FATAL ATTRACTION

Episode Four

"Understood?"

"Yes, sir," they chorused. Alex's voice was steady; Jazel's was practically a reflex.

"You may go now," the Pioneer smiled warmly, looking like a proud father.

Everyone filtered out of the dark room, chatting about the big event. Everyone except Jazel. She froze mid-step, her brain looping the words work together over and over again.

Wait, what? She asked herself in absolute, horrible horror.

"Jazel?" the Pioneer called out, noticing her statue-like pose.

She snapped back to reality and spun around, her eyes wide. "Uh...huh," she replied, her voice cracking just a tiny bit.

"Any problem?"

"No."

She didn't wait for another word. She turned and bolted for the exit.

Outside the dim conference room, the bright, "chilled" air of the St. Jude's hallway felt like a different world. But Jazel didn't get far.

A shadow cut across her path as Alex stepped in front of her, stopping her mid-stride.

"What?" she asked, her voice dropping ten degrees into that signature cold tone.

Alex looked at her, a slight frown tugging at his face as if he were trying to figure out a difficult puzzle. "Just wanted to... you know... tell you about our meeting time," he replied. He sounded almost hesitant, like he was bracing for a hit.

Before she could reply, her phone buzzed with a notification. It was a ping from the Nexus Spy Group (NSG) HQ. Immediately she saw it, she turned off the phone with a sharp click.

"Send the details to my mail, I'll be there when I'm there," she said flatly and continued. She didn't even look him in the eye as she sidestepped him and continued on her way.

Alex stood for a second, just staring out for a while. Then his cute pink lips curled to a small smirk. "Playing tough huh?"

Coming to think of it, it was just chocolate! Nothing much or less. Plus, she ain't the first folk he did this to, she was supposed to be lucky he had noticed her to play one of his famous pranks on her. The girls he had done this to other times, will eventually start flying all over him again once he pulls one of his famous rizz stunt them or even just flash them his smile and wink at them.

But coming to this girl... What's with her? Why was she being so tough? And... most importantly, why was he stammering a while ago?!

But that shouldn't be much of a problem. For a nice idea just entered his head.

****

The canteen was buzzing with the usual lunch-time energy of St. Jude's—the clatter of plastic trays and the hum of a hundred different conversations. Jazel sat at a table in the less noisy corner of the canteen texting on her phone.

Incoming: "The package was delivered in good condition. Investigation commences immediately."

Jazel didn't even look up to check if anyone was watching. Her deep brown eyes remained fixed on the glass.

Jazel: "I told you not to send messages like this. Anyone could have my phone at any time."

Informat: "Noted. But it was a high-stakes choice. What of your meeting with Alex?"

Jazel: "I haven't received a notification from him yet."

Informat: "I'll look into his calendar and schedules and see what I can find in no time."

"Thank you, informat." She responded with indifference. She exited the chat, and the log vanished instantly—a self-destructing conversation that left no trace of what they had spoken about.

****

Later that evening... the air in the room was heavy with the silence of Alex's lingering confusion.

"From everything that has happened in the last few days, man, you have to apologize to Jazel." Jason said calmly adjusting his geeks.

"Yeah for real bro, it is clear she ain't just playing any of your prank games with you." Allen added, changing his socks. "Can't you see that you are the one being affected?"

"Way to go son," Alex rolled his bluish eyes at Allen's bluntness.

"What? It's true!" Jason defended firmly. Allen just shrugged as if to say, 'You see?'

"Why should I be apologizing to her? It's just a prank, no hard feelings. Besides, I'm like the hottest dude in this area," Alex smirked nonchalantly flexing his model-like frame for the imaginary cameras. "Plus, I am the king, I make the rules, duhh," he shrugged.

Jason finally put down his book and looked Alex dead in the eye. "First of all, I think you're forgetting that you and Jazel have to pair up to make the upcoming event a success. Plus, every rule has an exception. Jazel is that exception." He stood up to leave. "If you aren't going to apologize for the sake of peace, then don't complain to us about the cold attitude she gives you. Okay, son?"

Alex straightened up instantly, watching them head for the door. "Huh? Hold up! Are you taking sides with her?" he asked, sounding as shocked as if they'd just told him the sky was purple.

"Obviously bro. Stay safe!" Allen said and walked away with Jason.

"Wait—are you guys serious right now? Why are you always leaving me behind?!" Alex shouted after them.

"To think!" the reply echoed back from the hallway as the door clicked shut.

Alex sighed and threw himself onto his bed, staring at the ceiling as his friends' words echoed in the quiet room. Apologize? For peace? The thought tasted like bitter medicine.

If he was going to consider an apology, he wasn't going to make it easy. He decided right then that he had at least one or two more pranks left in him before he even thought about saying "sorry."

A slow, mischievous smirk spread across his pale features, his bluish eyes glinting as he remembered his earlier plan. He wasn't going to send her the meeting time. Not tonight, not tomorrow. He'd let her wait. He'd let her wonder.

He imagined her showing up late to the conference room, her long black hair in a mess as she rushed in, completely disorganized and flustered. Or better yet, she wouldn't show up at all. Then, he could make a case to the Pioneer about her "unprofessionalism." The "Ice Queen" would finally have a c***k in her armor, and the Pioneer would see that his star student wasn't as perfect as she seemed.

He chuckled to himself, feeling his ego inflate again. He was the King, after all. He didn't follow the rules; he bent them until they suited him.

Alex checked the time on his phone—still plenty of minutes left to make his "grand entrance" while leaving Jazel in the dark. He stood up from the bed with a languid, athletic grace, heading toward the mirror to refine his look. He spent a few extra moments adjusting his collar and running a hand through his messy ebony hair, not even seeing the need to be too early.

By the way, she won't be there anyways.

****

"You're late," a voice cut through the silence the second Alex stepped into the room and clicked the door shut.

Alex nearly jumped out of his skin. He squinted into the shadows, his heart hammering against his ribs. "What?! Jazel? How did you get in here? How did you even know where this was? Who told you? How... where... when... what?!" He started rubbing his eyes vigorously with his index finger, convinced he was hallucinating a very cold, very annoyed ghost.

Unmoved by his frantic confusion, Jazel didn't even shift in her seat. She just sat there, the dim light catching the sharp line of her jaw.

"You are three minutes and seventeen seconds late," she stated, her voice as flat as a dial tone. She paused, letting the silence hang heavy between them. "And you were the one who scheduled this for 7:00 PM."

Alex didn't answer. He just stood there, his brain short-circuiting. He hadn't told her the time. He hadn't told her the room. He hadn't told her anything. His entire plan was to arrive early, set up, and then call her so she'd be the one walking in late and looking disorganized.

Damn! I can't believe she messed up my plans again. Damn! He mused to himself, his frustration tasting like bitter coffee.

"Ahem," Jazel cleared her throat, the sound sharp enough to cut through Alex's dazed confusion. "How about we consider a re-schedule for your pool of thoughts? Go straight to the point, Alexander. The case is, you are wasting my time."

Alex let out a long, defeated sigh. "Yeah, I know." With a lot of thoughts running through his mind.

He shifted in the dim light, looking everywhere but at her. "Okay, first of all, I want to apo..." He stopped abruptly, his chest jerking as if he'd just been hit by a massive hiccup.

He cleared his throat, tried again. "I want to apo..."

Hic. Another fake hiccup. Then he started dragging the word out, turning a simple gesture into a slow-motion car crash. "I want to... a... po... lo... a... po... lo... gg... aaa... ppoo... looo... ggg."

Jazel looked at her watch, her face contorting with a look of pure, undefined irritation. It wasn't just anger; it was as if she were fighting off a physical reaction.

She stood up so fast her chair nearly tipped over. "Are you serious, Alexander? What the heck? Is this the reason for this God-forsaken meeting? Jeez... you are really, stupidly unbelievable!"

She didn't wait for him to finish his "ppo-lo-ggg."

"Crazy!" she spat out, turning on her heel and slamming the door behind her with a bang that probably echoed all the way to the St. Jude's dorms.

By the time she reached her car, Jazel let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. She rubbed her temples, feeling the beginnings of a headache pulse behind her eyes.

God, I can't stand him, she thought, the feeling more like a physical weight than just a passing annoyance.

Maybe she would ask the pioneer for a change in partnership, or just take care of the events alone. Why would she be needing a partner in the first place? And even Alex? Worse!

"Warning: rain storm approaching in less than half an hour," Megza reported interrupting her train of thoughts. It was the artificial intelligence equipped in Jazel's high tech car.

She took a deep breath, shifted into gear, and drove away from the school, leaving the "allergic reaction" behind in the rearview mirror.

****