that looking sane would help him here much anyway.
"Hi? I think I can kind of hear you... it's really faint. Um, I'm Brian..." He listened carefully, the hand on his arm meant they were still around, and might try to talk again.
Still muted and soft, he heard it again, it sounded like a girl's voice. "You can hear me? Oh awesome! Thank god, someone I can finally talk to, it has just been so long... I'm Penny, invisible obviously. First mode social anxiety. I can handle people one on one like this, mainly, or crowds if they don't know I'm there. No one's ever been able to talk to me since this happened! It's been years..."
Brian, not knowing what else to do, patted her hand with his own awkwardly.
"Nice to meet you, Penny. So they tell me I'm going to be on team three, are you?"
"Yeah! Oh cool. Maybe we can partner up, or anyway, be friends? Look here comes Jason and Lancaster. He's cute. Well... both of them are, but Lancaster's just hot, don't you think?"
Brian just shrugged. He hadn't thought about it. The guy looked hard... tough, and not like someone to face in a fight or even over a hand of poker, but good looking? How would he know about attractiveness in men?
A man dressed in an outfit not too different than what Brian wore, except the shirt said team three on it, not IPB, walked toward them holding a pair of shoes in his left hand. He had his right hand extended.
"Jason Montrose, call me Jason. I'm the trainer for team three. Agent Lancaster told me your situation, about how we need to train you to exhaustion and basically over-train you for the time being. Today we won't do anything fancy, but I'd like you to put in some miles on the track. Run, jog, walk, crawl if you have to, between now and when you think you're ready for bed. I'll be down to help you with that, but I need to talk to the agent first. He says you're motivated and willing to work, even at the level we have to push you... which is impressive. If that's the case all you really need is to get some training. Can you find the track do you think? It's on fourteen, it runs around the outside. Here, wear these instead of those canoes. Christian called and told me to have them ready for you, ten regular?" He handed the running shoes over, they were blue and white, name brand but not the nicest kind. Brian took off Lancaster's shoes right there and put the new ones on without waiting. The others stood waiting and Jason steadied him when he started to fall over at one point.
The dark haired trainer looked at him and smiled. "This could be a while. I don't see anyone that can take you down, but..." He looked around the hall empty except for them.
A tug on Brian's arm came, followed by a laugh. "Tell him I'll do it. I want to see the look on his face," Penny told him.
"Uh, Penny said to tell you she'd take me? I mean, if that's all right." Brian didn't know what the rules were about things like this yet. Did he have to follow orders like at a job all the time now, or were things mainly suggestions? Or some of both?
Penny laughed, her hand jerking on his arm a little as she did it, since Jason's mouth kept opening and closing like a fish.
The man, brown hair about collar length, brown eyes wide, stared at Brian. "You can talk to her? She's here? Seriously? That's great! If we weren't about to put you through hell constantly for the next several months, I'd make her your training partner. You know what? I may do it anyway. I'm pretty sure she dodges out half the time right now, and this way you'll be able to tell me if she's around or not. Mwa-ha-ha..." The laugh was accompanied by the guy rubbing his hands together. It seemed funny to Brian but Penny made a rude sounding noise.
"I always go to my work outs! Just because he can't see me doing them is no reason for him to doubt me. Hmph." Her voice sounded cheerful enough, so Brian didn't think it would be a real problem.
Telling him they should get started, Penny pulled him toward the elevator and
"Hi? I think I can kind of hear you... it's really faint. Um, I'm Brian..." He listened carefully, the hand on his arm meant they were still around, and might try to talk again.
Still muted and soft, he heard it again, it sounded like a girl's voice. "You can hear me? Oh awesome! Thank god, someone I can finally talk to, it has just been so long... I'm Penny, invisible obviously. First mode social anxiety. I can handle people one on one like this, mainly, or crowds if they don't know I'm there. No one's ever been able to talk to me since this happened! It's been years..."
Brian, not knowing what else to do, patted her hand with his own awkwardly.
"Nice to meet you, Penny. So they tell me I'm going to be on team three, are you?"
"Yeah! Oh cool. Maybe we can partner up, or anyway, be friends? Look here comes Jason and Lancaster. He's cute. Well... both of them are, but Lancaster's just hot, don't you think?"
Brian just shrugged. He hadn't thought about it. The guy looked hard... tough, and not like someone to face in a fight or even over a hand of poker, but good looking? How would he know about attractiveness in men?
A man dressed in an outfit not too different than what Brian wore, except the shirt said team three on it, not IPB, walked toward them holding a pair of shoes in his left hand. He had his right hand extended.
"Jason Montrose, call me Jason. I'm the trainer for team three. Agent Lancaster told me your situation, about how we need to train you to exhaustion and basically over-train you for the time being. Today we won't do anything fancy, but I'd like you to put in some miles on the track. Run, jog, walk, crawl if you have to, between now and when you think you're ready for bed. I'll be down to help you with that, but I need to talk to the agent first. He says you're motivated and willing to work, even at the level we have to push you... which is impressive. If that's the case all you really need is to get some training. Can you find the track do you think? It's on fourteen, it runs around the outside. Here, wear these instead of those canoes. Christian called and told me to have them ready for you, ten regular?" He handed the running shoes over, they were blue and white, name brand but not the nicest kind. Brian took off Lancaster's shoes right there and put the new ones on without waiting. The others stood waiting and Jason steadied him when he started to fall over at one point.
The dark haired trainer looked at him and smiled. "This could be a while. I don't see anyone that can take you down, but..." He looked around the hall empty except for them.
A tug on Brian's arm came, followed by a laugh. "Tell him I'll do it. I want to see the look on his face," Penny told him.
"Uh, Penny said to tell you she'd take me? I mean, if that's all right." Brian didn't know what the rules were about things like this yet. Did he have to follow orders like at a job all the time now, or were things mainly suggestions? Or some of both?
Penny laughed, her hand jerking on his arm a little as she did it, since Jason's mouth kept opening and closing like a fish.
The man, brown hair about collar length, brown eyes wide, stared at Brian. "You can talk to her? She's here? Seriously? That's great! If we weren't about to put you through hell constantly for the next several months, I'd make her your training partner. You know what? I may do it anyway. I'm pretty sure she dodges out half the time right now, and this way you'll be able to tell me if she's around or not. Mwa-ha-ha..." The laugh was accompanied by the guy rubbing his hands together. It seemed funny to Brian but Penny made a rude sounding noise.
"I always go to my work outs! Just because he can't see me doing them is no reason for him to doubt me. Hmph." Her voice sounded cheerful enough, so Brian didn't think it would be a real problem.
Telling him they should get started, Penny pulled him toward the elevator and
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