Hacker Academy

Celestia's Confession

The triple rounds at the Dome went by agonizing slowly. I keep on checking the time after each round, wondering when they would show up. She'd most likely come after school. If she came at all. Three hours later, a girl in a Hacker Academy uniform comes out from the elevator of the Hacker Dome. Her golden hair illuminates under the glass ceiling, and she walks hesitantly to the counter where I am waiting.

"How'd you get my number?" Celestia says. Straight to the point.

I smirk. "All of the things you learn at Hacker Academy. If you pay attention"

"I do pay attention. Besides," she snaps. "As if you'd know what's going on in my life."

"You're right. I don't know. I'm just doing what I'm supposed to do." I pull out my phone and take out the counter stool beside me. "Care to sit down?"

Celestia frowns. "Why did you tell me to come?"

I hesitate for a moment. "I'm your Secret Santa?"

Celestia's eyebrows raise and her mouth is agape in surprise. I raise my hands in defence.

"Okay, I know it took a long time, I'm sorry. Heck, winter is almost over. But I thought I'd try to help you in any way I can. If you actually need it."

"Why?" She demands. "Why are you teaching me to hack?"

I tense up. Crap, does she hate this? Why the hell did I think about teaching the popular girl how to hack?

"I-it's really the only thing I know how to do. Sorry, maybe I should transfer over some hackcoins so you can go buy a purse or something-"

I open my money transfer app on my phone, but Celestia grips my wrist tightly. Her sharp nails dig into my skin and I instinctively wince. When I look up at her, she just rolls her eyes at me.

"Let's get this over with."

She sits on the stool and crosses her arms. I shakily grab two laptops from the side and face them in front of us. I start to feel the cold sweat coming from my hands. I haven't felt like this since competing with Cyber.

"O-okay, I'll start with the basics."

"I know the basics."

"You know Python, Java, C++?"

She looks away. "A little."

"Then I'll explain everything to you more clearly."

I start from the basic principles of code, the ones that I learned when I was seven years old. Even at a young age, I could tell the debt bills were starting to pile. At first, there were scatters of papers, here and there. In the study room, on the bed, in the kitchen. I didn't pay too much attention, but I could hear mom and dad fighting. The sound of papers thrust at one another for an explanation of how the numbers just kept on rising. It took every once of my willpower not to cry in front of my parents, especially my little sister. 

Since then, I kept my head down and focused on hacking. It's no wonder what I'm explaining to Celestia is a walk in the park for me. But she's scrunching her forehead in confusion and it looks like she doesn't get a thing at all. If she wasn't the daughter of Mr. Python, she'd be kicked out of Hacker Academy a long time ago.

"Wait- what, explain that to me again. Wait, you know what, forget it." She turns around and pulls out her phone.

"You can't give up now. We just started."

"There's no use teaching me. I'm hopeless," her eyes flash in anger before she looks down. She bites her lip, and the words that come out after are softer. "At least, that's what dad says. That's why I should always stick with the same kind of people. You're- you're too good for the rest of us."