Piper Morgan
Port Crescendo East Academy |
Second Floor Janitor Closet
The intense odour of lemon scented disinfectant permeated the cramped space of the janitor's closet. The room was dark, save for a glimmer of neon blue radiating from the corner. In the dim lighting, the silhouette of various cleaning apparatus could be made out along the rickety shelves. Piles of mops and brooms stacked haphazardly on the top shelf, boxes filled with old rags and sponges on the next and then finally a series of buckets containing a sinister looking substance which was most likely the cause of the suffocating stench.
Huddled in the corner by the ominous light source was a young girl, her eyes cascaded by two floating circles from which the electric blue light emanated. Each circle was a kaleidoscope of color and intricate markings, ones that most would instantly recognise as that of the Enlil Network. Next to her stood an awkwardly tall young man, perhaps only a year or so older than the girl. His mop of light brown hair was messy and knotted, a pair of crooked spectacles sat on his slanted nose. He was frequently re-adjusting his glasses and twiddling his thumbs, his lanky frame hunched over to try and fit in the small space.
"
So, um," He broke the silence, warranting an irritated leer from Piper which caused his next words to fumble.
"
I, uh, I-I just wanted to know when you'd be finished?" He instantly regretted asking as soon as the question left his lips. Almost expectantly, the young lady offered an arrogant
tsk before swiping her hand out in front of her. At her fingertips,
a holographic panel expanded with various numerals and codes displayed. As effortlessly as a dealer spreads out his deck, Piper drew out similar looking screens in a large grid before turning to face the nervous boy.
"
Well, Eric," She spat.
"
M-My name's Etha-"
"
Don't care." Ethan gulped at Piper's harsh interjection, but was otherwise silent at her bluntness. This young first year had gained quite a ruthless reputation in such a short time at the academy. Rumours of people being left nasty little surprises in their Network from an anonymous hacker garnered a certain respect of Piper's skills. Or was it fear?
"
I graciously take time out of my busy schedule to do you a solid, and you thank me by complaining about my punctuality?! Hmmph!" Ethan was beginning to sweat, recalling an incident with his classmate in the last few days where his entire personal log had been forcefully displayed on the entire campus' Network page. He quickly stumbled to his knees, holding his hands clasped in front of him in an almost reverent manner. Piper smirked at the gesture.
"
Much more like it! Now, let's see where those files are hiding. Widget, status report!" At her command, a new screen opened up to her left displaying a video feed of the outside hallway. A few students walked by, but it was otherwise empty. From the screen, a toneless, mechanical voice promptly spoke in response to Piper's query.
"
Second floor hallway: clear. Third period has commenced." Widget's monotonous voice blared through the room.
"
Excellent. I'm about done, Widget." Several screens began to flash with the same intricate markings that had appeared over Piper's eyes, various geometrical shapes shifting and reorganizing themselves to form a perfect circle. Once complete, the circle flashed green before several pages of valuable data unraveled themselves before Piper's eyes.
"
Amazing! You actually got into Mr Barker's personal data!" Ethan's amazement warranted a devious cackle from the young hacker. Piper began to forward the information to Ethan's profile using a discreet channel, one that'd be relatively untraceable. If the school pursued it enough, they could probably find the source, but Piper doubted they'd be willing to go through all that effort for a few pages of homework answers. If she'd done it right, Mr Barker would be none the wiser to the invasion of his person Network profile.
"
Naturally! My reputation doesn't do me justice, it seems!" Piper stroked her own ego, but Ethan was too eager to receive the answers to the homework he had failed to complete the night previously to notice. Just as the transfer was about to complete, the bar froze with Piper's signature encryption hovering in front of it. Ethan stared at her in confusion and was met with an outstretched palm.
"
First, there's the matter of payment." Ethan nodded with an awkward smile, stuffing his fist into his jacket before placed a bag of pop rocks into Piper's hand. Piper's wicked expression softened into one of glee, immediately pressing a button to resume the transfer before ripping open the package with her teeth. With one fell swoop, she dumped the contents of the back straight onto her tongue. The tingling sensation of the candy paired so nicely with the bubbly sweetness. If there was ever a time to cry tears of joy, now would be the time!
Sweet ecstasy! God I haven't had one of these in ages! Piper's mind briefly wandered back to the strict rules of her household. The sweetest thing to ever enter that god forsaken place was fruit. One of the downsides to being raised by dentists. Wiping her mouth on the sleeve of her jacket, Piper giggled before offering a polite curtsy to her client.
"
Glad to be of help! And remember," Taking a threatening step forward, Piper glared up at Ethan with a look that could only be described as tantalizingly horrifying. "
Keep this exchange on the down low. I think you've seen how I deal with blabbermouths." Ethan stepped back, rubbing the back of his head whilst offering a slow bow of gratitude. He made a brief comment about how he'd keep his mouth shut before rushing out the door. Piper waited a few moment before exiting herself, deciding it was too late to make her way to class now. Widget caught up with her as she made her way to the cafeteria, resting on Piper's shoulder before entering sleep mode.
Jayce Kyson
Port Crescendo East Academy |
Detention RoomThe detention room was mostly empty, aside from maybe two or three stragglers spaced out across a few desks in the room. Each had their nose buried in their textbook, the supervising teacher staring down her long, pointed noise with discontent. Miss Harvey was notoriously stern and was disliked by most of the student body. Her eagerness to host detention was indicative of the pleasure she received from punishing kids. When the door slid open to reveal a few more students, which Miss Harvey immediately identified as Ellie Lunaclad, Osman Cain and Seisil Stamatti. Her eyebrow raised at the sight of them, a sinister smile spreading across her bony cheeks.
"
What have we here? More delinquents caught in the act!" She proclaimed, her finger pointing to the ceiling in an almost comical manner. Striding down from her podium with exaggerated movements, Miss Bowers pointed a decrepit finger straight at young Osman. She reeked of cheap perfume. "
Your actions disgrace the entire student body! You'll spend the next hour writing out the dictionary like the rest of this sorry lot!" The disciplinary committee member who brought them in offered a perplexed look at the teachers strange mannerisms, but was otherwise satisfied with leaving them in her care. As soon as the door shut behind her, Miss Bowers softened before snickering in a voice that was far too young and chirpy to be hers.
"
Hah! What a riot! Can she, like, be any more gullible?" Miss Harvey's image began to fade away, twisting and contorting between her craggy, wrinkled skin and the smooth, freckled complexion of a young girl. Her wiry strands of gray hair flattened into long, gorgeous locks of auburn. Her bespectacled green eyes brightened into bubbly pink ones. Finally, her tacky thrift shop reject nun habit warped into a PCEA School Uniform. In a blink of an eye, Miss Harvey was gone and instead stood Felicity Day; a second year student who frequented the detention room. At the back of the room, Jayce Kyson offered a round of applause.
"
Damn, that peformance was absolutely sick. What an absolute champ!"
Was a bit much, though. Tone it down a bit next time, Felicity!" Nico Zarc slid across a row of tables before slapping Jayce a high five. The two began engaging in a casual chat regarding the accuracy of Felicia's impression of Miss Harvey. Meanwhile, Felicity ruffled Osman's hair whilst offering a coy wink to Ellie.
"
My Tablet Power. We've been using it since late last year to get away with skipping class. Pretty neat, huh?" Felicity sat by the door, checking her social circles on the network while messages began to flood her interface.
From the back of the room, Jayce called out to the newcomers.
"
Yo, don't be shy dudes and dudette. He gestured to a few seats propped up near the table he and Nico were at. "
Bring it up the back and then we can jive."
Before Jayce's invitation had a chance to be processed, Felicity rushed back to her feet and made a subtle whistling sound.
"
Shit, another one already? Nico groaned, hopping a few tables to get back to his seat promptly. Jayce quickly opened up his textbook again whilst Felicity's form began to morph back into that of Miss Harvey. Resuming her place at the podium, she cleared her throat before beginning to lecture the three newcomers as another young boy was flung into the room.
"
Well well! Yet another filthy degenerate to join the ranks! To your desks this instance!"
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