Calista had known the implication of that even before Mabel filled her in. It was no secret that Zavier's past records were nothing short of abysmal. During his days as a bum, way before he had decided to switch up, he had been having a real hard time with academic work. And as such, it had put a huge dent on his record. Good for him, he had been able to turn his life around and redeem himself with some baller moves. But unfortunately, it was too late for that. The ship had already sailed.
The consequence of all this pointed toward one fact; based on his track record, it would be extremely difficult (if not impossible) for him to be taken seriously as a prospective candidate of Caesar University. Without a more stellar performance, Zavier's chances of getting in were pretty slim.
As Calista mulled over all of these facts, she began to connect the dots. It seemed to her that he had somehow managed to figure this out all on his own. His outlandish behavior in asking to be placed in the vanguard was looking more and more like a ploy to get him in an enviable position where he could bedazzle the hosts and professors. It all started to make sense by the second. Zavier had been onto this from the start.
It was probably what he had been trying to insinuate when he was declared that the role should be reserved for him. Zavier had to resort to raising his voice, all so that he could be heard and taken seriously. No one probably understood why, and they were all possibly thinking that maybe he had gone loco. So, as understanding flushed through her mind, Calista quickly resolved to make things right.
"Zavier is right. He needs to go last."
Now it was Calista's turn to be on the receiving end of the multiple gasps and sighs that began to spring forth from everyone in the group. This meeting had been fraught with surprises on every corner. From Kacie's spot on analysis, to Zavier's outburst, and finally, to Calista openly acknowledging the younger one. It had been from one surprise to another, so, Calista made sure to reaffirm her stand on the whole thing once more.
"Listen up everybody, I have made my final decision. Shiranui will become the penultimate player, and Zavier will come last…"
There was a little mumbling in the back, but Calista didn't rush to still the noise. Their grievance was understandable; they had all come as one to put in place a strategy together, and now, Calista was pulling rank. Of course they were bound to get skittish. But Calista had the final say. She could see what none of them could, so they simply had to take her word for it, whether they liked it or not.
"Settle down! Settle down! We're not quite done yet…"
The room reverted back to its original place of quietness, and she continued.
"Don't get hooked on minor details, there is still the issue of placing the middle men in the right order."
She was right. And they knew it.
"The arrangement will be done according to the actual situation of the game. But it's getting way too late for that to be handled right now. So I will map out the formation myself tonight and inform everyone else of their places in the contest."
It already late, and everyone needed a fresh start tomorrow. If there was ever a time to round up, it was now.
"That will be all for now. Does anybody have any questions?"
Calista was sure that there were a ton of questions. But she knew that they were all sensible enough to know that it was time to go.
"Good. You may all return to your dorm rooms. Have a great night."
With that, she dismissed them. Calista had no regrets regarding how it had all gone down. In fact, all things considered, she actually considered this to be a very successful meeting. They had ironed out the beginning and the end of their line up, and also figured out the nature of the second round. And everyone stood up from the seats to head back to their dorm rooms, Calista realized that there was but one small matter to be handled.
"Zavier Adam!" she called out to him as he tried to shuffle his way out of the conference room. He turned back slowly, almost in a suspecting manner.
"Yes Miss Calista?"
"Get over here. I'd like to have a quick chat with you."
Zavier danced on his feet hesitatingly for a few seconds, as if he was trying to decide which excuse would work out best in this scenario. He wasn't sure what Calista wanted but he was sure he wasn't going to like it. He covered the distance between them in a couple of strides, and stood before her a few seconds later.
"Yes ma'am."
Calista pointed at the seat in front of her and bid him to sit. He did. She didn't speak immediately, instead she stared at him blankly for a couple of seconds. Zavier wasn't comfortable at all with the way she stared at him. It was weird, extremely weird. While it seemed like she was staring directly at him, Zavier couldn't help but feel like she was also staring past him.
It wasn't until the last set of footsteps faded into oblivion in the distance, that Calista finally managed to return her gaze and look in her eyes to that of a normal person.
"Now that we are alone then, I guess we can finally talk honestly."
Zavier now realized what the whole charade had been about; she had merely been using style to make sure that every single step had receded into the distance and in their rightful locations. She wanted to make sure that they were truly alone. Zavier was a bit on edge, if she was taking such precautionary measures, then it only meant that she had something extremely sensitive to say.
Calista stated bluntly. "I know your secret."
Zavier's face contorted in confusion. What was she talking about exactly? He couldn't hide his reaction in time, and Calista saw it quicker than he could have wanted.
"That's right Zavier, I know it all. Don't even try to hide it."
"I beg your pardon Miss Calista, but what exactly are you talking about?"
With a very naughty smile on her face, she asked Zavier gently;
"Shirnaui is your girl isn't she?"
No way, he thought. How did she know? Shiranui had expressly told him that she wanted their thing under wraps. If she found out that Calista of all people knew, she would immediately assume that Zavier had spilled. After all, they were the only two who knew about them. Zavier contemplated denying it, but he didn't know just how much Calista knew already, and that was an issue.
While Zavier gauged the situation objectively, Calista searched his eyes for any kind of untruth, hoping to catch Zavier in any kind of contradiction at all.
"Relax Zavier. Look at you squirming like a vermin. I am not onto you or anything like that."
"You're not?"
She shook her head.
"No. I'm just saying you should have protected her Zavier, you really should have done all your best to not let her get hurt."
Zavier was surprised on two counts. For one all, she had somehow managed to figure out that he was with Shirnaui, and secondly, she had taken him off guard by her apparent interest in their love lives. Zavier had really been blindsided.
Calista thought Zavier was still trying to find a way to figure out how exactly she knew.
"There's no point in trying to deny it Zavier. It's not you, it's her. Shirnaui has all the signs of a woman who is in love. So, while your pathetic attempts at hiding your relationship had successfully kept me and everyone else off your tail, I can always count on one person to give me what I want exactly- Shiranui."
Zavier still maintained his perfect poker look. He didn't care, he would deny it vehemently until the end if need be. After all, it had been purely Shirnaui's idea to keep things low key for now.
"Oh get over yourself Zavier, don't even try to deny it. Look, I am not telling you how to run your relationship, but..."
Here it goes, Zavier thought.
"...there are some things that you need to know. First off, have you heard any latent rumors about the Yamata family?"
Zavier nodded. It was clear he was still trying his best to be as vague as possible. Being a naturally careful person, he was doing his best not to commit to anything, especially when it came to female relationship issues. Shiranui had expressly told him she wanted to remain quiet about this, and here was Calista, meddling in their private affairs like some investigative junkie. She meant well of course, but Zavier had to tread carefully. Otherwise, the blowback could be huge. He hadn't forgotten just how vindictive Shiranui could be.
Calista continued with her unsolicited intrusion;
"Well, I am glad that you've heard." She cleared her throat and adjusted herself. Clearly, this was a bit uncomfortable for her to. But she proceeded anyway;
"Listen to me, I am not trying to tell you how to run your relationship or anything, far be it from me. But I want to clear this up with you."
Zavier kept his eyes on her.
"Zavier, make sure you are not dating her simply because you pity her. Shiranui has been through a lot already, and I suppose she might be a beacon of sympathy for simple minded guys who would want to swoop in and shower her with their masculinity and love."
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