Capítulo 17: Hidden Mask
Iso idly stared at Chairwoman Valer who still had a grin on her face, pushing her silver glasses towards the edge of her nose to get a good look at him with her violet-colored eyes.
"How did you know?" Curious, Iso asked her. She continued to look at him for a few moments before letting out a sigh. Then, she leaned back and took off her glasses, staring at the ceiling and adjusting the bun that neatly held her raven-black hair.
"It seems you've forgotten where you are." She looked back at him. "I ask the questions. You answer. Understood?" Her voice had taken a more authoritative tone this time.
Without refuting her, he nodded. He had been expecting a simple meet and greet before getting the key to his dorm, but it seems that he was foolish to think it was going to be that simple.
'There's no fooling her…' He thought to himself, holding in a scowl.
"How did you do it?" She leaned in, asking. Her violet eyes exuded a pressure that made Iso falter for a moment. However, he soon collected himself and asked:
"Do what?"
The moment he did, an echoing slap resounded throughout the office, turning his face.
"Do not be coy with me boy." Iso remained calm despite her actions, turning to look back at her with a stoic expression.
"How did you get yourself into this Academy?" This time, she asked the question up front instead of hinting at it. Of course, Iso knew what she meant the first time.
"I studied…" He answered, shrugging. Chairwoman Valer clicked her tongue in return.
"This isn't a game, Iso…" She warned, standing up to get out of her seat. Seeing that her expression was serious, he decided to speak truthfully — at least a bit of it.
"There was a gap in your esteemed system. I just exploited it." He shrugged once again.
See, every year the Ivory Academy holds an entrance exam for students who have graduated junior-high. This entrance exam is also one that is given to late arrivals — people who couldn't attend the exams the first time due to various reasons.
However, unlike the first time, the second exposed certain aspects… like leaked data, for example. Of course, one would have to be quite adept to reach such data in the first place — but Iso managed — and when he did, he realized that almost everything regarding the Ivory Academy and its students could be found through this data. Data that existed because of technologies like the Connector.
Anyway, everything he needed was there. This data included scores, students, Currency count, all of which he had access to from a tampered Connector given to him by a… "friend."
Now, the questions on the entrance exam to get into the Ivory Academy are difficult — perhaps even the hardest in all the Districts — to the point where even many successful adults find it to be so. Which was likely why everyone treated students who attended the Ivory Academy as adults rather than mere children. In any case, it's an impossible feat to achieve, especially for someone like Iso who wasn't the studious type. However, he was quite cunning and rather mischievous so through the tampered Connector, he got a hold of all the answers but also the overall percentage of every participant from the first exam.
Using this percentage, he calculated the real odds of him getting in, and mixed it with the fake odds, evening them and making it appear authentic in hindsight. That way, he wouldn't attract so much attention to himself — especially from those who oversaw such things. Fast-forwarding to now, he was a student who had an average score, just barely weaseling his way through the exam and earning a spot in the Academy.
"Why though? I mean, did you really think you could fool me?" She took a few steps around the desk before taking a seat on it, closer to Iso who remained where he was.
"In fact, I figured it out quite fast. You see, you should've done some research before applying to the same Academy as your step-mother…" Valer reached forward, using the backside of her hand to caress Iso's face — specifically, the cheek she had slapped moments ago.
Iso scowled. "Step-mother?" He didn't know what she meant by such a statement.
"Come on, I'm sure someone as smart as you can put the pieces together. You're already aware your father remarried… which means there's another woman. I am that woman." She smiled, leaning forward. "You know, he's still quite in fear of you."
Iso stood up and backed away, a scowl still on his face.
"Lies." He said, refusing to believe her.
"Oh, is that so? Well, then you can ask Adam yourself. You're expelled."
Her words struck him with force for a moment.
'No, I can't be expelled.' The entire reason he had weaseled his way into this Academy was so he could live a semblance of a normal life; bury the past and look forward rather than dwell on the negative things that had a hold on him. To make friends, go out, and have fun.To enjoy life.
For the first time in so long, he had that today. He felt it.
Iso let out a sigh to calm himself. "You can't do that."
Chairwoman Valer raised a single brow. "Yes… I can."
Iso shook his head. "No. You only think you can, but you can't." He took a single step forward. "You see, I had a feeling I wasn't going to be able to fool someone like you. Which is why I had… insurance, in case this happened."
Chairwoman Valer, with curiosity etched on her face, got off the desk and looked at him dubiously. "Insurance?" She asked, her tone heavy.
"Yeah. In fact, it's something that's big enough to dwindle and quell the strong flame holding this esteemed Academy at the very top. Perhaps even destroy it entirely." He flashed a smile.
This was no bluff. After all, apart from the data he had access to, he also found files, reports, and more through meticulous surfing. It was where this… bombshell of a revelation he was hinting at was found, buried at the very bottom of it all.
"I have a feeling you might know what I'm hinting at, after all, it really is something unforgettable. In any case, if you expel me, well… I'll expel this entire Academy — condemn it to hell forever."
Valer seemed to flinch from his words, having an inkling of what he referred to. After processing it for a minute, she sat back down reluctantly.
"You really are just as Adam described you." She looked at him with a mixture of disgust and contempt. Iso, though, just returned it with a smile.
Judging by her shifting expressions, she really didn't want to accept the situation, however she now had no choice but to.
"What is it you want?" She asked, a scowl now on her face.
"It's simple…" Iso reclaimed his seat, this time with no hint of apprehension as before, leaning back. "All I want is to live a normal student life. In return, I won't dare to speak of what happened here, or of the… insurance I mentioned."
He laid out his desires for her to heed.
She thought for a moment before responding.
"…Fine. I can agree to those terms. For now."
She admitted with defeat, her face etched with both hatred and a sense of shame. But there was nothing she could do to change that, fortunately.
"That's great, thank you Chairwoman Valer!" Iso returned to his usual self, bowing his head. "Now… It's getting pretty late. If I'm not mistaken, there's a campus curfew, isn't there?"
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