"Yes?"
The rest of the "tutoring session" was a masterclass in tension. Ameri continued explaining Avogadro's number while Taro seethed. The lookout girl typed furiously. Ameri knew she had maybe ten minutes before they realized she wasn't a teacher.
The after-school air at Meiou Academy was thick with the scent of chalk dust and desperation. Final exams were a week away, and the tutoring center was a war room of slumped shoulders and whispered equations.
At exactly 4:47 PM, her phone buzzed in her pocket. A single, pre-arranged text: EVAC. Ameri knew she had maybe ten minutes before
In one fluid, microsecond movement, her hand darted under the riser. Her thumb and forefinger pinched the USB drive. It slid into her palm, then into the hidden pocket sewn into the seam of her cardigan.
Taro Kishimoto. The science prodigy. The chess champion. The suspected data mule for the Phantom Circuit, a cyber-criminal syndicate that had been leaking state secrets through encoded messages hidden in academic papers.
A murmur of protest. The lookout girl’s head snapped up. Taro hesitated. "I'm fine here." At exactly 4:47 PM, her phone buzzed in her pocket
"Alright everyone," she said, clapping her hands. "That's all for today. Study hard, and remember—balance your equations, and your life will follow suit."
She continued the charade. "Let's try a practice problem. Taro, would you balance this equation for us?" She pointed to a complex reaction: C₆H₁₂O₆ + O₂ → CO₂ + H₂O .
For a split second, his eyes widened. He quickly closed the notebook. "Just doodling." "You're… very helpful."
She had to get it. But she couldn't just grab it. The room had eyes. The girl with the violet hair clips was the lookout—her phone's camera was aimed not at her notes, but at the door.
"Nice work with the fake fumble. You missed your calling as a teacher."
Ameri’s heart rate ticked up. Bored. Arrogant. Careless. She smiled. "Excellent, Taro. Perhaps you can help me then?" She walked over, leaning down to look at his notebook. "I noticed your margin drawings. Are those… fractal lattices?"
"Nonsense," Ameri chirped, her voice still honey-sweet. She picked up a stack of blank worksheets and began distributing them, working her way around the room. When she reached Taro’s table, she "accidentally" dropped the worksheets.
"That's fine, Miss Ichinose ," he said, stressing her name as if tasting a lie. "You're… very helpful."
"Yes?"
The rest of the "tutoring session" was a masterclass in tension. Ameri continued explaining Avogadro's number while Taro seethed. The lookout girl typed furiously. Ameri knew she had maybe ten minutes before they realized she wasn't a teacher.
The after-school air at Meiou Academy was thick with the scent of chalk dust and desperation. Final exams were a week away, and the tutoring center was a war room of slumped shoulders and whispered equations.
At exactly 4:47 PM, her phone buzzed in her pocket. A single, pre-arranged text: EVAC.
In one fluid, microsecond movement, her hand darted under the riser. Her thumb and forefinger pinched the USB drive. It slid into her palm, then into the hidden pocket sewn into the seam of her cardigan.
Taro Kishimoto. The science prodigy. The chess champion. The suspected data mule for the Phantom Circuit, a cyber-criminal syndicate that had been leaking state secrets through encoded messages hidden in academic papers.
A murmur of protest. The lookout girl’s head snapped up. Taro hesitated. "I'm fine here."
"Alright everyone," she said, clapping her hands. "That's all for today. Study hard, and remember—balance your equations, and your life will follow suit."
She continued the charade. "Let's try a practice problem. Taro, would you balance this equation for us?" She pointed to a complex reaction: C₆H₁₂O₆ + O₂ → CO₂ + H₂O .
For a split second, his eyes widened. He quickly closed the notebook. "Just doodling."
She had to get it. But she couldn't just grab it. The room had eyes. The girl with the violet hair clips was the lookout—her phone's camera was aimed not at her notes, but at the door.
"Nice work with the fake fumble. You missed your calling as a teacher."
Ameri’s heart rate ticked up. Bored. Arrogant. Careless. She smiled. "Excellent, Taro. Perhaps you can help me then?" She walked over, leaning down to look at his notebook. "I noticed your margin drawings. Are those… fractal lattices?"
"Nonsense," Ameri chirped, her voice still honey-sweet. She picked up a stack of blank worksheets and began distributing them, working her way around the room. When she reached Taro’s table, she "accidentally" dropped the worksheets.
"That's fine, Miss Ichinose ," he said, stressing her name as if tasting a lie. "You're… very helpful."