"Come again? I didn't get that."
Ms Kira. Head staff. Huge brown eyes that were always locked on her computer screen. She had a knack for looking up from her desk every one hour, rarely at times when someone needed her attention.
And through this constant habit, she'd managed to make everyone conclude— that she was a chronically busy person.
"I want to register for the BHA," I repeated, regardless of the smashing sounds of her keyboard.
By now, every other staff member in the room had either gone quiet or was staring at me with disbelief in their eyes. Not that I could blame them. After all, I had records with them. Ever since the first day I'd walked into the school, the high tiers had wanted me out.
And whenever the high tiers wanted something done, they leveraged the staff—teachers especially, who could cause implications and have me expelled.
But then, I'd survived it all through multiple evidence stacking. Silvic High turned me into a skilled detective within the first few months, and that was all because I wanted to graduate.
And now, I wasn't sure what they felt— guilt, or sheer surprise— but it was certainly the last thing everyone thought they'd hear from Ren Mora. A trial into the BHA. It probably didn't sound realistic to these people when I lived rent-free in their heads as the weakest student in Silvic High.
Ms Kira looked up at me, an expression I couldn't define latched to her face. Disappointment? No. She looked like this was the kind of news she'd heard too many times in the past week and was now tired of hearing it over again.
There was really no chemistry between her and me. Unlike some of the other teachers, she had not once sketched my way into misery.
Supposedly, she was too busy for that.
"And why are you making this choice on the registration closing date?" I didn't miss the dark circles beneath her lids as her eyes lowered at me. "Did someone force you to?"
"It's not that. I—"
"Okay, okay. I don't want to hear it." She waved me off, looking back at her computer screen. "Fred?"
The guy named Fred hurried to her desk immediately she called. He had scattered brown hair and blue eyes, which were being glossed over by a pair of glasses. New teacher, I guessed. The way he fidgeted while approaching Ms Kira reminded me of Rowan.
"Yes, Ms Kira?"
"Hand him an application form."
"Um...what application form?"
Ms Kira looked up. And I could tell from the deep stare she gave Fred that he'd just made the biggest mistake of his life by asking that question.
"The BHA form, idiot!"
Fred didn't wait to hear what else she had to say. He jerked up as he'd just received a shock blast, then turned towards me with a nervous smile.
"Come with me."
I followed him to his desk space— a small table compartment in the third row. On it was an arranged placement of paperwork. The BHA application forms, I guessed. It had a visible heading that read, 'BUREAU HUNTER ACADEMY'
Fred slipped one of those files out and handed it to me.
"Fill out your information in this." He said, supposedly assuming that I was too stupid to know what to do. "And submit it after."
I borrowed a pen from him and filled in my information right there, while seated on his desk. I guessed he was too much of a halfwit and would probably think that was just the norm here. And as expected, he did.
When I was done filling out the basic information— name, age, mode of communication, even disabilities— I dropped the pen on the form, stood and turned to him with an exhausted smile.
Not that I could help it though, the feeling of signing up for the BHA was a daring move. It was up to the Bureau to approve or reject my application, but now that I specified that I was a cripple, I wasn't counting on approval.
It was worth the try, anyway.
"That would be all," I said to Fred and walked past him, then stopped when something came to my mind. "One piece of advice though," I said, turning to him. "Nervous people don't survive long in Silvic High."
He looked at me, confused, then sternly, like he was unsure of what emotion to respond with to my words. Regardless, I didn't need his response. I just needed him to understand that one truth about this school.
And when I was sure he got the message, I left the room.
*******
I'd swear I expected today's lunch to remain different. No random strand of hair in my food like there was two days ago. No low tiers still busily yapping about my fight with Tyler— everyone had let it go after a week.
And even better of all, no Aria.
I didn't exactly know why she'd missed today's lunch in the lower cafeteria, but whatever it was, I hoped it would remain that way. Not because I was selfish, but because personally, I knew mine was her expected option when she needed a table to sit on— or someone to bother.
And speaking of her, I was also reminded of the punching meter. Something in me still wanted to return to that arcade and shove a score of 999 right in her face—
"Is this table free?"
Someone stood in front of me with a food tray. A guy. Deep blue hair and eyes, a small smile plastered to his face. He had piercings on his nose and his right ear. And his jawline was almost perfect, like they'd been set in accordance with his will.
Cael Voss.
"It's Jack..." The whole room suddenly became quiet, audible only with the whisperings of low tiers. "It's really him."
"What's he doing here?"
And honestly, I couldn't find the words myself. I just sat there looking at him like an uninvited nemesis. He took a seat anyway, across from me. When he took his first bite, I noticed the rotten look on his face. He tried to hide it though, and continued eating, acting like he wasn't actually getting low-tier phobia from eating that.
That was his problem though. My problem was this: why was the whole, mighty Jack of Silvic High in the lower cafeteria, sharing a table with me? It made me feel cringe, so much so that I lost my appetite.
"What's your deal?" I asked with a stern regardless. "I know you didn't just come here to build a reputation."
Cael drank a glass of water and wiped his mouth with a napkin. At this point, I couldn't even tell if he was trying to fit in or just trying to flaunt his sophistication.
"Don't get scared now. I just came here because I was curious about something."
"And you can do well to satisfy your curiosity while being on another table." I didn't look away from his eyes. "I'd prefer being alone."
"But my curiosity leads to you, Ren." His eyebrows arched questioningly at me. He leaned forward, eyes locked onto me like he was just about to unveil the greatest suspense of a lifetime. "And between you and me, there's no other factor here that's worth more curiosity."
Between me and me, I didn't understand what he was trying to say. But regardless, I could still work with that. Anything to let him rant out his heart and have him leave eventually.
"I just wanted to know." He started, tweaking his hand around his glass. "Are you going out with Aria?"
I laughed. Not a wild one. But a short, forced one. Of course, that was just instincts reply to a jealous high tier. And there, I thought the Order never involved itself in situations like this one.
"And?" I could swear my lips were doing a smirk thingy as I looked at him. "What if I am? Are you gonna drag me out of the room and beat me up to a pulp?"
"I'll take that as a no," Cael concluded and stood, adjusting his jacket. "Sorry for the... chaos."
"By the way—" I said before he attempted to leave. "Don't try too hard. I don't think Aria's taste is in... egoistic guys."
Cael smiled at me, the kind of smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"We'll see, Ren."