CHAPTER 3 Breathe before the Plunge

"a boy met a girl when he was young . Because they are neighbors they easily became friends. They sometimes stroll to the park with their bikes .One day , they saw a man lying on under a tree. The girl approached it while the boy just followed her and then they realized that the man is dead. Later that night the girl knocked at the boys window and told him what she had figured out about the dead body they have found in the park .She told him name , when he had lived and the cause of his death. She tried to recruit the boy to investigate further n but the boy refused for a according to him he was just a kid and its almost already in the middle of the night .The girl accepted his refusal and continued her investigating alone. Its a bit odd that somehow for some reason , people who live close to each other tends to grow up in different direction."

That is what I have read so far on this paper back novel which title caught my eyes , here at my sanctuary , the library. A sudden chill crept through my spine for I just realized that someone is intensely staring at me. I peeked to my right and I saw her there.

A girl with long blonde hair wearing a one-piece white dress under a gray cardigan , a backpack hanging on her right shoulder while her right hand is holding its strap as the other hands is hanging down on her left side , stares at me so intensely . I saw her from the corner of my eye when she was walking pass me or should have walked passed me but I think her attention caught me so she discontinued her walk and stop at the edge of a bookshelf and just stood there ... and stare at me.

I almost lost track of time but I think its about a couple of minute of silence before the realization came to me . I know this girl , she is not an ordinary student , in fact she is not even a student of the science department for she is "the one" that those in the arts department revered as a "goddess" for her overwhelming talent ...this girl , Czarina Etsija , the empress...and she is staring at me intently...I'll rephrase THE EMPRESS ,JUST STANDING , STARING INTENTLY RIGHT AT ME.

Does she have something to do or tell me? Or does she just want s to harass me ?or was I just mistaken that she is looking at me but looking past me ?or does she wants the book that I am currently reading ? I don't get girls , they are such a complicated creatures , more so that the computer programs that we tweak daily.

A couple of awkward moments past and I looked away and resume my reading to kill time and wait for those two to arrive which I hope would be right now for she is still staring intently at my direction. Since it bothers me to fix bugs in my programs as well as my life , I initiated and inquiry. So I turned to face her to properly start a conversation , but I was stoned for she is suddenly right at my face , which is holy crap , it is not a bug but an authentic computer virus that had breached my firewalls.

"what can I do for you miss?"-I said in almost a whisper to prevent my lips to ,move too close to hers.

But she had no answer, she is just there staring , or better yet observing me. She moved a bit further away. I was relieved for that , but then I felt her fingers touched my eyebrows, stroke to the right down to my check bone and a t the center of my lips. She moved her face closer to examine my lips which prevent me from speaking up. I want to ask what the hell is going on right now , but I cant . What bothers me more is the sound that she makes after examining my facial features. The sound that would usually mean "oh...I get it" .or the words most people make when they have found the answer to a seemingly difficult riddle.

Of all the time they can be late , those two chose to be late now. I really need them get me out of whatever this sticky situation is so bad that i wish they are here right now and come to pick me up before other people might show up and get the wrong idea. However I am the one sitting and cornered with this girl's body right in front of me close enough to slightly feel her skin.

She then turn her attention to my ears which she does by pushing my cheeks out of the way . thanks to that I got my mouth a chance to speak and ask...

"could you please tell what's going on after moving a away miss?" I uttered my lifeline inquiry.

She seems to be lost in thing as well and became a little surprised for what she has been doing for the past few minutes. When I felt that she is backing away a bit I turned to face her. Our eyes met , which made her back away immediately and apologized.

"oh...I'm sorry , I just couldn't help my painters instinct kicking in when I see a potential subject."-she said

I just replied with a sluggish chuckle and my friends showed up out of the blue. I just hope that they did not saw that and hid somewhere just to watch my situation.

My friends are both in the chemistry course so we don't usually have the same classes. The guy , Cain is my roommate when I was still freshman living at the dorm. That was for just a year , at my second year I moved out to live on my own at an apartment. The girl , Althea , is a friend of mine from high school. She was supposed to enroll on a different university but she ended up here after learning that I will be too .her reasons is ...to prevent me from creating a global catastrophe.

"hey there , bro , watcha doin?" Cain asked teasingly.

Now it made clear that they are really watching me earlier , that smug face and grin is the second proof to that.

I just glared at him after the confirmation . a glare that would mean... "I know all your secrets and now your life is over"

He immediately apologize come clean by telling me that it was his idea to hide since they want to know what's the deal with me and the empress I sighed and gathered my things and just leave.by the way while we two guys are whispering to each other , the girls are engage in a staring contest.

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On our way home , I tried to be quite , more quite than usual to avoid them asking about the event at the library .We are walking to my apartment since there is a test coming up next week and they want me to help them study for it ...again. Its getting too awkwardly quite so I tried to think of a topic to break the ice. I look up and saw the full moon and commented about its beauty.

"the moon is lovel-"- I said but was interrupted before I could finish my sentence.

"what does the empress doing above you at the library?" Althea asked.

I paused for a while and tried to evade the question by citing something about the full moon.

"oh, I forgot that it is a blue moon tonight" - I said I glanced at Cain to signal for help which he understood. Seems like guys really do have telepathy when it come to making excuses.

"oh...blue moon...?what is that?" he inquired.

""blue moon is the 2nd full moon in one lunar cycle, ...its pretty rare you know"-I answered

We continued our conversation about the "blue moon" till we have arrived at my apartment. Thought that we completely brushed the topic about the library however Althea stopped at my front door and asked it again.

"what are you doing with the empress at the library earlier?" she asked in a serious manner , not showing any outburst of any emotion. Just plain seriousness which give off the same feeling as the one you feel at the calm before the storm. That is why we are getting nervous .

She is always caring and put the needs of her family and close friends first before her own , but when she snaps, a typhoon will appear. Thunder and lightning dancing in an orchestral theme , winds singing and a strong downpour that could drown the earth. That is how she is , beautiful and relentless at the same time.

"do you want me to repeat it the third time"-she broke her silence

"no!"-I nervously replied

She moved one eyebrow up like that old Victorian lady from the movies as a sign of inquiry or commanding me to answer.

"actually...I am surprised myself...at first she was standing at the corner staring at me , then a second later , she was that close"-I continued

"then she somehow , like examine my face and that's it"-I finished

She sighed and put her hands on my shoulder

"...you know...you shouldn't get too involved with her" she begun

"wait...don't tell me that you're jealous"-Cain suddenly interrupted of all the time he kept silent , he is speaking now , his timing is really the worst.

"hmm...I cant blame you , the empress and the strategist...now I think about it they really make a good cou-----ple"-he continued only to be stopped by a straight punch in the stomach. He struggled as we all get inside of my apartment.

Althea sighed and continued...

..."I mean her family controls the school , and I heard that her fiancé just transferred in the arts department , so if you interfere with them the top brass of the university might do something underhanded just to get you."-she said as we walk through a narrow hallway leading to my bathroom. My living room is just a few paces from my front door then turning to the left.

My living room is a 10 ft. 2 room with a sofa above the center carpet .a table at the center . A window in front , to the left is my kitchen.

We dropped our bags at the sofa and head to my room. My room is just about the same size as the living room .my bed , computer set , study table a mini cabinet for my books and a drawer for my clothes.

I turned my PC on and opened a program which I created .This program can generate multiple choice question in varying levels using the data that you feed it as a reference. I wrote this program when I was a sophomore and from then on , instructors from the arts department always go to me to make their written exams , of course with a pay. They are allowed to do this because academic is not a big requirement for the arts department. However for us in the science department it is a big deal. That is why I created this program to help me review I just didn't predicted that outcome.

"I going to cook dinner...you guys know how to operate it right...so help yourself"-I said after I entered my ID and password. They gathered their notes first before they did the typing as I head to my kitchen to see what can I cook for the three of us

They finished encoding and the program started to generate those question as I was still in the middle of simmering the steaks .The rice is already cooked and its just a couple minutes before everything us done.

Althea head towards the kitchen to get some utensils while my Cain just sat at the sofa.

"you should really get a television bro.."-he said as he lie at the sofa

"don't need it ... I watch on my PC"- I replied

"I wonder what kind of show do you watch...since your living alone"-Althea inquired teasingly which Cain overheard. He then turn over to face us with a grin and said

"you mean por...as in lewd show"-he said with a slightly villainous laugh. Althea gave him a fist on top of his head which I think really hurts because of the sound that he made.

At the center of the table my Althea puts the utensils and I followed with the rice and the hamburger steak and we eat while we talk about how rough it is to be a senior.

"requirements here and there and on top of that we still need to prepare for exams ...really what a hassle." Cain exclaimed

"I thought being a senior will make our life a little easier but I guess its not the same for everyone "-he continued looking at me from the corner of his eyes , trying to make a point.

"I totally get you... unlike that someone who always don't have the trouble of getting qualified marks." Althea added.

Ah! They were pointing at me. Mainly because I haven't failed a single evaluation since I got admitted in the university. Well , that should be expected for an antisocial study bug like me who don't care about many thing other than getting a passing marks. I always aims with the score that just above average to not draw attention from the top brass and be branded or better yet boxed in cage called "genius", since that would mean that all of the hardships and sacrifices that I have made will be in vain. Since in this school , "genius" means divine providence and hard work is not a part of it , .that is just one thing that really hate.

"just kidding"-Althea suddenly said pulling me out of that deep thought process.

"don't worry"-she said, looking at me

"we know"-she continued.

I just nodded a bit to agree on that .Even if I don't usually show it I am really glad to have these 2 in my life.

"skip this and that ...more importantly just spill the beans about that library scene this afternoon."-Cain said sudden which shocked me and made me drop my steak on the table. Crap I thought that the thing in the library is already settled., ,this bastard , you know that you shouldn't bring that up for peace's sake.

"I am so curious"-he begun

"because the passive bookworm got the attention of the empress of the university and the goddess of the arts department" he continued

"she is on top of you " -he said teasingly for him but to me its like rubbing salt on my wounds. Althea put her finished dish down loudly which became our que to stop screwing around and get serious.

"you know ... if this became a rumor , your peaceful quite life will be over...right?" she asked

I was shocked for someone like me that did not come up to my mind. Of course , she is the empress and I am just a lonely hermit with a quite peaceful life. When this spreads out , people will bug me in different ways...especially the guys from the arts department.

"oh this could be one of those interdepartmental wars"-Cain added which she agreed to.

Its over , my days as a quite and peaceful student is finished. Starting tomorrow I will be in the war zone ,for there is a 100% probability that a stranger will approach me and ask question about it and it will be a nightmare.

I was burnout due to overthinking that I didn't finished my meal and let time pass with my face lying on the table while my 2 friend are doing the dishes. After that they copied the question generated by my program and take their leave. I did not move an inch for a quarter of an hour, ,thinking of how can I live through this predicament that I will be facing tomorrow. Its a 100% probability and my probability is always spot on so I don't know what to do.

I sat up straight ,l gather my thoughts like I always do which proves to be difficult. Gave up and decide to dive in to the website that I created to play a mentally stimulating chess match to help me formulate my strategies for tomorrow.

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Lately there is this a new comer who challenge me the first time she had logged in. She lost all 3 matches , but she did really gave me a headache. She is like a lion or a lioness to be proper , always attacking with all that she got . unlike me who read through my opponents every move to predict what they do and tweak that move so I can lure them to where I want them to be. i heard that she is trying to find me and have a revenge match again. All her comments in the chat forums she is in is to find me .What a scary girl. But that match is just a one time privilege of those who first entered my website. Well I need to stimulate my brain so I guess ill just hunt the lioness down with my secondary account.

*the girl who lost 3 consecutive times to the strategist ... I challenge you*-I chatted in the general chat line...which is really aggressive for me .Some people reacted and about 10 good minutes pass she showed up.

*I only play with someone of his caliber*-she announced

*just accept the challenge...you wont regret it* -I replied

She accepted it and we engage in a match which racked my brain for good.

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…End of Kaiser’s Perspective…