December 11th. Monday, 3:32 PM.
"Did everyone get a chance to review the footage of the first year's challenge?".
That question was followed by a unanimous "yes" from every person in the room. Every person in that room was a higher-up. Yep, we're in that room again, and all seven of them were present.
"I've got to say it was a good challenge. I should've watched it live", the tall one said.
"Yes, it was enjoyable to watch, but it could've been better. There have to be improvements if we decide to do this challenge again for other years", the oldest one said.
"Indeed. There were times it was boring and repetitive", the bald one added, leaning back in his seat.
"Not to mention the fact that the rest of the students in the academy were useless. The idea of them to find map pieces was only good for the first three rounds, and even that was useless because they were in a normal building, not a maze", Mr Miller said.
"It was the first time doing this challenge, so, naturally, it wasn't perfect", Mr Donald replied, reminding them. He was the one who did most of the work for this challenge, so he didn't want to hear all the criticism right away. "Let's start with the positives".
It was quiet for a moment as the higher-ups looked at each other to see who would start talking first.
"It was very entertaining, especially the last round", the tall one started. "The third round was also great. Letting all the students loose was perfect as a lot was going on".
"Agreed. In the future, we could send all of the students out in every round but change the students each round, so it is different and gives chances to more students", the oldest one suggested.
"Splendid, that's a great idea", the big one commented, liking that suggestion.
"Speaking of ideas, the idea of putting the paintball gun on the same floor as Malakai was perfect", the bald one said.
"WHAT!?" Mr Anderson erupted and sat forward after hearing that. "You purposely put the paintball gun on Malakai's floor!? It wasn't random!?".
Smiles formed one after another, like a chemical reaction, around the table.
"Of course, it wasn't random", Mr Donald scoffed, smirking and looking at him like it was obvious.
"We all decided we would put the paintball gun on Malakai's floor", the bald one smugly chimed in.
"We?! I didn't agree to that! This is the first time I've heard about this!" Mr Anderson replied with furrowed brows, seeing the smiles on their faces.
A couple of the men snickered.
"Yeah, you didn't because you weren't there when we decided it", Mr Miller said, lifting his shoulders.
"How is that fair for the other students? That is clear favouritism", Mr Anderson said, getting more and more angry.
"There was no favouritism", Mr Donald replied. "We put the paintball gun on Malakai's floor because we knew he would be entertaining with it. We didn't want him to win".
"What about the possibility his teammate Delilah found it?" Mr Anderson asked.
"Hmph, you could say that shows there was no favouritism involved", Mr Donald replied. "Any student could've gotten that paintball gun if they went to that room".
"You still gave a student an advantage over the others", Mr Anderson said, getting animated with his hands.
"Oh shut it", Mr bald one replied, annoyed. "He didn't win, so why are you complaining? It was entertaining. He chased a boy down multiple floors and even ran through smoke. He's got a screw loose, and it's better to give people like him the chance to cause chaos".
"Heh, you say he didn't win, but he nearly won", Mr Miller said. "If he didn't throw that plastic ball to that boy in class 1-E in the last round, he would've gotten his class 500 points".
"That ball got 1-E second place", the tall one said. "They got 500 points handed to them".
"To be fair, 1-E were very unlucky. They ended with a lot of plastic balls, but the numbers inside those balls were low", the big one added. "If Malakai kept that plastic ball, they would've come last, and 1-C would've come first".
"Ah, we should've told Mr White to announce that Malakai threw the 500-point ball to 1-E in the last round", the bald one said, grinning. "That would've sparked something".
"No, I think it's better this way", Mr Donald replied. "Who knows, maybe we can announce that fact later on".
Knock! Knock! Knock!
All chairs and eyes swivelled to the closed door.
"Why is there someone at the door?" Mr Miller asked, agitated. "We're in the middle of a meeting".
"It's a student", the oldest one replied. "I told him to come here at this time".
"Why? We just started our meeting", the tall one asked. "If you wanted to talk to him, you should've done it after we're finished".
"I wanted everyone to be here for this conversation", the oldest one replied, sitting taller than before. "COME IN!" he shouted to signal for the student to come in.
All the higher-ups eagle-eyed the door as the handle turned and the door slowly opened. The door eventually unveiled a figure walking through. A boy with brown hair, brown eyes and a straight face.
"Scott Ledge's son", Mr Donald mumbled.
"Adam?" Mr Anderson said, confused with a raised eyebrow.
Adam had his same bland, straight expression as always. Even standing before the table, his body language was still and composed. He kept silent, waiting for a question. Regardless of who was in front of him, he remained true to his personality.
"How are you doing, grandson".
Heads snapped back to the oldest higher-up.
"Grandson!?" Mr Miller asked, shocked.
"He's your grandson?!" the big one asked, shocked.
A few of the higher-ups kept switching views between Adam and the oldest higher-up, trying to see any resemblance.
"He's my daughter's son", the oldest higher-up proudly said.
Some of the higher-up's mouths hanged.
"You never told us Scott Ledge's son was your grandson", the tall one said. "Heck, you never told us your daughter was married to Scott Ledge".
"Now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever seen Scott Ledge's wife", Mr Donald said, sitting forward. "He always kept his family private".
The oldest higher-up had a proud smile on his face, while Adam's face didn't change.
"So you two must know each other quite well then", the bald one said, looking at Adam.
"No, we don't. I barely know him", Adam replied in his monotone voice.
The higher-ups' heads once again turned to the oldest higher-up, whose face seemed to pause after hearing that. The corners of his mouth had recoiled. Mr Anderson sat leaning back in his chair because he knew the truth.
"You said he was your grandson", the bald one said to the oldest one.
"He is", the oldest one nervously replied. "It's umm. My daughter divorced Scott Ledge a while ago", he didn't think he would have to admit that. He thought Adam would've played along.
A few glimpses were exchanged between the higher-ups.
"How long ago?".
"Uuh. Hmm", the oldest one's eyes wandered around, trying to remember the date, but it was clear he didn't know.
"Nearly ten years ago", Adam answered. "I haven't seen my mother since I was nine".
Everyone on the table looked at Adam, who was standing with his arms by his side.
"What about him? When was the last time you saw him?" Mr Miller asked, pointing to the oldest higher-up.
Adam looked at the oldest higher-up, "I don't know. When I was a kid. I forgot how old I was", he replied. "I don't even know his name".
"Don't be stupid. You know my name. You call me by your mother's surname", the oldest higher-up quickly said, trying to save himself from embarrassment.
"I don't know my mother's surname".
Awkward. All the higher-ups looked at each other with second-hand embarrassment. By Adam's voice, he sounded genuine.
The oldest higher-up picked up his glass of water and took a slow sip.
"You can call me Mr Watson", he embarrassingly said, putting his glass down and looking down at the table.
To stop the start of silence and awkwardness, Mr Anderson said,
"Adam, do you know specifically why you are here?".
"No. The email I got told me to come here at this time", Adam replied.
It was like tennis, the way eyes were going back and forth between Adam and Mr Watson. After seeing all eyes on him, Mr Watson got the indication to say something.
"Sniff, uuh, yes. I wanted to ask about your experience at the academy so far".
Adam thought about the question for a second. Not because he needed to think of an answer but because it wasn't the question he was expecting.
"Fine", Adam kept it short and sweet.
Silence followed. The higher-ups thought Adam's answer would have more words, but they only got one.
"How did you find the last challenge?" Mr Donald asked to kill the silence and wanting to get a student's thoughts.
"Okay".
The short answers were making the higher-ups uncomfortable.
"I thought you would've done a lot more in the last challenge. I didn't see you at all", Mr Donald said, trying to get more from him.
"I wasn't a representative, and our roles in the challenge were useless in the later rounds. There was no point in me doing anything", Adam replied.
That shut Mr Donald up, as he had no response because he wasn't wrong.
"I've got to say, I thought you would've performed a lot better at this academy being Scott Ledge's son", the bald one said, agitated by Adam's unusual behaviour. It was unusual to them, but this was how Adam acted.
"Look at the class you put me in", Adam said with a bit more life in his tone.
A few of the higher-ups' faces flinched slightly for many reasons.
"Now, what makes you say that?" Mr Watson asked with his hand nervously on his chin.
"I know my father told you to put me in the lowest class", Adam replied. "My application results were good enough for 1-A. Am I wrong?" he confidently asked, looking at Mr Anderson.
Mr Anderson gave a little nod. As previously mentioned, he was in charge of the application process and recruiting students, so he was the only one who knew the results in that room. The majority of the other higher-ups were not involved. Some of them helped some students get recruited through connections, but other than that, it was all Mr Anderson.
Mr Watson smiled. There was no point hiding it.
"Yes, he did. To tell the truth, I was surprised when I heard you were enrolling at this academy, and I was even more surprised when your father called me and asked me to make sure you were in the lowest class possible", Mr Watson said. "I don't know the reason why he told me to do that, but I couldn't say no to a friend".
"My father has no friends", Adam sharply replied. "He told you to do something, and you listened. You saw it as a favour. My father saw it as an order".
The atmosphere wasn't awkward anymore. It was tense now. The other higher-ups didn't want to get involved. It wasn't their business.
"Watch your mouth!" Mr Watson snapped back. "I know your father is an extremely influential figure, but you're in my academy right now. I can get you kicked out this instance", he said, repeatedly pressing his index finger on the table.
"But you won't because I'm the only connection you have to my father", Adam bluntly put it, not giving that response a chance to breathe. "Your academy? Remember, the only reason you're at this academy is because of my father. He helped you get to this position".
"I was successful before your father", Mr Watson feistily replied with his eyes bulging.
"Not as successful as you are now".
Bang! Bang!
"Okay, okay", Mr Anderson slapped the desk and interjected before things escalated. "Adam, Mr Watson, let's calm down for a second. There's no reason for both of you to get into private matters".
The rest of the table was secretly enjoying the drama until someone ruined it.
"Why did you tell me to come here? I know you don't care about me" Adam asked, getting straight to the point and maintaining eye contact with Mr Watson.
Mr Watson was burning. His blood pressure was sky-high. He got embarrassed in front of everyone, and he couldn't say anything back. He looked at Adam with pure rage, while Adam looked at him with his same blank, expressionless look.
Mr Watson exhaled and said,
"I want to know if your father is interested in being involved with this academy".
"He isn't", Adam bluntly replied.
"I want you to ask him, first", Mr Watson said, trying to stay calm. "I'm sure he's interested after his son's first semester".
Adam stalled his response for the first time in the conversation. His face or body language didn't show it, but he didn't want to ask his father.
"How do I benefit from this?".
Out of curiosity, Adam wanted to see what Mr Watson had to offer. Mr Watson had a glint of surprise in his eyes. He didn't think this far ahead. Before Adam came in, he thought the conversation would have gone much smoother. He thought he would have told Adam to persuade his dad to be involved with the academy, and he would have accepted, but it's been anything but smooth. He didn't even ask Adam to persuade his dad. He only told him to ask, and even still, Adam wasn't accepting. Therefore, being confronted with this question was not in his books, so he didn't have an answer.
Mr Watson glanced at the other higher-ups, who looked at him with unhelpful looks. He was on his own.
"Ahem. You were complaining about being in the lowest class before. We could move you up".
"No!" Mr Anderson quickly shot that down. "You can't interfere with points or academics. Those are out of the equation".
Mr Watson pulled a face and rolled his eyes.
"You understand, don't you?" Mr Anderson asked, looking at Adam.
"I didn't want either of those anyway", Adam replied.
"Perfect", Mr Watson happily said. "We can give you more credits instead".
Adam blinked at the idea, "Keep your credits. I don't need them".
After that desperate suggestion, Adam knew he wasn't going to benefit from this. Adam's eyes circled the table. Taking a good look at each higher-up.
"Can I leave now?" he asked, feeling like it was the right time.
"Will you ask your father about the academy?" Mr Watson asked.
"I don't know. It depends", Adam replied.
"On what?"
"A lot of things".
After that response, Adam turned on his feet and walked to the door. No voice stopped him. Mr Watson was tempted to call out to him, but his pride held his voice. Adam opened the door and left without a look back or hesitation. Once the door closed, the tension dissipated. A few of the men caught their breath. Mr Watson's body eased up, and regret started to creep in.
"That boy is playing a dangerous game", Mr Miller condescendingly said.
"We can't let him get out of control and treat us like that", the bald one said.
Mr Anderson glanced at the other men at the table. During that whole scene, they were cautiously watching from the side. Entertained but scared to get involved. Now they look the same as ever. Arrogant, snobby, high and mighty and full of themselves. Seeing their faces, he thought,
"I don't think it's him that's playing a dangerous game".
5:08 PM.
"I know I already said it, but I'm sorry I couldn't make your birthday party. I couldn't get out of the photoshoot I had".
"No, don't worry about it. Your work comes first".
Maria and Alejandro were sitting opposite each other in a booth at a cafe. Alejandro decided to invite Maria out for a drink after class to celebrate her birthday. As he said, he couldn't make it as he was away for the weekend, so he wanted to compensate for that by doing this.
"How was the photoshoot?" Maria asked before taking a sip of her drink.
"Eh, it was good", Alejandro replied, shrugging. "You know how photoshoots are. They're all the same".
"Yeah", Maria smiled, remembering her photoshoots. "Do you have more work lined up in the holidays?"
"For the first two weeks, I have a few shoots. The last two weeks, they gave me a break", Alejandro replied, looking at his cup, visualising his timetable. "Are you going to be in Cali during that time?"
"I'm not sure. I don't know what my family have planned", Maria said with a smile, clearly excited.
"They haven't told you?"
"Nope", Maria shook her head. "My mom wants to surprise me".
"Oh... I guess that makes sense", Alejandro's attempt to ask to hang out with her was thwarted.
He picked up his drink and took a sip.
"Alejandro".
Alejandro stopped sipping and quickly looked up at the call of his name.
"I've been thinking", Maria nervously said, looking at her hands.
Alejandro was getting nervous as to what she was about to say. His cup was still near his mouth.
"I might start taking some jobs again".
Alejandro's eyebrows were raised. He didn't expect to hear that.
"Like photoshoots?" Alejandro asked to clarify, putting his cup down.
"Yeah. I don't want to do anything major like acting roles just yet", Maria replied. "I wanted to do a few photoshoots here and there".
Alejandro smiled, "Heh. Yeah, go for it. I'm sure you can land a photoshoot quickly. Do you still have your agent's contacts?".
"Yeah. I was thinking whether or not to text her", Maria said with both hands on her cup. "I'm not really sure how to open the conversation. It's been a long time since I've spoken to her".
"You should be fine. She would be happy that you want to take on jobs again", Alejandro replied, happy for her. "What made you want to photoshoots again, if you don't mind me asking?".
Maria hesitated for a moment. "I'm doing it for myself", she said. "I feel like it'll make me better. Is that the right word?" she rhetorically asked, touching her chin.
"Do you mean to build your confidence?" Alejandro replied, trying to help her find the word.
"It's to build my confidence too, but... I want to gain something else", Maria said. "If I do photoshoots again, it would add to me as a person. It's something I can talk about, something I can take pride in. I know I said I stopped taking work because I wasn't finding it fun anymore, and I know I said it was childish of me to think that, but I realised doing this can make me different from everyone else".
"You do realise there are other girls who model here, too?" Alejandro teased her.
"I know", Maria smiled. "But I guess I want to stand out. I want to be… cool", she quietly and shyly admitted, looking away.
"You want to be cool?" Alejandro repeated, wondering if he might have misheard or not. Judging by how Maria was looking away and fidgeting, he didn't mishear her.
"You're Maria Rodriguez. You're popular, so you're already cool", Alejandro replied, confused.
"No, I don't want to be cool like that", Maria quickly clarified. "I- uh, maybe cool wasn't the right word", she said, now thinking saying she wanted to be cool was cringe and childish.
Alejandro saw her brushing her hair with her hand, embarrassed. He didn't understand why she was embarrassed. He saw nothing wrong with what she said.
"I don't want people to see me as the daughter of Havana Rodriguez or Maria Rodriguez the model", Maria said. "Like yeah, I model, but I can do other things too. So I feel like the modelling and photoshoots are one step, and that one step will help me build up to be a better person. It will make me interesting. Yes, that's the word interesting!".
This was the first time Alejandro had seen Maria express herself in this way. She was actively wanting to better herself. Alejandro saw nothing wrong with the current Maria, so he didn't know why she wanted to improve herself so badly. He thought she might be aiming for a higher place on the leaderboard or felt bad about herself after seeing someone else. The point about her being her own person was valid. Alejandro could see why she said that because even he'd heard people talking about Maria like that. They talked about her but not about her.
"Go for it", Alejandro encouraged her. Those were the first words that automatically came out. "You getting work again would help a lot with your confidence. You could even network with people and get some connections. But I doubt you're short on them", he smiled, remembering who her parents were.
Maria giggled, catching the joke, "Getting my own connections would still be good".
"True", Alejandro smiled. "Enough about work. How was your birthday party?" he asked, feeling more relaxed and picking his drink back up.
"The party was amazing!" Maria joyfully replied.
"A few people in my class said the same thing", Alejandro replied, seeing the smile on Maria's face. "They also said you drank a lot".
Maria pulled a face before answering, "Yeah, I did", she said, ashamed to make eye contact. "I'm never going to drink that much again. The morning after was the worst", she put a hand on her head and shook her head, thinking about it.
"Hehe, if you got that drunk, do you even remember the party?" Alejandro joked.
"Yeah, I do… kinda", Maria replied, scratching her head. "Until I cut my birthday cake, I remember everything clearly. After that, I can admit everything was kinda a blur. I remember parts".
"Do you have any pictures? I've seen some pictures from my classmates", Alejandro curiously asked.
"Yeah, we took loads. Let me show you", Maria excitedly said, picking up her phone and unlocking it.
She handed her phone to Alejandro, and he started scrolling through the pictures. He was smiling at the pictures as there were a few funny and silly ones until they weren't. His smile died when he saw a certain guy in the frame with Maria.
"Why did you take so many selfies with just Malakai?" Alejandro asked, turning the phone to show her.
"Oh, um... I don't really remember taking those photos with him", Maria slowly replied, staring at the selfie he was showing. "That was near the end of the party. I only remember a few things. Everything else was a little fuzzy.
Maria was telling the truth. Her whole interaction with Malakai could only be remembered in fragments, and even those fragments were blurry. Like Malakai suddenly giving her his coat, she remembered that, but she couldn't remember how she got there or how she found Malakai. Another thing she remembered was the walk back. She remembered Malakai teaching her his dance move and holding her hand. The main thing she couldn't remember was the photos and the conversation. She had no idea why they took those selfies or what they talked about on the bench. She remembered sitting on the bench next to him for a while but didn't recall what Malakai talked about. For her, it felt like they were on that bench for an hour, and that entire time, all she did was stare at Malakai. In reality, they were only on that bench for ten to fifteen minutes. She also doesn't know she hugged him. The only thing she clearly remembered Malakai saying was,
'I'm not gonna drink. And I never will'.
She couldn't forget the serious, cold expression and tone he had. That stayed imprinted in her mind. It was engraved. If she closed her eyes, she could still clearly picture it. This was the first time she had thought about it since then. Thinking about it ached her heart a little. She didn't say anything bad, but he still responded in that manner. Knowing she caused him to react like that upset her. It was clear that Malakai didn't like alcohol, and Maria didn't know why. (If she wasn't drunk, she would've found out the answer).
"On second thought, maybe I won't drink again", Maria said with a hint of sadness. "Not remembering things is scary".
That was one of the reasons, but the other reasons involved Malakai's dislike for it.
There was a block of silence for a couple of seconds until Alejandro put Maria's phone in the middle of the table,
"Maria, I think you should stay away from Malakai".
Maria was reaching for her phone but stopped after hearing that.
"What do you mean?" she asked with her arm outstretched across the table
"You shouldn't be friends with him", Alejandro seriously said. "He's dangerous".
"What? Dangerous?" Maria questioned with a confused expression.
"Yes, dangerous. Him being around you isn't a good idea", Alejandro said, shaking his head.
"Why? How is he dangerous?" Maria had no idea what he was talking about, but he looked serious.
Alejandro was stuck on his words, trying to figure out how to explain what he meant. Maria kept that confused look, waiting for an explanation because using the word 'dangerous' to describe someone is a significant claim.
"He got into a fight with my friend, and he hurt him... really bad".
"A fight? When did that happen?" Maria asked, concerned now.
"During the fourth challenge. He found his partner in the last hour, and me and my friend saw him. Then the fight started", Alejandro further explained.
Maria recalled the fourth challenge and tried to remember if she had seen Malakai after the challenge, and she did. They talked on the balcony that night for about fifteen minutes. Malakai didn't mention anything about a fight to her, and,
"He didn't look like he had a fight".
"Huh?".
"I saw Malakai after that challenge. He didn't look beat up or like he got hit anywhere", Maria said, a little confused.
"Y-you saw him?" Alejandro stuttered, taken back.
"Yeah. We talked about the challenge, and he told me he found his partner easily and finished the challenge. He didn't say anything about having a fight", Maria replied, a little suspicious Alejandro was lying.
Alejandro could sense her suspicion. He knew it looked like he was lying.
"Well, uh. He", Alejandro didn't want to admit it, but he had to if he wanted to show he wasn't lying. "Malakai didn't get hit. He punched my friend once, and he won the fight".
Maria was trying to picture the situation, but the story wasn't adding up. There were definitely holes in the story. She couldn't imagine Malakai getting into a fight for no reason, nor getting into a fight because someone made him angry. It didn't make sense because Malakai doesn't get aggravated to the point of fighting. She'd seen people grab him by his collar, and he'd laugh in their faces, not throw a punch. Maria couldn't wrap her head around someone pushing Malakai to the point of fighting.
"Who started the fight? Who threw the first punch?" Maria asked the questions that would piece everything together.
"Who started it? Ma-" Alejandro's lie couldn't come out of his mouth. He couldn't lie while looking into Maria's eyes. "My friend", he shamefully admitted, looking away.
"Did your friend ask for the fight?"
"yeah".
Maria didn't respond. Everything pieced together in her head. The story made sense now, but it was still hard for Maria to imagine Malakai fighting.
"But Maria, he's dangerous", Alejandro jumped back in and leant forward, trying to convince her. "How he fought and how he threw that punch, it wasn't…"
He didn't want to say normal because it wasn't anything extraordinary. It was a slip and a clean punch. People who knew how to fight could do that. However, seeing Malakai do it wasn't right because he shouldn't have done it.
Alejandro sighed, "Maria, I'm telling you he's no good".
He couldn't put it into words because he couldn't put a finger on it. What he saw that day and how Malakai made him feel just by looking at him. Explaining it just makes it seem like he is a good fighter, but Alejandro felt like it was more than that. He couldn't explain it without looking bad himself.
"But you said your friend started the fight and threw the first punch. So wasn't Malakai just defending himself?" Maria asked, still not understanding why he was calling Malakai dangerous.
Alejandro dropped his head, "Okay, yes, but ugh. Okay, forget that", he said, picking his head back up. "Look what happened in the last challenge. He shot Destiny. The girl from my class. What guy would shoot a girl?" Alejandro used his other piece of evidence to support his point.
"That is different", Maria half-heartedly replied, diverting her eyes. "He was doing it for the challenge".
"Exactly, he shot a girl for a challenge", Alejandro twisted it. "You didn't see his face either. His face was serious. He didn't care he shot a girl. You heard what he said, too. He was going to shoot her again".
Maria was slowly spinning her cup around with her finger. "His friends told me that Malakai and Destiny don't get along, so maybe that played a part", she replied, trying to think of a good counterargument as she didn't know Malakai's thought process behind that. She hadn't had a proper conversation with Malakai since her birthday party. Even today, they saw each other and said hi, but that was it. So she hadn't had the chance to ask about that.
"Nearly every girl in our year doesn't get along with Malakai. He's crazy, and you should-" Alejandro stopped talking after seeing something from the corner of his eye.
"Why are you still following me?"
"You haven't answered my questions".
"I did".
"No, you didn't. Answer my questions properly".
Maria also heard the commotion, but the thing she picked out was the accent. A British accent.
The booths were very private. They were egg-shaped, so people couldn't look inside unless they were in front of the booth or at a specific angle. Alejandro sat on the side where he could see the entrance, so whenever someone walked in, he saw them.
Maria was in the corner of the booth, so she shuffled down her seat and peered round the corner to look towards the entrance. She saw Malakai still in his uniform like her, with a girl standing next to him. A really short girl with brown hair.
"Who is she?".