The clock was nearing 6:00 am. A woman in her early twenties sat at a table in a cafe. She stroked her brown braided hair nervously as her green eyes pierced through the rimmed glasses on her face. She was looking at the building on the other side of the street. Suddenly, a call sounds on her comm-pad.
The woman looks at the caller ID, and she takes a deep breath before answering. " Hello..."
A manly voice came from the other side of the call. "Are you near the institute? You can't be late for the first day of classes."
She felt exasperated by the person she was talking to. "Yes, I am near the institute, but the gates are still shut. I will be there once they open."
The man at the other side of the call reminded her of the stakes. "Remember, after yesterday's fiasco, it is up to us to get near the asset."
Feeling pressured, the woman snapped back at the caller. "That's the technologist faction's fault. If they had let us approach him as we planned, things would be smoother."
The man excused the actions of the other members of his group. "I will admit that mistakes were made. But if we manage to take this project away from the evolutionists, we might get the upper hand in the organization. The rush is understandable."
A waiter brought a cup of tea to the woman. Once her tea arrived, she remarked after the attendant left. "Rushing things will cost us dearly in the end. Let's just hope that I get a chance to set things right."
The man spoke to her with a mocking tone. "Are you sure you are up to the task? I bet you are drinking tea to calm your nerves. Remember, we can not lose the asset."
Her exasperation grew. The man at the other side of the call was pushing her buttons. He often liked to do this. Her tone had a hint of aggression as she issued a reminder. "The asset has a name. He is a person first and foremost; if we forget that, we are no better than the evolutionists or the technologists. ...and I don't drink tea only when I'm nervous. I happen to like it quite a lot."
Amused by her reaction, the man started laughing. The woman cut the call. She closed her eyes in frustration. As she inhales to calm her nerves, the aroma of her tea reaches her. She grabbed the cup and started drinking slowly. With each sip, her mood improved little by little.
Back at Riggan's Point. Mark sneezes while getting ready for school. The young man wonders for a moment who might be talking about him. His face looks a little tired. After last night's escapade, he only managed to sleep for around 3 hours. As he looked at himself in the mirror, he barely recognized himself. The young man in the mirror was someone he could be proud of.
There was a knock on his door. Rachel's voice came from the other side. "Mark, are you ready? It's time for your first day photo."
Mark remembered the first time this day came. Back then, he protested, with a self-conscious attitude, he denied his mother the simple pleasure. The event haunted him. After his mother's death, the moment had become one of his worst regrets. This time, however, he indulged his mother by posing with a smile. The simple gesture had great meaning for him.
Rachel had a bitter-sweet smile. Even a tear rolled down her cheek. "This is the last photo I will take of your first day of school. My beautiful boy is all grown up."
Mark walks up to his mother. With a gentle motion, he wipes the tear. "Don't worry, Mom, there are still plenty of first photos to take." The young man hugs his mother. The tender moment replaced one of his deeper regrets.
Both of them moved to the kitchen after the heart-warming moment. Melly was waiting for them with a pouty face. Her friends could not play today, and Mark was going to school. Rachel will be dealing with the droid boutique, and Marcus is not coming today. The golden-eyed girl felt left behind.
Mark did not need to read minds to understand his little sister. "Don't worry, Melly. I'm sure you can find people to play with." He changed the subject, trying to cheer his little sister. "How goes the testing of your Nova star?"
Hearing the name, Melly's eyes lit up. "It's wonderful. I can't wait for it to come out of testing. After piloting the Nova Star, I can't go back to the Star Dancer. It's just not the same."
Mark smiled. Given how Melly moved while piloting, he was sure his neuronal capacity was very high. Like him, she could be an A+ or an A. To her, moving the mechs was as moving her own body. However, they would have to wait until her eighteenth birthday to get her neuronal capacity tested.
Rachel frowned as she heard the two of them speaking about the virtual game. In her mind, that was a waste of time. "Melly, Marcus, and I have hired a tutor to start homeschooling you. You will need a good education to get ahead in life. The person will start in a few days.
Given Melly's special situation, enrolling her in a school was out of the question. If the girl had an episode, all hell would break loose. Mark agreed with the decision; so far, it was the best option. "I Think that is Great. That way, you can get a good education."
Melly pouted again. The girl wanted to spend her day playing in A.M.S. Her goal was to reach Mark's level as soon as possible. However, seeing both Mark and Rachel agree, she had no room to complain. Besides, the golden-eyed girl knew that her family wanted the best for her. She reluctantly agreed to take classes.
Mark looked at the empty chair at the table, the one his father sat on. Marcus was focused on his work and had been missing their usual breakfast for a few days. The young man made a mental note to start designing his Humphrey variant soon. To avoid the timing issue, he decided to start after his two new designs' testing phase ended. Rushing with this task could accidentally expose his secrets.
As he finished his breakfast, they heard the doorbell ring. Mark checked his comm-pad; a new security detail was waiting downstairs. He got a bad feeling about this. Mom, who are these people at the door? Did your bodyguard detail change?"
Rachel looked at her son. She knew he was going to fuss about this. "No, Mark. These are your bodyguards. Don't complain. After yesterday's events, your Dad and I decided you need protection as well." The woman tossed him a knowing look. "I don't want to hear your protests. It is the second time someone has tried to kidnap you."
Mark was about to protest, but the look in his mother's eyes told him it was not a good Idea. The young man had no choice but to cooperate. While he could handle any threats himself, Rachel was unaware of this. More than to protect him, the bodyguards were there for his mother's peace of mind.
The young man reluctantly got into a high-end Sky car brought by the bodyguards. To him, this vehicle was too conspicuous. If he had used a sky-cab, his arrival would have gone unnoticed. Yet, the moment the luxurious vehicle and its escort arrived at the entrance of the institute, all heads turned to see the person coming off the ostentatious transport.
Mark sighed; his bodyguards were causing a scene. Everyone and their mothers were forming to see the person who merited such precautions. Maybe it was a diplomat's son or the child of a wealthy mogul. Some girls even hope it was a member of a trendy boy band. The young man was escorted to the institute's gate. By law, his bodyguards could go no further.
While the girls did not recognize the young man, they were nevertheless smitten by his handsome face and the fitted form of his uniform. They all wondered who this boy was. Some of them even tried to compare him to local celebrities, thinking he could be the son of a Comm-clip Star or a famous singer.
A voice gave them all a hint. Livia called up Mark, and Steve was with her; they walked to meet their friend. Everyone glanced at the duo, wondering what sort of relationship the girl had with this new arrival. Some even planned to corner them later and ask about this Mark fellow.
Another voice called up to mark. This time it was Cristina. Mark had not seen her ever since he went to Old Man Choi the night he celebrated winning the lottery. The girl closed the distance with a serious face. As she got close, she apologized to him. "Mark, I'm sorry about what Derick did to you. I feel that it was partly my fault."
Mark tried to put her mind at ease. "Look, Cristina, what happened at the entrance of The Pit is not your fault. He was the one who decided to attack me. You did nothing wrong." He taps her shoulder to reassure her. "Derick did what he did because of his own insecurities. Now he has to face the consequences of his actions. Perhaps the time he is spending in the correctional facility will help him become a better person."
He walked towards his classroom and sat in his assigned seat. Between Cristina's words and the spot he sat on, his classmates made the connections. They all fell silent as they realized the newcomer's identity. One of the students behind him uttered his old nickname in disbelief. "Skinny Mark!?"
Steve sat behind him, and Livia sat beside Steve. They were enjoying the students' exaggerated gestures and funny reactions in the classroom. Steve was reminded of his own reaction back when he saw the changes in Mark. While it felt like such a long time, only two weeks had passed since then.
A New teacher enters the classroom. The woman was a beautiful brunette in her early twenties. Most of the boys forgot about the shock of Mark's transformation when they saw the new teacher. Mark, however, looked at her with suspicion. He remembered meeting this woman in the black site. She was the one trying to release the subjects of his grandfather's experiments.
Why was this woman here? He was reluctant to think she was an agent inserted by his grandfather. Perhaps she was an agent from the conclave Parker had mentioned. But if the conclave was the bad guy, why was she trying to save the people at the black site? These events made no sense. The only way he could know for sure was to use his map function and search for her affiliation.
As Mark looked at the map function, his confusion deepened. Her arrow was green, and her affiliation was the Conclave. This woman was a member of the organization that Dr. Parker warned Rachel about the day before; however, she wanted to help Mark. Had the Good Doctor lied about the Conclave?
The woman's voice interrupted his contemplation. "My Name is Minerva Justus. I will be your home room teacher this year. Sadly, Mr. Thompson, your previous home room teacher, has retired early due to health reasons. In light of these changes, let us work together so you have a memorable senior year. "
Most of the morning went by without anything worth mentioning. After four periods of classes, it was time for lunch. Mark, Steve, and Livia moved to the Cafeteria. The three were being followed by a group of girls from the classroom as they sat. Some of the girls approached; they were interested in talking with Mark.
The young man was not surprised by this; by now, the fact that he won the largest jackpot in the history of Berant city was public knowledge. Mark was actually expecting this to happen; gold diggers were everywhere. He decided to excuse himself from the conversation with these frivolous girls.
Livia, however, took notice. While Mark kept rejecting the girls' advances, this only made them try harder. In her opinion, something needed to be done. If this continued, it was a matter of time before something bad happened. Even some of the younger female teachers were starting to look in Mark's direction with pretension.
Steve, on the other hand, found it amusing. Not three weeks ago, a lot of these people were treating them with a very different vibe. Some were talking behind their back while Others were mocking them and laughing. The loudmouth teen found the people's hypocrisy to be hilarious.
The lunch break came and went. Mark let out a sigh of relief; his next period was P.E. During this period, the female and male students were separated. He will take a break from the pretentious groupies following him around, or so he thought.
As the P.E. activities started, Mark found some of the girls had sneaked into the boys' section. In his mind, Mark complained about the inequality of things. If a male student were to sneak into the girls' section, he would be expelled on the spot. Yet, these girls were not even reprimanded for doing the same.
The girls sat around him wearing their P.E. clothes. Some of them had even altered their garments, making them more... revealing. Mark had to complain about the situation with one of the teachers. It was then that the man verbally admonished the girls and asked them to leave.
As the first day was coming to an end, Mark was approached by his home room teacher. The woman asked him to meet at her desk in the faculty office. The young man wondered if she was aware that he was the one inside the armor back at the black site. Mark shook his speculations. If the organization this woman worked for were aware of this, they would be pursuing him relentlessly.