Masquerades

Chapter 12

It almost felt like her soul left her body as she dangled above the ground for a moment. She held onto the sheets for dear life and slowly descended, not even sparing a glance at the window she came out of.

“What the f**k, Calista!” Arcane’s angry voice came from above, but instead of giving him any more of her precious time, she just continued what she was doing instead until finally reaching the end of the rope. “Don’t you dare—“

Her eyes went to another set of windows just below the one on the second floor, and collided with Maisie's who was currently preparing snacks in the kitchen. She heard the girl gasp in surprise as she stilled.

“Sorry,” Calista mouthed before jumping down. The moment she found her balance, she whirled around and started running away from Hall M – towards the back of the Main Building.

It seems like most of the students are either still busy looking for the underdogs, or were fooled by the news of her being in the Admin Building, because she could count the ones she saw with only both of her hands. Of course, she vigilantly hid before they could spot her.

She felt like she’s shooting some James Bond movie, with all the hiding and planning… or maybe a detective series, but she’s the wanted criminal being chased. It was really ironic. Why is she the one suffering? Why did it appear like she’s the one who’s in the wrong all of a sudden? Isn’t this the perfect representation of our society right now?

The rich would always be able to overpower the law, while the poor suffered and, most of the time, they were even subjected to shouldering the sins of the privileged. It was completely unjust, and as long as there are officials who tolerate such acts and who keep getting blinded by wealth, no real justice would be served.

It’s happening inside a mere institution where the youth are supposed to be shaped to be great leaders and professionals in the future, then how much worse would they become when they’re already out in the real world?

The world of the elite is really one dirty place. If no one stands up and starts cleaning these rotten apples, then society will surely be f****d.

“You really think she’s in the Admin Building?”

She stopped in her tracks and hurriedly hid behind the pillar. She was on her way to the hidden staircase behind the main building, but to get there, she had to pass by the outdoor dining space just in front of the cafeteria where a few students were resting. She guessed these were the ones who already conceded to the challenge, and were just waiting for the results.

She recognized the voice, it was Ellie Yu’s, the broadcaster. When she took a peek in her direction, she was occupying one of the tables and was accompanied by Dakota. Of course, the queen bee is too high of a person to participate in these exhausting and cheap games, she won’t let her manicure get ruined.

Dakota looked at his companion like her eyes were saying how stupid Ellie was for asking that question. Cali almost chuckled at how comical they both looked. “Of course she’s not in the Admin Building. Do you ever use your brain?”

The girl’s words made her eyebrows rise in slight admiration. For her, Dakota actually deserves her title around the campus. She’s actually smart and classy, she doesn’t talk much and does anything foolishly, unlike her minions. If not for her attitude and bullying tendencies, she would’ve been respected by the student body and not feared.

“But William and the others—“

“William is an i***t,” Dakota scoffed, and she couldn’t agree more. “It’s obvious that everything’s just a ploy so everyone’s attention would be averted from the place she’s really hiding in.”

“If you have figured that out, then why aren’t you using it to catch Calista?”

That was the same question in Cali’s mind, but even before Dakota answered it, she had already figured out what she was about to say.

“I don’t have to obtain Arcane’s acknowledgement through this. I can get it my own way. Why would I tire myself out, running after some insolent girl who’s probably enjoying all this attention? Not to mention, little do we know, she actually planned all this to seduce Arcane… as if she'd actually be able to do that with that ugly face of hers.”

Her mouth parted in disbelief, as her eyes rolled at how ridiculous the girl’s assumptions sounded. How can she want all these?! She’s literally being hunted like some serial killer on the loose!

But of course, Dakota would have that train of thought. She’s been in love with Arcane even before she came to Xian. It was some sort of a common knowledge among the students. Another thing everyone knows is that Arcane had never given her that much of a second glance. Cali is actually amazed by the girl’s courage. Despite being repeatedly rejected, she’s still carrying herself with confidence like nothing happened.

“Then why didn’t you tell that to William? Shouldn’t we help him?” Ellie asked with a frown.

Dakota incredulously chuckled, “William is just a coward desperate to be acknowledged by the Masquerades, so he can freely do everything that he wants. I don’t know what Stella saw in that fool. If she’s going to vie for a guy, then why not choose somebody who’s actually at the top and not just some wannabe? This is the reason why Stella won’t ever be the cheer captain. She’s too dense in differentiating the real ones from the fakes.”

Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Joey. The latter was a bit breathless, but she willed herself to calm down so she could share the news.

“Calista Song… is actually hiding in Hall M…” she relayed in between her labored breaths.

“What?!” Ellie exaggeratedly stood up from her seat and turned to their leader.

Dakota smirked, “I told you, she was not there.” She then stood up, “let’s go.”

Once the three were far enough, she stepped out of her hiding spot and entered the small pathway leading to the back of the building. Unlike how she left it yesterday, the gate of the steel staircase is now unlocked, shocking her for a short moment.

Is someone helping her?

She didn’t have much time to dally, everyone had probably figured out that she’s just playing mind games with them now. She pulled the gate open, and it instantly created a loud sound due to the rust, but she ignored it and just locked the gate again once she entered.

Without any more hesitation, she started climbing up the wobbly stairs, praying that her classmates were already on the rooftop with the five other targets.

“Calista Song!”

She heard the familiar voice once she reached the third landing, followed by the gate being reopened. She glanced down and saw a bunch of students watching her from the ground, led by William. The son of a b***h is surely planning to follow her up and his cronies would probably follow suit – which could put them in great danger. The staircase is already old, and it won’t be able to bear the weight of several people using it at the same time.

But of course, the jock doesn’t care and is too shallow to think of that possibility. He still started climbing up with his little crew. Their movements caused the stairs to intensely shake, causing her to almost fall off her feet.

“Are you crazy!? Stop going up or else the stairs would—“ A loud creaking sound shut her up, as one of the stair’s supports suddenly gave out. It also made the boys stop in their tracks. “Get out! Get the f**k out now!”

The spectators outside started screaming for William and the others to come back down too, but out of nowhere, everyone went silent, as a cold voice reached Calista’s ears.

“William Li,” Arcane called out, the crowd giving way to him and the rest of Masquerades. “You’re really testing my patience.”