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"I just hope that student got a note that I'm subbing in for her lesson." The only thing that came to Zone's mind every now and then as he tapped his feet, sat down on the teacher's chair in this empty classroom, waiting impatiently for the student to arrive.

He already had a bad reputation among the students and he wasn't too sure if this girl would be pleased to see him, or shocked, especially since their first meeting was a disaster, again why does his first meetings always end up in adversity. Thinking about it again made him cringe his face, "...well I hope she got a note, I hope Hack gave her a note. She wouldn't skip because of me wouldn't she?" he crossed his arms, stood up and looked outside the window.

"But really, it wasn't that bad right? I mean...I will be teaching. Even just for a sub." he liked that thought, no one wants him anyway, but he was still forced to be a substitute teacher for this extra lesson. Forced as in Hack would tell someone about Zone's monthly evening strolls sneaking out for a little city brawl, his extra pocket money. "Damn you Hack, how did you know that." It wasn't hard for a technopath like Matt Travis, Zone just wouldn't accept.

A lot of students were loitering around the grounds, it has a perfect sunny afternoon glow. A sleepy afternoon glow. Zone stretched his arms outward. It was already ten minutes since the class ended, Anemone Pfeiffer still haven't entered the room for her covert exercise briefing. "Where the hell is she?" he said and the note he was holding flew right behind him and lands on the floor, as he picked it up he noticed that someone was standing at the door. "Finally you arrived--were you just standing there the whole time?"

"What? Can you make your voice louder?" the detention supervisor who will be subbing this period said while he rubbed between his eyebrows. He didn't quite hear what Anemone had said. Zone was starting to get a headache.

He walked inside again and leaned on the teacher's table, and was surprised that Anemone hasn't stepped in.
"Ms. Pfeiffer, we only have a few minutes left. Would you prefer to sit inside or do the briefing there, outside the hall?" and he crossed his arms with his left eyebrow raised. "And don't worry, I won't eat you...or anything. So please sit down." He opened the note and cleared his throat.

Looking from the note to the student, Zone noticed the girl had become paler.
"Are you okay, Ms. Pfeiffer?" he thought if the meek girl was sick, but he comprehend that he acted the way they first met and he felt a bit of remorse.

"Look, nothing will come out with being spineless." he looked at her and told this to the cowering girl.

"They told me about what you can do. You're quite formidable. You don't have anything to be afraid of." and he stopped leaning on the teacher's table.

"Take it to heart, you're strong, feel and act like it. Now where was I--" and he flipped through a page and began to walk. "Here," he read, "Covert Exercise" and stopped taking a step and stopped reading. "What the hell is this?"

((lame lazy in thread guild quoting ^^; ))

Zone continued to read the paper. He didn't pay attention to what was written when he first read it, he practically just skimmed it through. Now he regretted on why he didn't. And his eyes squinted as he read it again and again.

"I'm going to assume it's an exercise in covert missions."

Zone looked up to the girl and stared with a straight face. "Are you pulling my leg? You and this...this piece of--" he accidentally crumpled the paper, and straightened it out on the teacher's table. "Well that's--cute." he scowled.

He cleared his throat and said, "Anyway, an assignment is an assignment. With three parts that has to be completed this week." Zone walked over to the black board and wrote something in all capital letters 'FIRST COVERT TEST:' and underlined it twice. 'POPCORN CAFETERIA INVASION'

"We still have to do it even if it doesn't make sense, without getting caught or be suspected by anyone." and handed a copy of the details to the girl, with his bushy eyebrows that twitched up, thinking how nonsense the mission was.

“Is this... Is this even allowed? Won't we get in trouble?"

“Allowed? Of course not! That’s why we can’t afford to be caught nor be suspected!” Black Blood projected his voice with much conviction and he slammed the board as he said it.

“You don’t have to worry. I’m in charge of detention. We just have to—“, he imagined twisting Hack’s neck as he twist the paper again for this humiliating task, then he stopped and continued what he was saying “—concentrate on the given task”, and he straightened the paper again.

Zone looked at Anemone again and said, “Why don’t we go and survey the place”, and he headed for the door. Zone turned towards the student again. “I don’t want to see you suddenly vanishing on me so, you move on ahead.”

~~~

The cafeteria wasn’t empty when they arrived. There were a few students who were having light snacks and conversations, too busy and too tired from the today’s activities to even take notice of the teacher and the student that went to a corner avoiding them.

“Let’s see, six large popcorn makers that are as big as a washing basin must be installed hanging on the ceiling.” He pointed out where discreetly according to the diagram on the paper.

“Darn it…that ceiling is too high,” he thought as he looked up the ceiling. “I guess you could do something about that for us to reach the ceiling, right? Ordinary ladder won’t be able to reach that height”, and he placed his hands to his waist, in akimbo fashion.

“It would take us too much time to assemble and de-assemble scaffoldings. All the preparation must be done when all of them,” he gazed at the drained students slumped at the table, “…and when the bunch of staffs is asleep.”
He continued the mission details, “Then activating the machine when the cafeteria is jammed packed with half-woken students and sleepy staff as they fall-in-line for breakfast.”

On the paper Hack wrote “that should wake them up…” But Zone said, “…that’s … a waste of food”, as he read that part again while he remembered his friend who’s fond of food fights, and the strange pup hidden in his room who can make popcorns. “Not funny Hack”, he mused.

Zone turned to Ane again, “The tricky part is this:
You have to make two students say ‘how unlucky I am.’ It will be picked up by the hidden receivers scattered at the cafeteria hall. Then the machine will start popping up popcorns in a matter of seconds as it literally rain with popcorn in the hall.”

“If food is involved, it’s definitely Hack’s doing alright,” he muttered away in a cough.

“How the hell, are we going to make them say that?” he has some ideas but he wanted Anemone to give her thoughts first. “Got any ideas?”

Some rules were made to be broken, some rules can even be bended and molded to your will, and some rules can serve as guidelines instead. That’s why we have our minds to think, and our hearts to know what is right. Then we have our hands and feet to grab hold and move forward to fight for what we truly believed in.

Maybe that’s what Hack believes, and was trying to do, if he’s not just playing around with people’s heads, that is. Or BB was just thinking too much into it.

Obedience had always been good enough to stay you out of trouble and let you stay alive, but making mistakes were a part of growing up. (And adds the fun side)

BB’s scale was more tipped to obeying orders though. As they say, without order there is chaos. But he can break them easily if he finds it necessary. He might question the method-of-teaching in this activity but, it was interesting nonetheless for something absurd such as this.

‘Too young or too late?’ his last thoughts out of the room as Anemone moved as she was told. Was he referring to the young lady or to himself?
----------

He ooked at the frail young lady then at those heavy machinery illustrated down (well they are machines right?). Easy enough for him to lift them all.

‘Can she do it?’ he thought.

“You know, you don’t have to eat up the whole cupcake in one bite” he said trying to indicate something. ‘Especially with that small mouth of yours---’ he muttered, a pun intended for the girl. He can’t imagine delicate ladies trying to eat with mouths wide open. Anemone doesn’t seem like that.

“If you get what I mean.” He doesn’t want to give all the answers to the girl. But he can’t help to give out few hints because of how she looks like, all fragile, stammering and panicking. He started to think, ‘how the heck did she got inside the academy in the first place’ but he guessed she has much more potential than him in the first place. He felt it would be a sin, if that talent would to go to waste. ‘Why the heck am I thinking like this?’ Probably teaching wasn’t so bad, even for him.

“You’re smart, super strength and being assertive isn’t all. Look at this diagram,” he flipped through the pages for the popcorn machines. The picture showed parts by parts, and can be assembled piece by piece. Well Zone thought, she could float and she can make those small parts hover over to her reach while she assembles them on the ceiling. She’s intelligent, and BB expects more from her.

“Look, relax ok. And think clearly. It’s just a step by step process. If you can think of something for that, I’ll help you with the next step, princess.” She really looks like a damsel in distress, well more like over-stressed.

“The last part is quite easy, you could just prank someone, bother or bug them incognito until they are out of there wits and say it. Or just literally make them say it. Give them a fortune cookie or something” anxious, he was rather pushing the thought, and the rest echoed inside his head ‘…with that note inside, at least two people would say it right?’ Surely the girl could do better.

“Be creative, I expect nothing less. Okay, let’s meet up here after curfew hours, sneaking should be easy enough.” he can’t really shake that girl’s nervousness inside his head and added, “I don’t usually say this but, just have fun.” And he walked away from the white haired ‘princess-gravity’ out to the door.

It seemed that name calling became a habit for dear BB.
Quite a childish trait ...he should be ashamed of.