The business class. It was Rihanna's number one reason for enrolling into Dawn Academy. This is what mattered. This is part of the reason why she was here. If she wanted to take advantage of one thing, it was this elective. If they told her not to attend anything else but here, she would not think twice and do so.
She walked into the empty classroom, being the earliest to enter from how excited she was, and sat in a chair at the very front. Nearly ten minutes later, students began entering.
She opened her in-desk laptop and inserted the class's DVD. After she opened the soft copy of the text book, she quickly went over some of the material for today's lesson.
Out of no where, a man was standing in front of her, greeting the class with his strong and strict voice.
Rihanna looked up from her screen, and froze.
What the...
She stared at him in disbelief. She even closed her eyes, reopened them and shook her head, then looked back at the man again, thinking she'll see something else.
He's taller... was the first thought that came to her. The man she once helped climb the steps, now stood in front of the class in a handsome black suit, standing tall and as healthy as anyone in the classroom. His hair was brushed back and his face expression was no longer innocent and demolished by time, but instead intelligent and smug.
And as he smiled, he flashed a set of white teeth. Dentures?
She was lost for words, and her expression showed exactly what she felt.
"Ah, Rihanna. Such a pleasure to see you here, joining us. I'll properly introduce myself; I'm professor James."
"What–what's going on?"
He waited for her to think it through.
She huffed out a breath. "It was a test?"
He smiled. "Well, of course. No one is accepted here easily. I ran every person here through a planned examination, and they all passed it in their own way. When they entered the business class, they did so with a label. A label that symbolizes their business manner."
"What's mine?" Rihanna was suddenly intrigued.
"Strategist. You're a strategist. And believe me, that's a rare gift in the business world."
Rihanna smiled in surprise, feeling proud.
"Could you please get up for a moment."
She stood up without hesitation.
"I'm going to point at a person in the classroom. I would like you to give them a label–what your thoughts on what brought them here. Are you up for the challenge?"
She was excited, willing to give it her all. She nodded without hesitation.
"Great." He scanned the classroom. "The fellow sitting in chair eighteen."
Rihanna turned around and was able to spot who the professor was pointing at immediately. And she was almost thrown back into her chair at the sight of him.
Her eyes quickly dropped to the ground as she attempted to avoid Lexis' sharp gaze. She felt the insides of her body twist and turn until she was sick to her stomach. Her fingers, as embarrassing as it was, automatically began to shake with fear.
"Rihanna?" The professor pushed. "Did you figure it out?"
She tried to swallow, but her throat had shrunk up, barely enabling her to breathe anymore. At this point, her hands started to shake violently, showcasing her panic to everyone around her. She tried to press them to her body, in hopes that would immobilize the frantic muscles.
"Rihanna, are you alright?"
Everyone waited for her to speak, and the pressure only suffocated her more and more. She could feel Lexis' eyes on her, watching her every move. She had prepared herself to avoid encountering him, ever again. And that if by chance she did, she wouldn't cower in fear and give him the satisfaction of seeing her in such a fragile position.
However, all moral thoughts evaporated when it really happened.
"He's a manipulator." Her voice was small, faint, barely heard, but the room had gotten so quiet that everyone heard her nonetheless.
"Dwell more on that insight." The professor said.
"He manipulates others into a foreseen corner until he can read them. He doesn't go for the wrong buttons to push, instead he figures all the right buttons in his victim and pushes those instead. He gets the reaction he wants, then uses it against the person. It's... how he gets things done without lifting a finger."
It was quiet. For a long time it was, and Rihanna began to think that death was enfolding around her. It was as quiet as a grave and she couldn't hold back from glancing up.
At Lexis.
He stared at her with a pale expression. It was her first to see him this way. His expression, which usually consisted of cunning displeasure, was now replaced with something more frightening than she thought possible.
Her reaction was automatic. She stumbled back, nearly falling on the floor, but catching herself in time. She quickly sat in her chair, then turned and looked back at the professor, her heart beating in her throat.
The professor looked back and forth between Lexis and Rihanna, then finally said. "Is there anything else you'd like to add?"
She quickly shook her head. Then tucked her shaking hands under her legs. She almost couldn't see. Her eyes stung. Her stomach churned. Her breathing froze. Everything in her body was blocked from life.
Why? Why can't you do it around him? You do it around everyone else, so why can't you around him?
Be the unknown.
I can't!
She gritted her teeth. This class mattered so much to her. It was the reason for everything. Her need of the Academy mounted to nothing if it weren't for the business class. Why did he have to be in it?!
"Ms. Gessner. Are you alright? You look pale..." The worry in the professor's voice was apparent.
She had been holding her breath as she sat in the frozen state she was in, completely forgetting to breathe. Her body was no longer able to function correctly while Lexis' presence devoured her freedom. The funny feeling in her stomach was now in her head, waving its emptiness through her, and before she knew it, her body began to feel heavy.
And then she dropped, to the left and out of her desk, her unconscious body hitting the cold tiled floor.
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