Turn Back Time

Chapter 3

By the time I started walking up to my dorm, the rumors had already started. Well, at least this time, I was observant enough to track the conversations of different students. Plus, at least I received almost an eight percent increase compared to my last SACSA exam. Still, a D+ is a failing grade.

"Dude, I heard the new kid completely destroyed the second most valuable thing in this place: the biggest chandelier hanging in the administration building."

"Why'd they even keep that in there. That shit looks so out of place. I mean, the admin is like the only modern thing in these gothic ruins."

"I think the principal believes he saved it in Germany."

"Ah. That makes sense."

I glanced at the two of them and they looked away furtively. So small and naive in this treacherous world. Underclassmen, am I right?

My phone vibrated, signaling a notification. I pulled it and read Mike's latest text. How's day numero uno, champ.

Honestly, pretty lowkey. I rekindled this fire with a pretty girl that I realized didn't do me dirty and was in a gunfight, but other than that, pretty chill man. Hbu?

I typed out. An ellipsis indicated that Mike was currently responding.

Ha, Nice one. I went over to your place earlier to drop something off. Must've just missed you, though. Tell your nerdemies I said 'hey', James Bond.

I chortled. That was interesting. Will do. Gtg someones at my door.

I pushed off my bed and walked over. "What's up Chip. Long time no see, my man. How've you been?"

"Good. Wait." He paused, a bit perplexed. "Must've heard something wrong. Anyway, I'm Chip Schacter. It's nice to meet you." He extended his hand.

I shook it, pleased to see that events were still correctly falling into place.

"It's weird, your report was incredibly secretive. Usually, everything from favorite sports teams to crushes are leaked, but the only thing we could see was a warning around cryptography. You know your way around computers?"

I walked him over to my desk and sat down. "I'm decent," I admitted, "Picked it up a few years ago and was hooked. My math skills help out a ton as well."

"Anyway, your few days can be pretty rough. I figured you could use a friend; I'll show you the ropes, give you the inside scoop on everything at campus. All I ask is a little favor,"

I stood back up. He was still standing as I forgot the desk that I'd brought him to was so pitiful that it couldn't fit two people. "I know you Chip. I know exactly what kind of person you are. Of course, I can hack the mainframe, but there's a much easier way to get test answers."

He looked down at me, puzzled. "I'm not here for test answers." What? So everything Murray told me was a hoax. I guess Chip never confirmed anything, but now I looked like a fool. He walked out, looked around the hallways, and quickly closed the door. "I know you're probably clean because you're a fresh recruit. I'm taking shots in the dark here, but there's a bomb under the school. I need to access everything the principal has." He looked at me with a ferocity and certainty that I'd never seen from all the years I'd known Chip. "Can you get into the mainframe or not. You're my last and only hope."

I knew he was cool, but his entire earlier persona was an act as well. I thought Jawa was the one that changed him. "Of course I'll help. Let's go right now; Dinner starts at five." He reached for the door-knob. "Wait! Hold on, there's an electrostatic generator on the other side of the door, so unless you want to become human barbecue..." He slowly brought his hand back away from the doorknob.

"So what do you wanna do, grapple out of the window? How would you even fit one outside?"

"First, no, give me a second to set this up, and by the way, I do have a grapple, but this is better. Trust me. Second, it's attached to the doorknob so anyone touching this side will be hit with a nasty electric shock." I started encircling a sausage that I'd taken out of my bag with a simple closed circuit that I'd planned for just this situation. "Obviously, this simulates a human hand and completes the circuit of the generator as our feet are ground to the floor. You should know, simple physics. With a portable generator, anything after the first charge will be no more harmful than simple static." I attached my own device, and after a confirmation of a simple fizz and a flash of blue light, I opened the door, but Murray was nowhere to be found. "Here's Murrary's contraption." I plucked it off the door knob. "He must've ran. Wasn't expecting conflict. Anyhow, we don't have too much time. We can't afford the time to read anything there, so we'll have to download it all."

I pocketed a few USBs and started jogging to the principal's office with Chip.

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Word Count: 847

Total Word Count: 6097

Date Posted: 5/30/2022