#Chapter 11: The Party
Beth's POV
I was brainstorming ideas the other night for my brother's and his friend's tuxes. I was going to help them pick one out for each today.
I slipped on a black crop top written 'Plain' and jeans along with a pair of black Adidas. I checked my mirror to make sure my french braid was neat. I didn't like to wear a cake load of make up so I went for just a swipe of lip gloss.
I headed downstairs and my brother was already there. He greeted me in his black T-shirt with his hands in the pockets of his jeans. He zipped up his dark green jacket and tapped the toe of his black converse before waving a black cap to mom and dad.
Although I could drive myself, I decided to let Tadashi take the wheels. We shared a car since our parents didn't have enough cash to buy one for each of us. Still thinking of ideas of the tuxes, I scrolled through images in Pinterest for some inspiration. I put down my phone when we arrived at the mall and Tadashi parked the car before we went out.
I spotted a silhouette of his friend at the entrance. I could see hints of a dark blue jacket and brown pants with navy blue converse. Still, I couldn't make out his face. It was all shrouded under the lip of a black cap. Tadashi patted his back and he turned.
The all around pale features probably slapped me in the face and I realized it was Jack."Sup Tadashi. Hey Beth," he said. He and Tadashi did a bro-fist and Jack patted my went in the mall and looked around. The two didn't know any good places to shop for clothes so I had to lead them to one. A few minutes passed and we found a shop that matched the category.
"Watcha think, Beth?" Tadashi showed me a dark red tux.
"Nah, that's too dark. And red isn't the best tux color for you anyway." Tadashi looked rather confused at my comment. I picked out a dark green shirt and found a good set of black tux and pants along with the tie.
"Try this." I handed him my choice of clothes and he went back to the dressing room before walking out a few moments later. The shade of green complements his skin tone and black always had that classic touch on him. It suited him (literally and not literally). I nodded in approval.
"It's perfect," I said as I clapped my hands. Tadashi gave me a smile and went back into the dressing room.
I felt someone patting my back. I turned to see Jack.
"Hey Beth, could you lend me a hand? I'm not the best at picking out clothes," he said.
"Oh. wrll, what's your favorite color?" I said as I turned to a rack to search.
"I-it's blue," he said nervously. Right as he finished, I found a set of dark blue tux and pants. I pulled along a black shirt with a silver tie that matches his hair.
"Try these." He nodded, taking the clothes from my hands and went towards the changing room. He walk out with the outfit I selected.
"What did you think?"
I frowned as my choice of clothes didn't match well this time. "No..the colors don't match well. Ler's try another one."
The dark blue of the outfit made his skin stand out too much, so I found a white shirt to balance the colors. I also spotted a navy blur tux, black pants, and a tie with the color of his took the outfit from me and returned changing
When he went out, my lips widened with pride. This time, the suit was perfect. The dark clothing did not make his skin look too pale. The white shirt helped with the contrastment. Flawless. Though, I couldn't help but feel that something was off...then I see his tie was slightly crooked!
"Here, let me help you." I stepped closer to him and adjusted his tie. I ignored how he tensed the entire time. I knew that our current positions were rather awkward but I was only trying to help. I smoothed his collar and patted his chest a little before stepping back. I saw his light blush and his hands digging in pockets.
"Now it's perfect for you," I said in satisfaction. Jack smiled slightly and mouthed a 'thank you'. I smiled back and watched as he disappeared into the changing room to change back.
The two paid for their tuxes and we parted ways. Tadashi and I went back to our car and went home. I wondered why Jack was so nervous, was he that shy? It was really weird.
Jack's POV
I swung my bedroom door close before throwing myself to my bed. My hand trailed it way to my chest, feeling a strong beating right under. The same heat made mt cheeks warm, then even warmer as I thought back everything that happened at the mall. It was all too embarrassing. The way my muscles froze around her. Only her. I could never understand why I would fidget in my pockets, blush, or act all quiet when I meet her! I was glad that I controlled all these at the entrance. But slowly, surely, I was losing it. And I just didn't know why.
I shook my head at my thoughts and went to the bathroom to take a shower. Time to go to the party.
After I showered, I put on my new suit and glasses. I never needed to wear glasses, but I was afraid females would flirt with me more viciously if I didn't. Let's just say that these glasses covered up my looks.
I drove my sports car to Mr. Corona's house. It was similar to a big mansion, like mine.
I parked my car and went inside. I spotted Tadashi talking with Mr. Black. I walked to them and gave my greetings. Suddenly, all the lights went out and in a blink a single spotlight shone down a man at the stage, The host.
"Tonight, we are gathered here to rejoice Mr. Edward Corona 48. Let us all be merry and make this night a blissful birthday!" the host said. From there, everyone began doing things people normally did at a party. Talking about trivial things, dancing waltzes, and just enjoying the party.
Mr. Black introduced Tadashi and I to Mr. and Mrs. Corona. We had a small chat along with nibbling a few snacks in between. After our encounter, I excused myself from the party for some fresh air. I head out to the garden at a side of the house and sat at the nearest bench.
"Taking a little break from the party, aren't you?" a feminine voice spoke behind me. I jolted and turned. My eyes met Rapunzel in a unique red dress
She wore a red dress that went down to her ankles, with open back that nearly reached her butt. Hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall and ended into curls. The jewelry she wore slightly twinkled, toning her outfit. A matte red lipstick on her lips. She looked great
"Oh, Rapunzel. What brings you here? I thought students aren't invited to this party?" I said. The blonde was taken aback at my words and laughed loudly. A nearby guest and I stared at her with a weird look.
"Is there, something wrong?" I asked.
"Well, there's nothing wrong about it. Just because today is my father's birthday so as his daughter I had to come." She said while checking me out. "Nice outfit by the way."
So she was Mr. Corona's daughter. Well, that's why she was so famous in University.
"Thank you, a friend help me out putting this together," I responded her compliment. "I thought Mr. Black is the headmaster of the university?" I then asked
Her smile grew. "Mr. Black is only second in charge. My dad is pretty busy since he also has a computing industry that he runs by himself. He gives the honor to Mr. Black because he's one of the most trustworthy person around any industry," she said, twirling a lock of hair before tucking it behind her ear. It seemed that she was trying to flirt with me by using body language. Sadly for her, it was a futile effort. Such stunts were cliché and mainstream.
I checked my watch to see that it was already midnight. I noticed less shadows at windows, more and more guests went out and the ballroom was slowly returning to it empty state.I excused myself to Rapunzel and her father, before going to my car. I started the engine and drove back.
Rapunzel's POV
After Jack left, I excused myself to my father and went straight to my room. I threw my shoes to every direction and changed my clothes. I laid down my bed and let my mind wander off. I was still thinking of how handsome he was in his formal outfit. Though, I just couldn't grasp why he's still wearing those glasses. Did he really have any eye problems? If not, why did he wear glasses? Glasses that covered up his true look? Gosh, why on earth did the guy that I liked had to wear glasses?
'Even though, he does look fucking good in those glasess'
Not able to contain it any longer, I stuff my face with my pillows and screamed with glee
Hiro's POV
I was reading the daily mail in my laptop when Tadashi just arrived from the party. Tadashi was preparing for tomorrow's classes and Elsa seemed busy with her homework or project.
I scrolled down news after news until a short pop-up page popped out in my screen, a new, hot news that caught my attention. I clicked it and I was taken to another page of a certain article now known worldwide. I called Tadashi and Beth in and we read the news together. Through sentence, word, and syllable, our faces grew more dire and heavy with pressure.
"We gotta warn all the other white hat hackers! This news isn't just about her, every other hackers are in and their identities will be ruined!" Tadashi said. His fingers rushed right and left down his phone to text to our white hat hacker group. Beth only stood wide-eyed, still dumbfounded at the article. Her eyes kept going right and left over the title in bold, underline, and italics.
FRESH HOT NEWS! THE WELL-KNOWN TECH COMPANY, THE ARENDELLE INDUSTRIES ARE ANNOUNCING THE SEARCH OF A FAMOUS WHITE HAT HACKER TO HELP THEM!
Just now, the Arendelle industries's CEO, John Arendelle, announced this shocking information to a famous news station and it was shared all around the world. He didn't say his purpose, but all that we knew now was that he's very serious and he really wanted to found these tech maniacs.
The Diamond Snowflake, known as T.D.S or 'The Ruler' or 'Your Highness' is also well known as the most brilliant white hat hacker. One of the top three best in the world. Nobody knows who she or he really is. All we know is of her or his hacking techniques that are frighteningly effective and powerful, ones that she or he let reveal to the world. Now we just got another new information that not only Arendelle who is searching for her location, but a few other companies in Europe, Asia, and Americas. She or he is 'requested' in almost every big industry.
Anyone, anywhere around the world who knows anything about her please report to your closest governor or any intelligent agent.
Many industries are broken down and a good number of vital data is lost all because of a powerful virus coded 'Nightmare Sand', and T.D.S is the only one who can solve it.
Written by: Alice Wonder.
Beth shot out of my room, leaving Tadashi and I to stare behind in concern.
Elsa's POV
I locked my bedroom door and I could feel my fingers vibrate against the metal. My shoulders rose up and down from my unsteady breathing. Reading the news was a nightmare in itself!I had to warn T.D.S! She had to know!
I turned on my laptop and immediately opened JIRDA, my new program that could talk and think like human, like Jarvis from Iron Man. A good tool whenever I needed someone to talk to in private.
"Good evening miss Elsa," she said in her monotonous voice.
"Good evening to you too. Look, JIRDA, I need to step up my game," I said
"Why do you need to do that, miss?"
"'Cause they're all playing dirty and I'm gonna do the same," I said. I glided my fingers down my keyboard to type as JIRDA helped.
T.D.S POV
My phone vibrated against my thigh. I reached into my pocket and tapped it open. A message from my best friend told me to be careful, something I was already aware of. I slipped my phone back and stared at a wall, sulked even.
I just read the news, and for one second I could feel my heart stop.
The weight of the hacking world's identity was hanging on my shoulders, making them slump. I really did need to be careful from now on.
There was nobody can I trust right now, no one except my allies in crime. And even their lives would be in danger.