Hacker Academy

Encounter

After Unix passes out on the bed, I get back to hacking again. I have a mission here, and it's to keep mother and sister alive. The night was silent except for the clicking of my keyboard and the low buzzing hum of the fan.

By the time I finish, I realize it's already 7 in the morning. I rub my eyes. I feel worn out, but I don't want to sleep yet. I watch the fan spin and spin and spin and spin and-

Bored to the brink of insanity, I search for the HackCity website. Anyone can find it if they can hack it. After finding it, I read the daily news. It's called The Hack Times. Not very original, but who's complaining? 

The headlines are in huge bold letters, "HN 1 Hacked By Love." Besides the article is a picture of a boy in a hoodie with two girls dancing beside him. The room is dark, and I can tell the photographer had to use flash. The boy raises his hand to shield his face, but the headlines make it clear who it is. It's Cyber. My nose scrunches as I read the article. 

Cyber, the 18-year-old genius hacker known best for being Hacker Number 1 has been partying at Mr. Python's mansion. He drank the most shots and partied on the dance floor longer than anybody else. 

Cyber has been one of the first students at Hacker Academy and has proved to be the best. Cyber and Mr. Python have maintained a close connection and always on good terms with one another, but how long will it last before Mr. Python realizes Celestia Python and Cyber are going out?  

The best hacker in the world, our very own Cyber, has been hacked by love.

He seems to be everywhere. He's arrogant and spoiled with too much attention. He treats hacking like a joke. He must be happy, being able to go to parties while some hackers are confined in their rooms trying to make a living because their family will die if they don't do something. 

Maybe that was what my dream was about. Hacker Number 1 will kill my family by consuming all the riches and power to himself. But if I don't do anything about it, I will be killing my family too. I need to rank up. 

After finishing a few more assignments, I am so done. The small dorm looks like it's getting smaller with every moment I spend here. Putting on my jacket, I head out.

I'm always with Unix and Domain these past few days. It's relaxing to be finally alone.

I've passed the campus hundreds of time now, but Unix was always chattering beside me so I've never gotten a chance to appreciate the place until now. I take soft steps on the red brick ground as a light drizzle starts to fall down. Seeming as the classes, dormitories, and cafeteria are in one skyscraper , the campus doesn't lead anywhere except to an undercover area to shield students from rainy weathers like this, and a secret rose garden. 

In the undercover area, there are two glowing screens coming from the walls. As I walk closer, I realize it's a machine that serves both as an ATM and a currency exchange. A brilliant idea comes into mind. I could send the money over to my family in New York. I insert my citizen card in, and my name appears. 

Tapping the currency exchange option, it displays how much money I have, and how much I'd like to exchange. After typing the amount in, two choices appear on the screen. 

Would you like to withdraw or send?

Curious, I press send. 

To which address? 

I raise my eyebrows. You could never send money to anywhere New York. They had better step up their game, I thought to myself. 

Your transaction has been completed. Thank you!

Stepping away from the machine I look at the rising sun. Rays of golden sunlight shine straight into my eyes. I block the light with my hand, and my gaze rests on the abandoned garden. The morning drizzle is almost gone, so I walk over. This may be the only place in all of HackCity that looks like New York. That looks... normal. A place where neon lights don't crowd my vision, where black uniforms are nowhere to be seen and chatter is replaced with dead silence. 

There are roses of pastel colors sprouting out to the white arc above me. I feel like a princess strolling through the castle garden. Green ivies crawl between the fences. In the middle of this maze-like place, there is a small white dome. It's surrounded by tall lush bushes, giving the dome privacy. 

As I get closer to the dome there is a clicking sound. When I step up the stairs it's too late to turn around and walk away from the person I exactly want to avoid. He looks up and takes his headphones off.

"Hey."

I turn around and try to think of something clever. 

"I got up to hack really early too." I fake a yawn. "I think I'd better go-"

"You aren't leaving until you tell me how you did it," He says with a half-smile. It's more of a smirk.  

I look at him in exasperation. "Are you serious? Are we really having this conversation again?"

He shakes his head. "Is it that hard to answer a question?" He pauses. "I'm just curious." 

I have time to kill, and my gut tells me that if I don't give him an answer this time, he'll never let me go. And I'm not quite ready to face an energetic Unix yet. I sit down and cross my legs on the white marble seating across from Cyber. 

"If you really want to know, it just seems that I had more determination than you that day."

He scoffs. "Do you think I'd lose to a rookie like you?"

It's my turn to smirk. "I don't, but anyone could beat you by consistent practicing while you were partying." My mind flashes back to the article about Cyber.

He looks into my eyes, he's filled with fury. "I am hacker number 1, and no one is taking that away from me!"

I sit, motionless before speaking. "Some of us are actually taking hacking seriously. While you treat it like it's a joke. All you do here is fool around. Why don't you give up your rank to someone who actually deserves it?" I close my eyes and shake my head. "Parties, flirting, money... You're just dating Mr. Python's daughter so you can keep your rank!"

His eyes are intense, and he's staring at me like a hungry lion about to prance and tear me to shreds. But instead of bursting into anger like Domain or father would, his voice is calm and he shakes his head. "I'm not." 

Underneath his shaggy black hair, I can see his lips turning upwards into a genuine smile. He stands up to leave. 

"You're such a feisty woman. That's something." 

Stunned, I watch as he walks past me and out of the garden. A beep from my phone startles me. I check my account, and small white words appear on the screen. 

Congratulations. You have ranked up to HN999.