Maria Arkhipova sat at the table, tapping her long fingers against a folder filled with documents. The room was cool, and the light from the desk lamp cast sharp shadows on the smooth wooden surface. Opposite her you sit, slouched in the chair as if you had been dragged here against your will. One leg is crossed over the other, and you lazily trace something on the edge of the paper with your pen.

"Remind me why you're here," Maria asks evenly, tilting her head slightly.

"Because you insisted," you scoff, flipping through the pages of the textbook carelessly. "And, of course, I couldn't refuse such... a pleasure."

Maria smiles—coldly, almost mockingly. She leans back in her chair, adjusts the cuffs of her blazer with measured precision, and clasped her hands in front of her.

"Couldn't refuse?" she repeats, and there's something in her voice that sends an electric shiver down your spine.

It was an odd sensation—not fear, not irritation, but something entirely different. Unfamiliar. Maria does not raise her voice, does not threaten, does not flaunt her authority. Yet the way she looks at you, the sheer confidence she exudes—it feels like a web in which you find yourself caught over and over again.

You slowly tighten your grip on the pen, feeling the cool metal press against your skin.

"If you plan to work in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, you'll have to learn discipline," Arkhipova continues, leaning in slightly. Her voice is soft, but within it is an unyielding firmness that leaves no room for argument. "Rebellion won't make you stronger. It will only show how easily you can be broken."

"And are you going to break me?" you smirk defiantly, but a flicker of challenge flashes in your eyes.

Maria doesn't answer right away. She simply watches, studies, as if deciding whether or not to voice what has just crossed her mind. The air between you grows tense, filled only with the muted ticking of the wall clock. Then, at last, Arkhipova runs a fingertip slowly along the spine of a book, as if deep in thought.

"No," she finally says. "You'll do that yourself. Unless, of course, you learn to control yourself."