The rebirth of planet Resoria Z9

Chapter 16



But it was more complicated than I thought. I had to make sure that the safety of my androids was not threatened by John or I myself would receive a suspension for having poor care of my androids and the safety of others. I walked away and thanked him for the lesson he gave us today. I immediately went straight to the principal's office and did not bother to inform my androids about my whereabouts.

I was afraid I would lose my temper and control If I were to see them. I still can’t wrap my head around that my androids complicated the situation and bruised up both John and Thomas' necks. I stretched my arms worn out from carrying intense emotions for the whole day. I was more than tired but the small excitement I would feel when I went through the files gave me a boost of energy.

I picked up my pace and headed for the hallways that lead out of the floors and to the other large building where the principal's office and important parts of the University are.As I arrived at the large building I admired the darker shades of the bricks meeting the lighter ones making a luxury color blend out on the building. My dorm and the cafeteria and most of the lessons are stored in the other building.

I continued to walk until I arrived at the large windows in the office. I was standing on the backside of the building and I searched if any students were walking in this direction when I was met with only trees and grass. I was quick to carefully lift up the small opening left by some irresponsible person who left the window open. I hesitated when I was about to jump in afraid this was a trap considering how smoothly this was going for me.

My fingers went cold when I started to think deeply about if a teacher was waiting inside the office for me patiently. Torn between my own fear and the possibility of a teacher being inside the office I listened closely for any sounds and when I was met with only quietness. I lifted myself up by holding onto the edges of the window and pushed the window fully open. I made sure to carefully land and soften my steps by walking with caution as I looked at the principal's desk.

I walked around in the office taking in every detail from the large painting to the golden chair. The memories of principal Owen being belittled by the director came to me as I stared at the golden chair.The courage Mr Owen had was infinity to let himself be embarrassed solely because of another person's title. I was raised to never lower my head to the ground for another human being by my grandma.

I held my head high even when I was placed among the elite’s children. The line between wealthy and successful in my eyes are far away from each other because a wealthy person makes me despise them when I am well aware the money is shared through generations. Meanwhile, a successful person makes me despise myself. Not only did we have the same resources but their work surpassed mine always and that made my skin crawl.

I was getting a headache from falling too deep into the humiliation of principal Owen. Not only did it cause a headache it caused a distraction that made me not prioritize watching my surroundings. Anybody could walk in through that door.

There was nowhere to hide except under the desk. I walked closer to the desk and opened everything I could get my hands on. One small cabin was locked and sealed and it did not budge no matter how hard I pulled at it. I grew curious but I was aware I did not have time enough to find out. That's why I settled for the classic outdated computer sitting on his desk. Outdated computers are more easier to hack since the newly designed laptop has their own Ai who detects any virus and any attempts on hacking their system.

Imagine one of my androids being a laptop that's almost as powerful as the Ai systems are in those laptops. I flickered my gaze to the large clock on my right side as I worked hard to break through the firewall. I only had a chance to guess the password before the computer would shut down and lock me out.

I grew frustrated since I had no information on my principal except he took pride in his golden student. I carefully pressed the buttons on the keywords and watched as the computer took its time to load down the information. Two minutes had passed and I waited, refusing to blink, afraid it would be written on the screen wrong password. The bright green screen gave dopamin to my brain, the feeling that was erupting in my body was indescribable pure energy was all I could feel.

I ignored all the red flags and warnings that came to my mind when I saw what the password was. How could it have been his name my mind swarmed with. I forced myself to focus completely on adjusting my sitting to something more comfortable. I need to relax all my muscles. Not a drop of stress could be allowed in my body when I had to read through the files on the golden students. Pure excitement and stress always gave me anxiety. It seemed to be the secret recipe to make me anxious to the point I had to lay down for a few minutes.

Everytime I tried to listen for footsteps or odd sounds all I could hear was my pulse getting higher. The pulse coming from behind my ears was loud and overpowering for me to simply ignore. I had to be quicker than I thought my body was sending signals for me to get out of this dangerous situation and who was I to ignore my own body and safety.

I took a deep breath and reached for the mouse beside the computer and scrolled down to a file registered with no name. It caught my attention because an unnamed file always had some classified information. I was wary that another password would pop out of nowhere but when I opened the file I was met with an alphabetical order for students of Ford Ta Facon University. I was in bliss until I came to the letter T and could not find the name Thomas Jones anywhere.

Confused, I scrolled back up to the letter J and could not find any information on my name either. Neither the name John Williams was beneath my name. The three of us were whipped clean off the record almost as wanting to conceal the evidence of our existence or mine since I have the androids. There could be a possibility that my name was concealed so that no government could track me down or collect evidence they could use on me. But I could not come to any conclusion on why both Thomas and John were concealed as well.

The only thing I had to settle for was there was no coincidence that the three of us were not listed in the file. It was another red line connecting to Thomas' intentions could be something I had to watch out for. My determination to get to the bottom of this was like steel. All I cared about was seeing with my own eyes why the three of us were concealed. If anyone were to walk into this office I would cling on the desk and continue scrolling until it were to be ripped from my grasp.

Downloading the classified information on usb drive would leave traces back to me. I had no intention of harvesting confidential information in my dorm or anywhere else. The risk of my androids finding that usb drive and downloading it themself was too high for me. I clicked out of the file and scrolled down until I came to the end. There were several files scattered on the computer, some of them were identical and I grew frustrated when I saw how much time had passed.

I was running out of both time and files to click on, I couldn’t go through each one of them. I had to find a pattern or a detail that would make me find the correct file I was searching for. I repeated several times going through the files both in alphabetical order and trying to find a pattern through the first words on each file.

My eyes flickered to the sides taking in all the information in front of me. A misspelled word could not go unnoticed by me. By the fourth time my eyes flickered through the files I noticed how on the third word in the third row of unnamed files were spelling out golden students. I immediately clicked on the file which contained the letter T on the third row of the unnamed files. Every little detail of Thomas' work was revealed in front of me. His first mistake and his most repeated one who locked him in a cursed circle which never ends.

I could practically feel my eyes growing larger as I took in the savoring information. All my suspicion and pariona was being praised mentally by myself. I was more than glad to never let my guard down even of the feelings growing inside of me. I was never the type to simply give out soft spots to people. I could almost feel my heartbeat rise each time I read through the lines but when my eyes met the assignment Thomas sent in hours ago made the last hope I had for him crumble to pieces.

He had written in clear detail his hypothesis and why he chose me as a partner but the part that stung the most was his ending that he wanted to recreate my androids and through me he would find out how to fulfill that was written in clear words and a long paragraph where he planned out . There was no doubt in his words or even brushed as a hypothesis, terrifying he wrote it as a promise he would fulfill. That part made me feel nausea and lightheaded when I sat up too fast out of the chair.

I had to get out of here was the only thing that came to my mind. I was in no state to control my emotions if someone were to walk in on me now. I wanted to trash the office and break every object I could get my hands on before I would be consumed with a stinging betrayal I refused to feel.

I grabbed a small paper clip, something I could stare at when I would refuse to believe everything I saw. The paper clip would force me to remember what truly happened and would be evidence for my mind when I would start to doubt myself. Or when I would try to see the good in Thomas. It would hold a value to me and something only I could understand. I hurried to the window and took one last glance at the door before I jumped out of the window and landed on the grass. I never looked back and walked towards my dorm with a heavy heart and a clouded mind.

I held onto the paper clip with unnecessary strength. I was afraid I would accidentally drop the paper clip and erase the only evidence I could use against my mind. If my androids caught me staring at a paperclip all night long I could say anything with no lines drawn. I walked until I arrived at the other building. I opened the large doors and continued walking into the hallways. I didn't notice how far I had walked until I got a loud notification from my phone. I stare at my phone screen with mixed emotions. How would I react? I wondered as I read the text message from Thomas.

" I know it's a bit late. But I figured we could squeeze in this time to get a little bit farther than everybody else in the assignment. I'm in the study room across from our dorm. The one with large paintings in the hallways."

I threw my hands in the air when I couldn't decide what I should write back. I wanted to write everything to him that I knew he was using me and that he would never succeed in recreating my androids. That he was vile and disgusting. But I calmly wrote back a short response saying I would be there in less than 5 minutes. Was I angry at myself for choosing the easier way? I almost hated myself for not wanting to confront him. A part of me wanted to believe there was something I had missed. Something in his childhood or any other reason that could explain why he would use me as a one way ticket.

Like I always do I ignore the sizzling pain and hold my head high up. I could be in control of the conversation this time. Now that I knew the inside of his mind I could defeat him breaking no sweat. With each step I took I realized I wasn't there to defeat him but to hope he had a reason, a one that could be forgiven. Before I would brace myself to see him I chose to stare and admire the painting in front of me of a beautiful landscape on a hill and a turquoise sea that caught my eye. It was calming and something that had to be in my very own collection.

Perhaps a gift I would give to myself when I have finished my studies. In a weird way seeing this painting calmed my nerves down and freshened up my way of thinking. A new plan was formed and I could see it more clearly than the large glass surrounding the study room. It brought natural light into the study room and gave the dark brown furniture a rich taste. It was getting late and I looked to my side and stared at the window for a second. The sky was covered in dark blue and you could see a tiny part of the sun going down.

It was odd that Thomas was going to have a family reunion with an old distant relative this late. Especially when he managed to squeeze me into his schedule and then still make it in time to meet his distant relative. So many questions were being very born each time I thought of Thomas. Frustration was not enough to describe how I was feeling. Inpatient was the closest thing I felt I wanted desperately to uncover this betrayal with the most simple words but I knew how complicated it would be.

I took a deep breath enough to make my lungs feel like it was going to pop out of my chest. I relaxed my facial muscles and my eyebrows afraid I would reveal myself that I was in fact aware of his plans. I opened the glass door and walked inside. Thomas looked up from his computer and closed it down when he saw me. If my legs gave out at me in this very second I wouldn't be surprised. I could feel knots in my stomach when I met his eyes.

I knew if I stared at him too long I would lose control and my anger would be visibly shown. I picked the chair close to him and sat down. Should I wait for him to speak first? I only had one thing in my mind to say to him even though I didn't want to confront him. It was like a reflex I couldn't fight against.

" Alright, we should just dive in and get this started. I have a couple of ideas that could get us farther than the rest of the class." Thomas said with an unknown expression.

It's almost like he wanted to get this over with. His usual eagerness was faint to my ears. The only thing I could see the similarity to his eagerness was his determination to get farther than his classmate. It was a weak resemblance truly but I still had another chance spared for him left in me.

" I don't know how to bring this up without sounding like I am questioning your urgent meeting with an old distant relative. But didn't you say that your family member would arrive in hours?" I said with caution and a hint of suspicion in my voice.

I realized how I just blurted out the first thing that came to my mind. I couldn’t see any other way to bring that up without me sounding suspicious. Even if I were to freshen up my choice of words and the scenery it would still end up as being me doubting his words. I didn't have much of a choice. It was a simple way in and out for me to get an answer.

" I should have explained that when I messaged you. A small incident came up and my distant uncle had a road rage. I know how it sounds but he's currently being held and this is not the first time this has happened." He said with embarrassment and empty eyes.

It was odd how his lower part of his face had so much expression but when I met his eyes there was none. He used to be very expressive with his eyes such as avoiding my eyes when he felt embarrassment or being unable to keep eye contact for a time. But now as he sat in front of me his eyes never left mine and his mouth was in a thin line.

The body language usually reveals what another person is truly feeling and right now I could see how something had changed inside him ever since he had that discussion with Bortums when I was far away distracted by John’s threats. Something had made him more relaxed around me, too much relaxed to my liking. The way his eyes were dull and how he got lost in his thoughts when I was speaking to him. Showed me that maybe because of what he wrote in that assignment made him focus on his end goal more than ever.

" I see, well I hope he gets released without any charges and everything works out for him and your family. He can make it before midnight." I said with all the empathy I could muster.

I wasn't good with showing empathy especially when it comes to people who have road rage. They were irresponsible people and a danger to all. What I hate the most about them was that they could cause great injuries to other people. But I couldn't exactly dump my opinions on him since it was his uncle. I had to show empathy even if I was against it.

" I hope so. I don't have much time left before my uncle is released. I would say 30 minutes is enough for us before I have to leave." He said with less expression than before.

I didn't have much to judge since he lacked the effort of opening a new topic for this conversation. His response was too dull. He used to have a way with steering me into different conversations and more effort put in. It felt like speaking to somebody who did not wish to continue speaking. It was frustrating and I refused to pave a way out of this uncomfortable silent pause created between us.

" If you don't mind, what did you write as your goal for our group project?" He continued speaking.

His eyes had moved from whatever caught his attention and onto mine. He waited for me to answer him back but I paid no attention to the silence between us. I noticed how his eyes flickered to my eyebrows and to my jaw. Was he studying my expressions? Worried I returned his actions and noticed how his lips turned into a small line when I didn't answer him back in time.

" I'm not sure what I want out of our group project. I hope that I am able to share the knowledge with my classmates. Each one of them so that they all can have a fair chance to succeed." I said casually waiting for him to take my bait.

There was a high possibility that he would react negatively or stressed when I said all of my classmates were going to have the same opportunity as him. Like last time he let his emotions slip through when I spoke highly of my success and my work. A furrowed eyebrow or even a simple line forming between his eyebrows would be taken as evidence. Quick movements I noticed from his upper lip before he returned to me with empty eyes and an aggravating small smile worn in a thin line.

Was he on to me? Did he know that I was luring him into letting his mask slip up. Did he really almost snarl at me when I was trying to lure him into my bait. If so, what changed inside him and why was he sitting relaxed when all I could see was his damn assignment and his end of goal. Unnoticed I massaged the middle of my forehead with closed eyes. I was getting worked up for nothing and aggravated by the smallest thing. I knew what the real issue was and it was no other than my androids who had that unknown discussion with Thomas. If it wasn't for them he wouldn't be acting this unusual.

He wouldn't be acting like this if it wasn't for my androids. Hit me hard when I started to realize where all this personality change came from. The unknown words exchanged between them how could I be sure that no pact or deal was formed between him and Bortums. How could I truly know that bortums did not offer a deal like he did to me that night when a meteor came falling down.

" I find it difficult to word this, Your work does not make any sense now that I have carefully thought about it. You managed to build three powerful intelligence androids with resources that my own father did not possess." He said with envy lingering in his voice.

The way his eyes narrowed when he belittled me revealed the pressure was becoming unbearable for him. It was not an excuse for him to take his anger out on me even though I was the reason why his hope to complete his work was destroyed.He used to be the top student with a promising work on artificial intelligence life was written in his file. His chance to succeed of hope to complete his work was postponed and destroyed when my androids was presented.

" I don't condone the harsh words coming from you since we are partners who will be treated with respect. In a simple way to answer your question I have a fresh mind with an open field with no barriers meanwhile your father has likely worked over a decade with the same project and the same resources hoping to achieve a different result.

A different result only comes from different methods to achieve it. Your own anger does not justify belittling me and my work."

I avoided his gaze and felt humiliated by my choice of words. I didn't have much to choose from when speaking about the truth of my work was out of the question. I had to settle with being seen as too arrogantly or someone to pity for. For my own pride I always choose to be arrogant but when I was almost tricked into being provoked by him I had to settle for being pitied rather than giving him the reaction he wanted.

All he returned was a gaze and the way he stared at me was like I was only a mere poor girl who happened to get lucky. I could feel it as he became more relaxed and wore an almost grin on his lips. I knew he was pleased that his father's reputation was not tainted and that there was still hope for a gust of chance for his father to reclaim the role he saw him in.

I waited for an apology, that he would see the fault in his words and that he would see the strength it took for me to admit my financial struggles out in the open but broke his gaze for the loud noise that came from his pocket. Bright white light shone in his face as he read his messages. I sat there until his eyes reached mine once again and he finally spoke.

" Not surprised, he got a warning as usual and already has arrived for the family gathering. I have to be on my way now. I will see you on Wednesday." He said with a motionless voice as if he memorized it.

He was already on his feets and headed for the glass door. I watched him as he disappeared in the dark hallways and sat in my chair. I figured a response was not something he needed when he dashed for the door. I sank into my emotions that I was hiding from him and sat there until I could feel every part of my wrath, humiliation and disappointment.

I wouldn’t move an inch until I made the decision that either disappointment or wrath would be embraced by me. I stared at his seat until I felt the remembrance of cold prickly numbness that spread and sank deep inside the pit of my stomach.

In this very moment a decision was made I could see clearly all the lights I dimmed when his real form was presented. I was a fool to believe I could make the decision out of two simple emotions when a realization came at me without any power of my own. A gut feeling was the closest thing to explain it but this decision came to me and was not made by me.


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