Hacker Academy

Discovery

Follow Miss Tag

My breathing comes in shallow breaths. I look at the elevator. Then at Miss Tag, who is approaching the unmoving wall. As much as I want to run to safety, a part of me urges to stay. I let out a shaky breath. There's no going back. In one motion, I scramble to the left office plant. Thank goodness there are no illuminated lights here.

The darkness covers me perfectly. I lean to the side. Miss Tag stays motionless for a while, texting on her smartphone. There's no other route to the left or the right. Then, Miss Tag takes something out from her skirt pocket, producing a card. She scans the card, and platinum walls which I had thought were shut firm are now sliding open as if awaiting the entrance of royalty in the palace gates.

My jaws almost drop, but I have no time to do so as she walks in without a second thought. The interior of the place she just walked into is still dark. I have little time to make it in before she activates the lights. Adrenaline courses through me as I glide in. My heart is pounding. I don't know if it's the thrill of trespassing or pure fear. I may possibly need both and some madness to do what I'm doing. What was I thinking? Thank goodness my eyes have already adjusted to the darkness. In gaining my surroundings, I almost gasped aloud. Right before me is a four-poster bed, with plenty of room for me to hide underneath. To my left is a tall and broad wardrobe. This isn't a classroom or a staff room. This is Miss Tag's home.

I can hear her take off her high heels. I scuttle underneath the bed. The shuffling of her footsteps grows increasingly louder before they fade away to some other hall.

"Lights," she says.

There's a corridor beside the bedroom that emits a golden light. How am I supposed to get past with lights?

"Coffee. News."

The AI programmed services do as she commands. I try to conjure a logical plan. I could press the exit button and make a break for it. Miss Tag would assume it was a faulty AI with bugs. Or, I could stay put until I have a better chance to get closer.

I've always wanted to decipher why Miss Tag always gave me an uncomfortable feeling. But mortification encompasses me. What am I doing, sneaking into my teacher's home? Miss Tag had kindly taken me in on my first day at Hacker Academy. She showed me the ropes. She was my mentor. If there was anyone in HackCity that I respected, it was definitely her. Why should it matter that I feel like she's kept a few secrets away from me? Everyone has a secret or two nowadays. I close my eyes and see the smiling faces of mom and sister. They'd be shocked if they found out my whereabouts. I should have kept a low profile. But then I had to get myself involved in the complex relationship with Cyber and trespass in my mentor's home.

"Hello."

My blood turns cold.

"How are you, my baby girl?"

I let out a sigh of relief. She's just talking on the phone. But who could she possibly be speaking to?

"Enjoy yourself. Don't worry about me. I'm watching it on the news."

Silence passes momentarily. Miss Tag makes noises of acknowledgement. Then to my complete surprise, she thunders in a loud voice, "Again!?"

I nearly jump out of my skin.

"Tomorrow I will speak to Cyber. I'll also be taking care of matters with the interfering girl, sweet pea."

After an interlude, she speaks again. "I know. But these things take time. I was supposed to meet the girl tonight, but she didn't come."

A deep unsettling sickness starts to squirm in the pits of my stomach. They're talking about me.

"If he doesn't see your beauty, then he doesn't deserve you... yes... well, if you are determined to do so, you always have my full support. Love you."

My mind is racing for answers. I'm trying to piece the puzzles together. Who is someone that knows me, Cyber, and Miss Tag? It could only be the silent but most popular girl in Hacker Academy. Celestia Python. My mind flashes back to the conversation I had with Celestia not too long ago. When I nervously asked if she and Cyber were dating, she only gave a laugh as if she didn't care about that boy. She showed no sign of attraction towards Cyber, which is much more different than the person Miss Tag was just speaking to.

I hear her settling on the sofa. It's harder to hear her at this distance, but if I strain myself closer, I may have a better chance. I hold my breath. I can't believe I'm about to do this.

I slide out of the bed and crawl across the narrow hallway. I whip my head to both sides and inspect the layout of Miss Tag's home before me. To the left is Miss Tag, still in her work outfit, casually leaning against the grey couch with one arm laid luxuriously across the faux leather. The TV is displaying the news, probably about the Python gala, but I don't know for sure because I can't hear a thing. In front is a glass coffee table with a tablet and yellow daffodils encased in a vase.

The phone rings. Shoot. I duck inside the kitchen and open the cupboard underneath the sink. Thank goodness there is enough room in here.

"Hello."

The tone in Miss Tag's voice shifts, from upbeat to curt. "Why are you calling?" This is definitely not the same person she was just talking to.

"... You want me to pick her up!? You and I both agreed on how'd we bring our daughters to the gala. You would take Celestia, and I dropped Perl off."

How does Miss Tag know Perl?

"There's no way I will expose my daughter to public spotlight by taking Celestia home."

Cold sweat drips down my face as my heart beats erratically. I'm frantically piecing the puzzles together. The girl she was just talking to earlier was Perl, who is Miss Tag's daughter. By the cold tone that Miss Tag has towards this caller, it must be Perl's biological father. But Celestia was his other daughter, which means,

"I'm done with your bullshit, Python."

Mr. Python, the founder of Hacker Academy, had a daughter with Miss Tag and had another daughter with the current Mrs. Python. Miss Tag's daughter is Perl, Mrs. Python's daughter is Celestia. All the pieces suddenly clicked together. How the sequences happened together, I have no idea, but all I know is that I got myself into deep trouble. I may have just found the biggest scandal in Hacker Academy.

My heart can't seem to calm down. Who would help me in this situation? The boy I just danced with enters my mind. With shaky hands, I call Cyber. He'd know what to do.

Brrrring!

Shitshitshit, I forgot to turn my phone to silent.

Brrrring!

I fumble to switch the tone off.

Brrrr-

The cupboard door flipped wide open, and there I was, looking up at a furious Miss Tag.

Fight her

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Persuade her

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The choice with the highest comments will be written for the next chapter.