Chapter Two :When the World Turned Its Back (Part Three)
898 Words
Monday morning arrived with an unusual tension.
For the first time since Kane enrolled at Evergreen University, he did not look forward to attending class.
As he walked through the main gate, conversations stopped.
Students who normally greeted him with warm smiles now whispered among themselves.
"That's him."
"The one whose teammates removed him."
"I heard he didn't contribute."
"No, I heard they accused him of trying to take credit."
Rumours had spread faster than the truth.
Kane kept walking.
He had learned long ago that people would always have opinions. What mattered was how he responded to them.
Still...
The whispers hurt.
---
"Kane!"
He turned around.
It was Mama Grace.
The elderly cleaner stood beside her cleaning cart, looking at him with motherly concern.
"My son, come here."
Kane walked over and forced a smile.
"Good morning, Mama."
She gently held his hand.
"I heard what happened."
He lowered his eyes.
"So everyone knows."
"My son..."
She squeezed his hand.
"When people throw mud at a clean white cloth, the cloth may become dirty for a while."
She smiled warmly.
"But wash it..."
"...and it becomes white again."
Kane couldn't help smiling.
"You always know what to say."
"I've lived long enough to know that truth walks slowly."
"But it always arrives."
Those words stayed with him as he continued toward the Engineering Building.
---
Inside the lecture hall, an uncomfortable silence filled the room.
Usually Brandon would wave Kane over.
Today...
The four of them occupied the same seats.
No one called him.
No one even looked at him.
Kane quietly walked to an empty seat near the window.
A few seconds later...
Someone placed a notebook on the desk beside him.
"Is this seat taken?"
He looked up.
Liana.
He smiled.
"No."
She sat down.
Neither of them cared about the curious eyes now fixed on them.
From across the room, Brandon watched silently.
Victor leaned closer.
"He's sitting with her."
Brandon's jaw tightened.
"I can see that."
Professor Okafor entered before either of them could say another word.
The lecture began.
---
Halfway through the class, Professor Okafor placed a complex refinery design on the projector.
"I've been studying one of the Innovation Challenge submissions."
He looked around the room.
"The engineering behind it is exceptional."
Kane immediately recognized the diagrams.
His diagrams.
The professor continued.
"The author demonstrated remarkable creativity."
Brandon smiled proudly.
Kane remained silent.
Professor Okafor suddenly looked toward Brandon.
"Mr. Cole."
"Yes, sir."
"Please come and explain the pressure-balancing calculations used in your design."
The smile vanished from Brandon's face.
He slowly stood.
"I..."
He looked at the screen.
His mind went blank.
"I... actually..."
Professor Okafor waited patiently.
"Go ahead."
Brandon swallowed.
"I don't remember the exact calculations."
"The project is yours."
"Yes, sir."
"So explain it."
Silence.
The class exchanged puzzled glances.
Brandon could not answer.
Professor Okafor frowned.
"Very well."
His eyes shifted toward Kane.
"Mr. Williams."
Kane hesitated.
"Would you explain it instead?"
The room became silent.
Liana gently whispered,
"You know it."
Kane slowly stood.
Without looking at the projector, he picked up a marker.
Within minutes he recreated the calculations from memory, explaining every equation, every pressure ratio and every design decision with calm confidence.
When he finished...
The classroom erupted into applause.
Professor Okafor smiled.
"Outstanding."
Then his expression became thoughtful.
He looked from Kane...
...to Brandon...
...and back again.
A tiny seed of doubt had been planted in his mind.
---
After the lecture ended, Professor Okafor called Kane into his office.
"Please, have a seat."
Kane obeyed.
The professor remained silent for several moments.
Finally he spoke.
"I want to ask you something."
"Yes, sir."
"When you explained those calculations today..."
"...how did you know every detail?"
Kane looked down.
"Because..."
He took a deep breath.
"I wrote them."
Professor Okafor's eyes narrowed slightly.
"What do you mean?"
Kane told him everything.
The long nights in the laboratory.
The stolen files.
The missing project.
The betrayal.
He left nothing out.
When he finished, the office was silent.
Professor Okafor leaned back in his chair.
"Those are very serious allegations."
"I know."
"Do you have proof?"
Kane remembered the photographs.
The notebook.
The evidence Liana had collected.
"Not with me."
"But I can get it."
The professor nodded slowly.
"Bring me every piece of evidence you have."
"If your claims are true..."
"...justice will be done."
As Kane left the office, hope returned to his heart for the first time in days.
Someone was finally willing to listen.
But outside the faculty building, Brandon had been waiting.
He watched Kane walk away from Professor Okafor's office with renewed confidence.
His instincts told him something had changed.
"This isn't good," he muttered.
He immediately pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
The call connected after two rings.
"It's me."
A deep voice answered.
"What now?"
Brandon glanced around to make sure no one was listening.
"They're starting to investigate."
There was a brief silence.
Then the mysterious voice replied,
"If they already suspect you..."
"...then we'll have to remove the evidence."
"And if the evidence cannot be removed..."
"...we'll remove the people."
The line went dead.
Brandon slowly lowered the phone.
For the first time since the plan began...
Even he was afraid.
Because the game he started out of jealousy...
...had now become something far more dangerous.
To be continued...
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