold to another team by auction. The reward of an auctioned mission was at least double points of a new mission, only if they were successful at that auctioned mission. Normally a new mission worthed fifteen points. Very tempting indeed. However, if they failed, the team's point value would also be reduced to the number of points set at the mission auction. But it also depended on the division center to determine the minimum number of mission points. Anyway, getting a mission from the auction was as good as going through a shortcut of point addition or reduction.

I threw my eyes in the lines of other students. They all seemed eager of listening to Mr. Catra's commands. They wanted the auctioned mission.

"Yellow mission number twelve. Stalked a suspicious prostitution in a karaoke," shouted Mr. Catra holding up a tall yellow paper. "Initial bidding starts at thirty points. Please be ready."

"Twenty points!"

"Twenty-two points!"

"Twenty-five points!"

And so on. Until one moment, the offer stopped at thirty points by one of younger class teams.

"Only thirty points? Done?" Mr. Catra challenged.

"Thirty-five points!"

After waiting, no one could offer any more. Finally the team with the highest offer had the opportunity to complete one of the auctioned missions. I thought the points are pretty great, it was more than new mission's double extra points.

"Okay, next mission," exclaimed Mr. Catra while lifting another yellow paper.

The bid for yellow mission continued until it was all done.

"Okay, the next auction is for black mission!" suddenly Mr. Ferdy turned up speaking loudly.

I was getting nervous. It should be red mission to my level, not black mission.

"Why did they skip the red one, huh?" said the voice next to me. Everyone began to question it.

"There is only one! Mission number nine, but this is special. Finding information of the international drug criminal," shouted Mr. Ferdy with a mysterious smile. "This mission had been labelled as red mission, but now it's a black mission."

Me, Freya, and Manda were glancing at each other. I knew right from the start that our mission wasn't red. It was too hard. It required evidence. And I almost won this mission if I hadn't been spotted by vilas.

"Bidding started from fifty points." said Mr. Ferdy. "Please."

The senior class shouted out in delight. "Wuuhuuuu."

Such a tempting offer, if they could accomplish that one mission, they could get that many points.

"Fifty-five points!"

"Fifty-eight points!"

"Sixty points!"

The hazing session was louder than ever. Until finally, one team had bid up to seventy points, and they had that special black mission.

"Okay. Those who claim that they have won the auctioned mission, please check with the person in charge in division center." commanded Mr. Ferdy. "And as for the team that failed in the last mission, we will split each team member, then each of will be put in a better team. The list of new team can be checked at division center."

Finally, after a few minutes, the auction was finally over. Lucky for me, this time the names that failed were not directly mentioned, because of time constraints. It would be a shame for me if that happened.

"Suri, let's go to the division center." Suddenly Manda came after me, with Freya in a little run.

"Okay," I replied as I walked down the yard to the division center.

"The three of us will eventually split up again," commented Manda.

"Thank you for being such a good partner on yesterday's mission." I laughed with a big smile.

"I will miss you all," Freya said.

As soon as I got to the division center, my eyes widened with the presence of someone who had got there first. I didn't want him to know that my last mission was a failure.

"Why are you here, Dova?" I wondered. "You didn't win the auction, am I correct?"

Dova smiled slightly. "We're a team now."

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