Cytronica

Fifty-seven

Monday

Priya rummaged through her locker, her head still spinning. It was amazing to think after everything that had happened she was still a part of the academy. She thought for sure that she'd be expelled for her actions.

"What's up?" a voice said, standing behind her locker.

She closed it to see Diego leaning coolly beside her.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, stepping forward and wrapping her arms around him, having not seen him since the realm.

"It's okay, I'm not hurt," he laughed.

"I know, but it looked like a bad fall."

He shrugged. "It wasn't so bad. I can't tell if it made my fear of heights better or worse."

Priya started laughing too. "You heading off to your next class now?"

"Yeah. I just had my meeting with the principal." An awkward look appeared on his face. "Um, how did you go?" he reluctantly asked.

"Fine, actually. Surprisingly."

"Yeah, I was expecting the worst. I just told them the truth though. Apparently, Zack pinned it all on Hunter and Justin."

"Yeah, Mr Ramirez said the same thing to me too."

"I'm glad he did though. They treated him like shit. Everything kinda worked out well." He looked around to ensure no one was listening. "Did you tell them the truth? Or did you embellish a little?"

Priya smiled. "I told them everything. I admitted that I altered the code on one occasion. He said he'll let me off with a warning." She bit her lip. "A very, very stern warning. Because I've never done anything wrong at the academy, he said he'll overlook it this once. I'm still banned from being an admin though."

"Oh, really? He said he'll consider reinstating my position."

She shrugged. "Oh well. Lesson learnt."

Diego looked down the hall and noticed something. "Hey, check it out."

Priya spun around to see Hunter standing at his locker, a furious look on his face.

"Should we say something to him?" Diego asked.

"I ... I'm not sure. Is it rude if we go up to him? Or is it ruder if we ignore him?"

"Are we even allowed to talk to him? I'm not sure what the rules are anymore."

"Me either." She thought about what to do for a second. "Screw it. Let's go. We should be polite to him."

"You're a nicer person than I am," he smirked.

They proceeded down the busy hallway, worming between other students who were heading to their respective next classes. A lot of them glared at Hunter with malice as they walked past.

Students from both factions.

Priya stood by his locker and offered a polite smile. "Hey."

He looked at them both, his expression sullen, and then turned his attention back to his locker.

"What are you doing?" Diego asked, immediately regretting making things more awkward.

"What's it look like?" Hunter grunted. "I'm clearing out my locker, dickhead."

Diego held his hands up. "Sorry."

Hunter looked away and noticed more students looking at him, muttering things under their breath. "I keep getting death stares."

"Yeah, I noticed," Priya said. "I guess that tournament was more than people could handle. I think some are a little traumatised by it."

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

The trio looked at one another, none of them sure how to drive the conversation forward.

"It sounds like you won," Hunter eventually said. "Zack told me there were still users inside after I got eliminated."

"Not that it matters," Priya said with modesty, not wanting to brag. "The important thing is we all learnt some valuable life lessons. I guess."

He shook his head. "None of us learnt anything. I already miss Cytro."

"Seriously?" Diego groaned. "After all that, and you actually miss it?"

"Of course. How can I come back to this? You were there. You saw it."

"Hunter," Priya said, her tone serious, "I saw how afraid you were in there. Now, look, I understand where you're coming from, and yes, Cytro can be a lot of fun with a few changes here and there. But those bots ... come on, even you have to admit that was taking it to the next level. None of us were able to handle it."

He lowered his gaze for a second, not willing to admit defeat, but also not wanting to be stubborn. "Maybe," he confessed. "I enjoyed virus mode. It was the malignance that took things to the next level. And don't even get me started on the telekinesis. That was extreme."

"I'll say," Priya joked, trying to find a way to look back on the whole experience and laugh. "Telekinetic super zombies. It was pretty crazy."

"Only the beginning though," Hunter said. "There's still so much more we could've done."

Diego's face fell. "Dude, give it up."

"So much more," Hunter repeated, ignoring him. "I'm talking about even crazier shit. Magic. Dinosaurs. Everything."

Priya narrowed her eyes at him. "Dinosaurs?"

"I've read it online. Some of the public realms are like that." His eyes became distant as he stared into the void that was his once-full locker. "Maybe I'll find out for myself next year."

"Maybe," Priya nodded. "Maybe we will too. Anyway, um, I guess we should be getting to our next class."

"Have fun," he said sarcastically.

"We will." She stood awkwardly for a few more seconds, not knowing the proper etiquette when bidding someone such a farewell. She briefly considered giving him a handshake or a hug, but then decided against it. He'd put her through far too much stress lately. "Take care," she eventually said, settling for a simple verbal goodbye.

"You too," he replied.

Diego didn't bother saying anything. Instead, he just turned around with Priya and left the bizarre dialogue, abandoning what had the potential to grow into a friendship under different circumstances.

Hunter stared into the nothingness of the vacant locker.

He was alone.

And in a way, full of regret.