1 Chapter 1: Encounter

"Have you ever stopped walking, for a moment, looked around you, at the people? All on their phones, in their cars, listening to music, acting as if they had somewhere to go, acting as if they mattered. If you did, you probably thought the same thing we did, that there something seriously wrong with this world. Well if that's the case, don't worry. We are going to fix it. We are going to change the world. We are The Root."

Perfect, this would do. Now, all that was left to do was to make that message reach thousands, no, millions of people.

-Hey, weirdo!

Weirdo? I did not know who said that, but I was pretty sure it was directed towards me. It did not sound like it was meant to be an insult though. This could only mean one thing: social interactions were coming. Ugh! I scanned the area around me and there it was, the source of my upcoming headache. Even worse it was a girl, change that headache to a migraine. I hurried to save my work and close my virtual machine. In less than fifteen seconds, I had gone from my personalized version of Kali Linux with multiple terminals running shady scripts to your casual Windows 10 environment with a stupid assignment open on Microsoft Edge. Hacker skill: master of disguise.

-Hey, I said as I took off my headset, do I know you?

She was about 1.70 meters, probably weighted something like 60 kilograms, I'd say she was wearing c-cup and she had pink short hair. Most guys would probably agree to give her a solid 8, but rating women is sexist, so I'm not gonna voice my opinion. The point is, a girl like her would never talk to me out of the blue unless she wanted something from me.

-I'm Naomi, she said as she holds out her hand, now you do.

She was smiling, she definitely wanted something from me.

-Cool, I replied as I looked back on my screen.

I left her hanging, maybe by being rude enough to her, she would get offended and would stop wasting my time. Upon realizing that I was not going to shake her hand, she awkwardly pretended to stretch her arm and tried to find something to say. I almost felt bad, but she clearly was not going to give up.

-Anyway, she finally said, my friend who has a class with you says you're pretty smart.

Here we go, she was about to ask me to do something for her.

-Yeah, so…?

I was searching for an excuse to leave, whatever she was about to ask me, I did not care and I certainly did not want to do it.

-Well, I was wondering if you could help me with something, you'd really save my life.

Called it, now I had to find a way to leave without agreeing to do anything.

-Are you in need of any immediate medical assistance? I asked calmly.

That startled her, she did not expect something so random. Good, that could be my way out of this dreadful encounter.

-No, she replied clearly confused, why?

Perfect, she walked right into the trap. I closed my laptop and put it in my bag. Time for my grand exit.

-Well if that's the case, there's really nothing I can do to save your life, I said as I got up, now if you would please excuse me, I have to get home and feed my cat.

I started walking away. Hacker skill: being a jerk. The hungry cat clearly was not the best I could have come up with, but at least I was not stuck in this interaction anymore. Then it happened, she touched me. I froze as soon as she grabbed my shoulder. She must have felt it because she immediately let go.

-Wait, I really need your help, she pleaded, I'd be in your debt.

General rule of thumb, never trust a girl that says she will be in your debt. You might think she is hinting you towards the fact that she likes you and that it is your chance to earn points, but it is not. It actually is a fraud to manipulate you, she will never end up paying that debt back. General rule of thumb number two, these lowly tricks are very effective, even if you are aware of the fact that it is a fraud. Especially when the girl is pretty.

-Sure, let's hear it, what can I do for you.

I gave up, I might be a hacker and an introvert, but I still am a man. Damn it, Plato warned me against desires and stuff. I guess philosophy classes really are useless after all.

-Well you see, she started, I wanna be an architect and for that, I need good grades in math, but the thing is I really suck at math and I scored terribly on the last exam. So I was wondering if you could help me get better grades.

Fuck. Was she asking me to hack her grades? How could she even know I am a hacker? I had to stay calm, I know I was always careful, nobody knows about my skills.

-I'm not sure what I could do to help, I replied hoping to find out more.

She gave me a weird look as if I said something stupid or out of place. I was so confused, what was she about to ask me?

-Well, you could help me study, duh! Are you sure you're really smart, she said as she winked at me, I mean how else could you help me raise my grades?

Wow, I am so dumb, obviously, that is what she meant. I was so caught off guard that I was searching for some kind of complicated request. What a fool. Anyway, I really had no time to waste on trivial matters such as studying and so I was mentally preparing a reason on why I could not be of help when I realized something. She smelled like cinnamon. Shit, why did she had to smell like cinnamon? A bunch of unwelcome memories came back to me and before I even notice I was talking, words were coming out of my mouth.

-Uh, yeah, sure, I'd love to.

What the fuck, no, I would hate to help her, but I guess it was too late, I am a man of my word. Still, I could not lose like that, I had to at least ask something in return.

-But on one condition, I continued, you never wear that perfume again.

She looked so surprised by such an unusual request. She was probably trying to figure out whether I had insulted her or whether I was just weird. Well, she did start the conversation by calling me "weirdo", might as well live up to the name.

-Sure, I guess, she answered still confused, I'll wait for you tomorrow at the library right after class, thanks.

She then gave me a smile and walked away, she did not even ask if the time was ok with me. At least she will not be able to pull the cinnamon perfume trick on me again. Not that she had any idea it was what made me agree to help her. Damn it, my head was already hurting. I took a Tylenol and then started walking towards my apartment. I had a lot of work to do and I actually had to feed Balthazar (my cat and only companion).

While walking I realized two things. First, my life had just gotten a hell lot more complicated. Second, I never actually told her my name. Meh, she probably already got it from her friend who has a class with me. Still, for the record, it's Damian, Damian Blue.