Laila was silent for a while, her brows furrowing in concern. She had seen the boy before, but not like this. She had never seen Brutus stutter before.
" What is it? What's a worm?" The girl asked him.
Brutus composed himself, inhaling a breath of fresh air deeply. It felt like he was holding his breath for the longest of time without even being aware of it.
" Programming worms. They're like specialized viruses. Quite hard to find and as much as I'm aware, costs a handful. " He proceeded to check out Laila's expressions, which were muddled. She couldn't completely grasp the concept, not that there was much, to begin with.
" So Haidar paid for these? But why would he need these...I mean what kind of fuckery is he going through?" Laila huffed, shaking off the heavy atmosphere.
" I don't really know what these are for, but they look like scoopers. I think-" He paused.
The girl stood there, waiting for him to continue. But only the faint sound of breathing vibrated in her eardrum. The cursor roamed the screen and stopped on a signature. It looked like a designer's mark, something programmers added to show their ownership. Quite narcissistic for Laila. Brutus recognized it, he obviously did. 31245. He knew this mark, of course.181213 for the storeroom, 214 for the PA's office, and 31245 for the club. The coding club. This was the mark of the coding club.
" This... it's his mark. T-tis used by him, Laila. He uses it for every program we design." He murmured, words half dying before escaping his lips.
" Who?" Laila asked assertively.
"Dimitri. This is the mark of m-my teacher, our club teacher." Well fuck.
This was unquestionably more than what they had anticipated for and Laila had enough. She's definitely gonna back off now. Her life is already complicated with a medical degree on hold, she didn't want to get involved further. After they leave this room, she's just gonna submit these viruses to the police and let them take care of the rest. At least Ali Raza won't avoid her. Kazan will strip her of their tag of The Liar. She had made up her mind. This situation had nothing to do with her, so she was gonna be responsible (Mila would be proud) and back off, right about-
" I need to talk to him."
-About now...well what would you know.
" I need to know why he would do this. Why he would get involved. He'll make sense." Brutus said running his hand over his face and hair. His expressions were like tangled earplugs you just took out of your bag, damaged and annoyed. He looked betrayed. Laila did not react, nor did she try to agree with his plan.
Dramatic confrontations were her thing, she doesn't do that for others.
The boy did not wait for a response, he walked off towards the window. Immediately the girl seized his muscular arms.
" Woah Woah! Don't we need the evidence? You kept saying right, we need proof. We have it right here, in front of us, right now!" Laila raised her voice, annoying Brutus.
" And how do you think we'll get a proof?"
" You're the awkward hot computer guy, shouldn't we copy it in a flash drive or something? " Brutus chuckled over this statement, sending a wave of sarcasm towards the brunette.
" Oh wow Laila, why didn't I ever think of this? Copying worms on a fucking flash drive without leaving a trace. Genius." Yet again, the air turned heavy. He jumped out of the window, not even waiting to help the girl. Laila jumped out on her own quite easily. She slid the window closed, checking once again if there was any residue behind.
" And what was that about me being hot?"
"Molchi."
The walk back to dorm rooms was silent. The girls' and boy's dormitory had a common ground opening, a fountain placed within each of the dormitory's lounging areas. The warden had already completed their set of rounds, so sneaking from the balconies wasn't necessary. Laila was thankful. The girl was still pissed off over the fact that Brutus did not take what he came here for. All that midnight adventure and they had nothing with them. A part of her wondered if Brutus even wanted to find proof at this point. She knew the boy was extremely close to Dimitri. The teacher treated him as his younger brother, exchanging affectionate gestures every once in a while. She knew, when it came to Dimitri, the boy wouldn't even bat an eye before stabbing a man dead for him.
A ray of sunshine spilled all around Mila's bedroom. The room had netted curtain covers which helped filter the amount of light entering the room. Laila had a long night behind her, and she was still tired. She had knocked on Mila's door several times before the shortie let her in.
They were awake past 1 is discussing what adventures Laila had with Brutus. An alarm sound broke the silence, making the girls twist and turn in bed. Laila always had to wake up extra early to reach the campus grounds on time. Mila however, was blessed with a perfect sleep schedule of eight hours every day. If only Laila could permanently shift in Kazan's dormitory.
October was officially inaugurated at Kazan with the cleaners fogging its streets. Winter was taking its toll on Laila. She attended her day in the same clothes as last evening. Not like the kids would be aware of her sporting the same look. She decided to not think about last night. The entire day, she kept herself occupied with journals and classwork. The girl did not even step out for lunch dreading the possibility of facing the toxic males of her life.
She did not want to meet Haidar because she was certain her expressions would make him curious. Last night already meant she had disappointed Mr. Vas. A part of her was curious over what was going between Dimitri and the PA. But giving in her curiosity meant drowning in the misery of failure. Most of all, she did not want to face Brutus. She knew the boy would use his cunning words and perspicacious attitude to convince her about confronting their Club teacher.
And that is in fact what happened when she met Brutus.
They both walked into the club room together. Dimitri hardly showed up for classes, so they weren't worried about the confrontation. The two had decided to at least get a photograph of his design mark for leverage. Laila acted as a decoy when she called Haidar into Mr. Vas's office. The girl forced an apology which made Haidar's shoulder lift in the air. She hated every bit of it, but it was necessary. Brutus needed time to get a photo.
As if the universe had decided to give them a push, Brutus encountered another man in the office. He was, what seemed like cleaning any trace of his entrance.
" So you really are involved with him," Brutus said, looking straight into Dimitri's eyes. The man did not lose his act. He simply grabbed the boy and launched towards the Clubroom.
5 to 7 meant it was time for Laila to practice her codes with Brutus. It was also the time when the club room was isolated. The girl had noticed Brutus began dragged away by her teacher from the glass windows of Mr. Vas's office. She excused herself immediately, following the two men across fields. Dimitri wasn't coy anymore. His eyes were hooded, almost darker than burnt amber. He pushed Brutus on the cot with a sudden force, a hiss escaping his mouth.
" What? You know I know, don't you? You were the one who designed those worms." Brutus screamed harshly. The man in response banged in hand on the table.
" Shut up. Just shut up. Listen to me Brute, you don't have to be involved with that stupid girl's bullshit. Get out when you have the chance. "
Laila entered the class right about now, starring down at both the men ruining her life.
" You're right. He shouldn't indulge himself in my mess. It's MY MESS. So your answer to me, right now."
GLOSSARY:
Molchi: SHUT UP
YOU ARE READING
The truth About cypher ✓
Mystery / Thriller"You were supposed to enjoy your last year as a college student not a thug with bounty over your head." . . . Laila had a life which was picture perfect. A student at Kazan University, she worked her way up. With good friends and a God Father who lo...
