Hey guys!

I'm Tash, aka tashtypes (previously known as tenatheart) and welcome to my post on the block party! I'm a twenty-year-old Australian author of the 2016 watty award winner, Death by Disney (in the trailblazer category).

For this post I decided to write a one-shot! This one shot is spoiler free! Please note, I haven't written in 3rd PoV for at least 8 months now, as I'm currently working on a YA 1st PoV novel so my writing may be rough around the edges.

This one-shot takes place roughly a year before the events in Death by Disney! I present to you: The Academy. While this story is set in America, it is written in Australian/British English (i.e color is colour etc).

I ask that my lovely readers don't spoil the plot of Death by Disney.

The story before the story. The Academy follows a series of days at the training academy for the FBI. This one-shot focuses on the meeting(s) between the much loved characters of Death by Disney; Indie McAdams, Hunter Rozario, and Evie Rose.

THE ACADEMY

DAY 01

INDIE MCADAMS WAS NEVER LATE. Except on the most important day of her life. With a tangled mess of brunette hair thrown into something hardly resembling a bun and several coffee stains on her white shirt, Indie attempted to slip into room 003, the auditorium, unnoticed.

But the heavy auditorium door groaned open and Indie immediately clenched her jaw. She was screwed and going straight to hell. She could feel all eyes trained on her as Indie kept her head low, her arms gripped firmly around the strap to her satchel, and slipped into the first available seat.

It was only once she had tucked her worn leather satchel under the cheap chair she had just thrown her athletic body onto, did Indie look up to examine the room around her.

Letting out a barely audible sigh, Indie immediately sunk further down in her chair. All eyes were still on her. Her throat went dry and suddenly Indie had a quench that she knew water wouldn't be able to cure. But maybe tequila would, she thought.

A tall man — a man she vaguely remembered seeing on orientation day almost a week ago, his name on the tip of her tongue — walked across the auditorium floor, his green eyes narrowing down on her. Indie gulped. His posture, his stern facial expressions and tight lines across his forehead all screamed authority.

"Who are you?' The man's — whose name badge read Agent Newman — eyes travelled down to her coffee-stained shirt and back up again. "Why are you thirty minutes late, and where is your name badge?"

Indie's eyes widened. "I-I'm Indie McAdams...Sir. I'm sorry I was late. My flight from Boston was delayed and—"

Agent Newman raised his hand, his palm open. "You've just earned yourself an hour of physical activity after this is over, McAdams. Prepare to sweat."

Indie nodded vigorously. "Yes, sir. Won't happen again. Sir."

As if things weren't bad enough, judging by the stares and whispers around her, her entire class thought she was a wimp and an easy target. The next six months would be spent trying to show she was just the opposite.

"Let's continue," Agent Newman's voice echoed around the auditorium as he turned on his heel, and strutted away. "This is group 001. The first and maybe the only group in this type of experiment. The usual entry age into the FBI Academy is twenty-three. However, those higher up in the FBI chain of command are considering lowering the entrance age. You will all be tested to your limits, pushed until you think you can't go on, and then further. This program isn't for the weak-hearted."

Indie gulped. She swore she saw Agent Newman shoot daggers in her direction. Great, thought Indie, my instructor already hates me.

"Today marks day 01 of your training and it will last another 182 days. At the end of your training, only three recruits will be selected to join me and Agent Quinn—" Agent Newman gestured to a man with skin reminding Indie of a late-autumn day, who stood alongside several other trainers at the front of the auditorium,"—on the second phase of the experiment. As qualified FBI agents."

Indie watched as people around the room started to whisper and murmur to their neighbours. An electrifying buzz filled the room.

"However," continued Agent Newman, "Not all of you will make it to the end. There will be cuts and a lot of them."

Agent Newman paced back and forth as he talked. He continued to explain procedures, training schedules, and what exactly was expected of the recruits for the next six months. It was a lot of Information for Indie to process, and she was 100% convinced that as soon as she left through the auditorium doors, she wouldn't remember a single word.

After half an hour, Agent Newman announced, "That's enough for today. Go and get settled in your dorms and I'll see you at six-hundred hours' tomorrow morning in the lobby. Recruit McAdams, stay behind."

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DAY 02

INDIE WAS WAITING in the lobby at 5:30 AM the next day. Her muscles burned and her entire body ached with pain from what she had named 'the workout from hell.' She sat by a large window that overlooked one of the four training fields. Her legs were crossed together on the grey sofa, a steaming cup of coffee in her un-manicured hand.

"What are you doing up?" A deep voice startled her. "You're the chick that got burned by the instructor on the first day, right? McAdams, wasn't it?"

Indie grumbled, turning away from the view of lush green grass and the rising sun. "How about I burn you with my coffee?"

The man in front of her laughed and he wore a childish grin. He was clad in a white t-shirt and black pants. "I'm Hunter, Hunter Rozario. Single."

Indie shook her head; the skin around her eyes crinkled. "What are you doing up at this hour, Rozario?"

Hunter joined her on the grey sofa and his lips curved into a tight smile. "I asked you first."

"Couldn't sleep," she said. "What about you?"

He shrugged. "I'm usually up at this time anyway. I usually go to the gym in the morning but I decided I'd have the day off. Y'know, being our second day here and all."

Indie rolled her eyes. "You're a walking cliché, Rozario."

"And here I was considering cancelling the bet I have on you, McAdams," he said. "Maybe I shouldn't."

Indie's eyebrows furrowed. "What bet?"

"The bet on how long you'll last at the Academy. I said you'd last a week. Some said I'm generous. Other's don't think you'll last the day."

"Why, because I was late on my first day and had spilt coffee on my shirt? That's a bit judgmental of you, isn't it?" Indie frowned.

Hunter smirked. "No. It's because you look like a Princess. How old are you, anyway?"

Indie shrugged. "Eighteen," she said, taking a sip from her coffee. "Youngest recruit here, apparently."

"How—" Hunter began, only pausing to shoot Indie a quizzical look, as if he were trying to work something out. Hunter's eyebrows furrowed. "How'd you get into the program?"

Indie stared innocently at him for a moment and batted her eyelids. She scurried across the couch, leant in close and whispered, "Maybe if I'm still here in a week, I'll show you."

Her lips curled into a smirk as all the colour vanished from Hunter's face. His wandering eyes looked her up and down as she stood up, handed him her coffee and walked away, swaying her hips in a way she knew would capture his attention.

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DAY 08

INDIE SURVIVED THE FIRST WEEK — and was sitting in second position on the recruit ranking board. It had been a long week filled with vigorous exercise camps and mind-boggling training. It was finally time for their first day 'off;' a day filled with team-building activities, designed to get to know the rest of the recruits.

In the first week, she quickly learned that there were exactly fifty-seven of them — three didn't make it past orientation. — all between the age of eighteen and twenty-two.

She also quickly noticed that the recruitment pool lacked female recruits. She had counted just nine, including herself, but had yet to have been paired with one.

In fact, Indie had only been paired with one person for the entire week she had been there. Hunter. Who she discovered was more than just good looks and a walking cliché; he was, fast, agile and incredibly smart. Not that she would tell him any of this. She didn't want to boost his already large ego.

"Hey buddy," greeted Hunter at 9:00 AM on day eight. His dark hair was a sopping wet mess, his t-shirt drenched in water.

"Hey buddy," she replied. The instructors had called it 'The buddy system.' They said it had been put in place to make recruits feel comfortable and adjust appropriately to life at the Academy. But in reality, it was recruits put together in pairs — and one trio — with a person of similar abilities in order to push each other further.

Hunter Rozario was ranked number one.

"At least we're safe for the first week," said Hunter. "The first elimination round is tomorrow. But luckily we have immunity."

Indie frowned. "The entire ranking system is ugly, and I don't think it's appropriate to send us home based on what we rank for that week. People have their strengths and weaknesses. What if one week, a recruit isn't good at whatever activities are planned, but the next week they're top of the class? It's not fair."

Hunter shrugged. "It is what it is, Princess. C'mon, let's go get to know our competition."

Indie gritted her teeth. "Don't call me Princess." She made sure to accidently kick Hunter's shin as she pushed past him.

The designated meeting spot for the morning, the café, was located just around the corner from the main lobby. The red tables and matching chairs had been pushed back to the walls, and recruits were already scattered throughout the open area.

"Do you want some coffee?" asked Indie, tilting her head to the coffee machine in the left-hand corner of the room. Hunter nodded. After a week, she had already memorised the way he liked his coffee.

Indie quickly joined the back of the small coffee queue. She shook her head at the thought of how cliché it all was; recruits and their coffees.

Indie carefully observed the two recruits that stood in front of her. A man with fiery red hair stood at the coffee machine, one plastic cup in his tattooed hand and the other under the coffee machine's nozzle. She had seen him a couple times before and remembered how defined his muscles well and how all the veins in his arms — although currently covered by long grey sleeves — protruded through his skin.

The blonde bombshell in front of her, on the other hand, wasn't even on Indie's radar. But Indie still knew her name. Everybody always remembered the name of who ranked first, and who was last. Evie Rose was currently sitting in 57th position.

The coffee line moved quickly. Indie watched — a little too closely — as Evie Rose clumsily poured skim milk into the foam cup, leaving a trail of milk behind on the table.

Indie shook her head and diverted her attention to the floor. The thought of spying on her competition didn't sit quite right with her, especially one who was ranked last.

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DAY 23.

It wasn't until day twenty-three did Indie finally meet Evie Rose, formally, for the very first time. Indie had just pinned Hunter to the ground — her forearm resting against his throat, her knee resting inches away from the place that Hunter had described as a 'gift from god' — and was dripping in sweat from head-to-toe, when Evie cleared her throat and interrupted practice.

Indie rolled off of Hunter as he groaned in pain. Using the back of her head, Indie wiped away the perspiration from her forehead. "Can I help you?"

Evie gulped. "I u-uh," she mumbled. "I'm Evie Rose and I've been watching you."

Indie raised her eyebrows. "Pardon?"

"Oh I mean—" Evie's eyes widened. "—What I mean is that you're good, like really good. I mean, obviously you both are. You've been ranked in the top five since we arrived, but like you guys have extraordinary powers or something..." she trailed. "I ramble when I'm nervous, I'm sorry. What I'm trying to say – what I want to say, is that I need your help."

"Our help?"

"Yeah, like, really badly. I need you to help me get through this program. I need you to teach me."

Hunter stood up from the floor with a groan. "Babe, there's only one place I teach a girl, and that's in the bedroom."

"Hunter," growled Indie as she watched Evie's body stiffen, and a blush fall upon her face. "Don't try and ruin Evie with your dirty mind."

Evie looked at the floor as she talked, "I just really need your help. I've only moved up two positions since I've been here. I'm not good at the combat stuff and even some of the other work, but I'm good at technology. Which, I happened to notice, you both suck terribly at."

"We're not that bad," said Indie, crossing her hands across her chest.

Hunter laughed. "Speak for yourself."

Indie shook her head. "Of course we'll help you."

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DAY 183.

So that is how it went for the rest of the academy training — Indie and Hunter helped Evie with her combat skills, shooting skills and almost every other department, while Evie helped them with everything involving technology.

And somehow all three had made it to the top five on the last day and the very last hour. They were exhausted, all of them, and hadn't had a wink of sleep in the past twenty-four hours. The stress was debilitating.

"I think I'm going to hurl," muttered Indie as she paced back and forth in the dorm room she now shared with Evie, the only other girl left. Evie, who was hanging upside down off of her single bed, laughed.

"Can you please stop pacing back and forth, you're making my head hurt,"

Indie stopped pacing, but only to shake her head at Evie and mutter, "No, sitting upside down for too long will make your head hurt."

"Yeah well, it hurts anyway. I'm so nervous."

Indie's eyes darted between the speaker mounted on the wall just outside her dorm room and Evie. The wait for the announcement was agonisingly painful. It had now all come down to this very moment.

All that stood between Indie and phase two of the experiment, was a board of twenty-eight FBI Agents and the heads of almost all departments.

"Right now," began Indie, "This very second some very rich and smart people are currently deciding our fate. What will happen when if we get sent home? Go back to being just a cop?" Indie shook her head. "That can't happen. That won't happen."

Evie bit her lip. "I hope we both go through, but do you really think they're going to send two females and just one male into the program?"

Indie shrugged, "One female and two males doesn't seem all that right either, Evie."

Evie grumbled as she used one hand to massage her temples. "Why couldn't they have just made it four?"

"Are you trying to send telepathic messages again, Evie? How many times do I have to tell you that that stuff doesn't actually work."

Evie opened her mouth to respond but before she could, an announcement came over the speaker. "Can Evie Rose, Indie McAdams, Peter Waters, Alex Knight and Hunter Rozario please make their way to the auditorium."

Indie gulped. "Oh no."

Evie kicked off the wall, flipped over and landed on her knees. "Oh yes," she laughed as she stood up and waited for her head to stop spinning, she said, "C'mon Indie, let's go find out our fate." Evie linked arms with Indie and they ran out of the dorms with concern written all over their features.

Twenty men and women in suits sat in the chairs they had sat in many times throughout the program as Indie and Evie entered the auditorium for the very last time and joined the three other recruits at the front.

A few moments later, Agent Newman stepped forward. "Congratulations on getting this far," he said. "I know it's been a long few months of hard work and sweat and even some tears but it all comes down to this."

Eli Quinn, who Indie quickly learned had a soft heart and wasn't as scary as she initially thought him to be, also stepped forward. "Myself, Agent Newman, and the people you see behind us have deliberated over which three should continue onto the second phase for almost a week."

"It was a hard decision. Not only did we take consideration of your ranking throughout the program, your progress, and your determination, but also your personality. Your ability to deal with stress, your ability to be able to shut things off when a case ends. Your ability to work. Hard. Effectively and smart," continued Newman.

"None of you are perfect. Or fit for this job. Not yet," said Eli. Indie's heart dropped and her eyebrows furrowed. "But that is what this program is all about. Getting you ready. Seeing what a young person — such as yourselves — need to be taught more than those who are older, more mature than you."

"It's why we've also looked at how you learn, what type of Agents we think you will be, and what your breaking point is," added Newman.

Indie gulped. She tugged at her fingers — one by one — as she scanned the room to try and read the body language from her trainers, her mentors and the people who had decided her fate. She couldn't read a single one.

"It's why we're pleased to inform you that," said Agent Newman. "The three recruits joining us on the second phase of this experiment are Indie McAdams, Evie Rose, and Hunter Rozario. Congratulations."

A/N:

Wow! That was tougher to write than I thought it was going to be! Just as I'm getting used to writing in 1st PoV I have to transition back into 3rd.

I hope you enjoyed the post, it's an honour to have been selected. Don't forget, you can find the book that this one-shot is based on, Death by Disney, on my profile [alongside my current project, a Young Adult novel, Learning to Survive! ;) ]

Remember to enter my giveaway, where I'll be dedicating Chapter 10 of Death by Disney to the winner!

Enjoy the rest of this awesome party!

Tash x

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