Jayden tucked his hands in his pockets, holding the flash drive he had borrowed for the MAGEO.
It happened to be that walking all around the school was an exercise he could also use to maintain his thermoregulation, especially after living in a horror movie.
But its only hindrance was Troy's group. He had to avoid them at all costs.
Well, the search was finally over. He had found the academy's Beast technology hall.
When he stepped in, the first thing that caught his eye was the 'mana extraction machine'.
It was six feet tall, shaped like a refrigerator but made out of transparent glass with pipes connected to it.
The machine was designed to extract mana from crystals and deliver it through the pips, which also secreted a gas that would enhance the diffusion of mana into the body.
One of these would cost about $600, and Jayden wasn't ready to spend that. Even if he had that money, he would rather spend it on crystals.
There were lots of other devices in the hall, but what caught Jayden's eye was the long set of carrel desks centralised in the room with computers arranged on each of them.
"Alright, let's get this done with before anyone gets here" he whispered, turning on the first computer.
Jayden hissed.
"Passworded"
He moved to the next desktop but they were all the same.
"Damn", he slammed a fist into the keyboard.
A voice cut through his frustration from the opposite side of the desk.
"You're gonna pay if you damage those, you know right?"
Jayden's heart tensed, slowly spying to the ground opposite where he stood.
He let out a relieved breath.
"You again! What are you doing here?" Jayden muttered, only for his mind to highlight to him that he added a bit more accent to his voice.
Zoe stood up with a mouse in her hand.
"Came to borrow this," she purred, then added, "What are you doing here? Didn't know you were a beast technology students."
For the first time, Jayden took in her look.
She had hip-length crimson hair, with red fox ears on her head that matched her scarlet eyes. Fox beast markings dotted her skin and a red hair tail behind her back.
Her dressing was the definition of a bad ass babe. A red short huggy gown with a deep "V" neck that showed her delicate collar bone and the line between them.
"Hey, are you gonna answer me or you'll just keep staring at me like I'm some Disney princess?"
Jayden returned from the world where he was analysing her look.
"Sorry, Moma, I just stopped by to make use of the academy's computers. By the way,
I'm studying beast politics"
Zoe lifted an eyebrow, leaning closer to him, "whose your moma?"
Jayden slightly moved backwards and said. "You can't blame me for not knowing your name", but in his mind, he celebrated how he had manipulated her into telling him her name without him asking.
Fox beasts usually wield the flame elements, which give an emotion of anger to the tamer, adding to the usually girlish ego. There was no way she would let that slide.
She leaned in, narrowing her gaze to his with a bit of anger. "Say Zoe"
Jayden's heart was racing, she was getting too close that the heat of her voice lingered on his face.
"Z-Zoe" Jayden stammered.
Zoe nodded. "Good, now rephrase your sentence"
Just then another distant voice caught Jayden's attention.
"Look there! Isn't that the beastless brat?"
Jayden could immediately tell it was Rowen, one of the boys in Troy's group.
"Damn", he whispered, 'Not now!'
He squatted, hiding behind the desk.
Zoe immediately understood the situation, grinned, then rushed to the door.
"Didn't I see Logan in there? Bring him out!" Troy roared as he approached the door.
Zoe spread her legs and arms on the door space. "You three aren't Beast Technology students, so I can't let you in and besides, no one is in there."
Rowen went to the window, searching for Jayden with his eyes. "I know I saw him!"
"He was standing with you, right there", Troy pointed at the room.
"Wait a second," Zoe narrowed her gaze on him, pulling off some girlish attitude, "three top students are pumping their chest because of the biggest crap in the school, don't tell me you guys are that pathetic or is it just jealousy from combat class the other day?"
"Ouch", Jayden whispered, although she was protecting him, but she was also fucken good at bad mouthing him too.
Troy clenched his teeth, "Watch your mouth, girl! Or..."
Zoe leaned closer to him, "Or what? You three are gonna beat up a girl?"
Troy grinned. He looked past Zoe into the empty hall with no sign of Jayden, "Let's go, guys. We'll get him another day."
Zoe watched them go while teasing them with more words.
"Thanks for the help", Jayden smiled as he stood up, letting out a deep breath.
"Yeah, what business do you have with those morons?"
Jayden leaned on one of the desks while watching her return, "It's complicated, something about their girlfriend always wanting them to be like me or their obsession over my look"
Zoe lifted her shoulders, "Well, they can't blame you for being cute. By the way, you can't use any of the computers here because they are all password-protected and I'm yet to be told the password"
"Thanks for the compliment" Jayden blushed, "but I really needed to use a computer in accessing a drive."
She stopped in front of him, playfully spinning the mouse's wire. "You can use my personal computer, but I'm going gaming now, so maybe later you can stop by and take it. Girls' hostel, room 3"
She was already walking out.
Jayden breathes caught in his throat. "H-How about I pick it up from the cafeteria outside the school by lunch?
Zoe turned to face him, "If you want it that way, then I'm cool with it."