A Deal

Allan Batman was so immersed in the excitement that he almost missed the bell ringing. A stream of students rushed out of the classroom, engulfing him entirely. 

As he tried to navigate through the chaos, a few hurried boys rushed by and gave him a big bump, causing him to fall backwards into the corner.

At that moment, unexpectedly, he caught sight of the girl he had been writing notes to. She was constantly glued to her phone, wearing the sweetest smile as she walked by alone, seemingly oblivious to his existence.

Encouraged by the response he had received to his text, Allan gathered his boldness and stepped forward, attempting to catch up with her. However, amidst the constant emergency of the students, he found himself squeezed and trapped in place, watching the Goddess of his heart disappear into the crowd without being able to do anything about it.

With his hair in disarray and his white shirt stained with palm-prints, Allan stood there, torn between tears and cheers.

"She responded! She actually replied to my message!" Allan kept repeating to himself, his eyes fixated on the simple sentence he had received, which, to him, spoke volumes.

"But what does she mean by 'I did not mean what I did'?" Allan couldn't help but wonder. What had she done that required such a cryptic apology?

As Allan racked his brain, recalling their numerous encounters and the sparse conversations they'd shared, he couldn't pinpoint a single thing she had done to offend him. In his eyes, she was mint, flawless. Whatever she had done or not done, whether kind or unkind, seemed insignificant in comparison to her overall perfection.

Savoring the sweetness of her response after what felt like an eternity, Allan decided to take a leap forward. He composed a text - "It is my pleasure."

After agonizing over it for even longer, he added another sentence- "If it's alright with you, would you like another coffee?"

The moment he hit send, Allan's heart pounded even harder.

Within two minutes, the reply came - "One is enough for today, but thanks."

Allan's heart sank slightly, but he read the message repeatedly, pausing at the word "today." 

"She must mean that coffee tomorrow is okay, right? Yes, that's what she means!" he reassured himself.

Convinced, Allan decided to test his luck further by suggesting, "How about I get you one tomorrow?"

Several minutes later, the reply came - "If it's convenient for you."

Ecstatic, Allan leaped metaphorically several meters high. Clutching his phone to his chest, he hurried out of the classroom and made his way back to his dormitory.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Brandon read and re-read the messages exchanged between him and the person he believed to be Sienna. A sense of triumph mixed with relief filled him - Sienna wasn't angry with him, and he felt that he had effectively smoothed over the tension between them.

"Coffee tomorrow, fantastic," Brandon thought to himself. "How can I express my willingness to cooperate without sounding like I'm begging for forgiveness outright?"

Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, Brandon pondered. Then, he came up with what he believed to be a very effective approach.

-

Sienna, completely unaware that she had unwittingly made a promise of coffee takeaway with Brandon for the following day, finally arrived at the classroom where she suspected Allan Batman might be lingering, based on what she had observed on the surveillance camera.

But the classroom was empty, and Allan was nowhere to be found.

"Always one step behind!" Sienna scolded herself. 

After a moment of contemplation, she surveyed all four classrooms in the corridor, jotting down their numbers before heading to Mr. Brown's office to seek assistance.

Upon arriving at the Vice Principal's office and knocking, there was no response. Giving the door a gentle push, it cracked open. The symbolic chair remained, but the familiar figure was absent.

"Cool," Sienna smirked to herself. "Saving me tons of trouble negotiating."

She tip-toed to her uncle's desk, feeling the back of the computer screen before flipping the switch button. 

The screen flickered to life, revealing a half-done Excel file. Despite using the computer without her uncle's consent, Sienna maintained her ethical principles by refraining from peeking at any unrelated documents. Just as she detested cheating, she staunchly opposed document theft.

She closed the file without indulging in a single glance, then proceeded to open the educational system program. With adept ease, she navigated to locate which classrooms were assigned to each department.

A password prompt appeared. Sienna didn't hesitate, typing in her uncle's birthday, which granted her instant access.

"Eleven years without a single change of heart," Sienna whispered to herself proudly.

Sienna recalled her uncle sharing a poignant story from his past. He had once met a girl whom he could never forget; they shared the same birthday but were born in different places. Sadly, their love story came to an end when their parents disapproved of their relationship. Since then, her uncle had made it a habit to use their birthdays as passwords for every device requiring access...

Sienna swiftly entered all the classroom reference numbers and soon retrieved the list of departments. After a quick scan, she committed everything to memory and slipped out, too preoccupied to notice that Mr. Brown had caught sight of her from somewhere opposite the Vice Principal's office.

"Sienna Quinn, what do you think you're doing sneaking around in my office?" Mr. Brown's stern voice genuinely startled Sienna.

She paused, glancing around the corridor, but there was no sign of her uncle's silhouette. Confused, she almost dismissed it as an illusion until she finally spotted the source of the voice.

It emanated from the Principal's office, where Mr. Brown was seated in the top chair, peering at her through a crack in the door.

Sienna hurried to the office door, where she could hear the faint strains of classical music emanating from the phone on the desk, accompanied by some peculiar chanting from her uncle.

No one else was present, certainly not the actual Principal.

"Aha," Sienna thought, realizing her uncle was once again indulging in his fantasies of seizing the throne.

"You see, Sienna," Mr. Brown began, speaking in a tone that he clearly believed to be imposing, but which Sienna found rather forced.

"If your intentions were truly ethical, you wouldn't have bypassed me and snuck in here when no one was around," Mr. Brown continued, remaining firmly planted in his chair.

"You have a point, dear uncle," Sienna replied, struggling to suppress her mocking tone as she toyed with the nameplate displaying the title of Principal.

"Is that why you're here all by yourself at this time of day, while the real Principal is away at an off-campus conference?" Sienna teased, arching an eyebrow.

Mr. Brown sprang up from his chair, swiftly raising a finger to his lips in a hushing gesture, "Quiet!"

Sienna exaggeratedly feigned surprise with an "Ah!" before flashing a wide smirk that seemed to ignite Mr. Brown's irritation.

"If you keep this between ourselves, I'll overlook whatever mischief you've gotten up to in my office!" Mr. Brown whispered anxiously.

"Oh, come on, dear uncle, do you really think I'm that greedy?" Sienna retorted, pulling a face as she casually replaced the Principal's nameplate. Then, turning to her uncle, she added, "I need a detailed list."

Mr. Brown's jaw dropped in disbelief. Did his niece just claim she wasn't greedy?

"Not interested?" Sienna raised an eyebrow.

"What list?" Mr. Brown asked helplessly, his expression darkening.

Sienna handed him the departments she had retrieved from the program and said in a hushed tone, "The student lists for these departments."

Mr. Brown's expression contorted at the request. Sienna hesitated before asking, "It's not against ethics, I've checked."

But obtaining the student lists wasn't a simple task. It would require considerable effort, maybe even a lot of effort. 

While the student lists weren't classified as confidential information according to campus rules, obtaining them would still necessitate Mr. Brown to engage with the heads of each department and devise a plausible excuse to acquire the full lists.

Sienna understood that only her uncle, in his position, would have the authority to negotiate with the department heads effectively.

She also understood that her uncle was often too lethargic to engage with the staff and socialize effectively.

In a way, she saw this as an opportunity to help him establish a more authoritative image among the staff. With their support, he could potentially gain more confidence and win more votes in the next round of principal elections.

"This is beneficial for you, Uncle," Sienna insisted, trying to offer Mr. Brown a warm smile, though he interpreted it as more mischievous than genuine.

"Fine!" Mr. Brown finally relented, rising from his chair, his hands reluctant to leave the beautifully crafted Scandinavian wood desk.

"That's the uncle I remember!" Sienna reassured him, pretending not to have seen the disbelieving expression on his face.

Just then, Joe's name flashed on the phone screen as he called in. Sienna quickly retreated from the office.

Rushing into the empty elevator, she answered the call to hear her friend's anxious voice.

"Sienna, I think I know who Allan Batman was writing to!"