My Dark Scientist

24 | Who is he?

"You came along
Tried to get a cut
You can talk the talk but
You can't back it up
I'm not living a light on
Living just fine
Not waiting on you
You Machiavellian
Natural villain"

~The Man Who, Natural Villian

•

E L L O R A

I've been standing in the H.O.D's office for quite sometime now. How much time is passed? Ten minutes? Twenty minutes? Twenty-five minutes? Who cares? I don't.

So what now? Should I turn around towards the exit and leave the grounds of MU forever, and let my dreams and hardwork and money of all these years go to absolute waste for something I didn't even do? Should I?
To hell with it. Accepting defeat without a fight is the last thing I shall do.
True, this time I couldn't fight. Couldn't say anything. Couldn't protest. I was way too lost in overcoming my shock and confusion. That doesn't mean I won't protest now.

Rubbing the lone tear from my left cheek, clutching my fist on my crutch tighter, I leave the office.

Somewhere in the second floor to my way to the exit I hear a commotion near the bulletin board.

I catch the words, 'trip', 'list' and 'next week', from the students' excited, anxious conversations.

It didn't require a genius to figure out what exactly the commotion is about.

Last week, Professor Langdon had taken a test. Candidates who passed that test would accompany him to a trip next week to Kansas in an institution where experiments we only ever read in books are actually carried out in labs. I had worked my ass off for that test.

Pushing through the crowd I find myself in direct vision to the board. The list is short and precise, with the names of seven students printed rank wise. My name is in the third position - 79.8%. I am short of 0.1% of the girl before me. The guy in the first position has a solid 80%. Rest are close with a difference in decimals.
Not surprised with the strict checking here, considering the person who's checked them.
A little flare of joy erupts inside me. A familiar feeling which erupts every time I pass a difficult and challenging test.

The date printed below the list startles me.
Tomorrow?
The trip is tomorrow?

I retreat back from the crowd and resume walking down the corridor, as the litte flare dims inside me slowly, and the dark blankness and fear takes its place once again. Happy thoughts about how my late nights and early mornings have paid off, are soon replaced by much darker thoughts. After today I am not sure anymore about the meaning of this list. Inspite of passing the test, will I be allowed to accompany Professor Langdon tomorrow to my dream institution along with six other students? Or will he refuse to take along a cheater-

What the hell is wrong with me? I said I would fight, didn't I? I do not deserve any punishment for a crime I didn't even commit. First and foremost, the man we are talking of, has a huge contribution to these darker thoughts. A long chat with him is due. And as fast as possible. I realise, time is something I don't have, since the trip is tomorrow.

~

"Mum, I'm leaving. I'll be back before dinner." I shout from the door, dreading mum's reaction. I haven't told her where I'm going.

Surprisingly though, she doesn't ask. "Okay, bye. Take care." She shouts from somewhere upstairs.

Well, that was a first.

I move to open the door. A hand from over my shoulders shuts the door with a bang the moment I open it.

I turn around with a scowl, to meet Ethan's eyes. "What's your issue?"