Lay Low
“Elise—” “Hey!” Someone cut Mikayla off just when she was about to talk. They turned around and saw
Sheldon coming in. His hands were in his pockets, and he looked like a thug.
Thanks to him being Jamie’s brother, Elise thought the kid was endearing. She saw him as a relative’s
kid, and she smiled. “Do you need anything, boy?”
“Boy?” Sheldon frowned. He did not like being called ‘boy’.
Elise laughed. “I’m older than you are. Why can’t I call you that?”
“Hey, I might be older than you, you know?” Sheldon stepped up indignantly. “How old are you?”
“Just past the age where I can legally get married,” Elise answered.
Sheldon shut up. Damn. She is older than I am. But she looks so young, and she’s so short. She can’t
call me ‘boy.’ Sheldon quickly came up with another idea. “We’re classmates here, so age does not
matter. Call my name. I’m Sheldon.”
“Call me Elise.”
“Sure.” Sheldon nodded. Then, he remembered something, and he shifted the topic, “Do you want to
make an alliance with me?”
“An alliance?” Elise wasn’t sure what he was getting at.
“Yeah,” Sheldon said seriously. “You dislike Martin, right? You don’t want to stay in the Elite Class too,
right? So let’s work together and try to get expelled ASAP.”
Elise cocked her eyebrow in interest. “You don’t want to stay in the Elite Class?”
“Aren’t you the same?” he asked.
Then, someone suddenly jumped on Sheldon from behind. “Why did you run away so fast? You didn’t
wait for me.”
Elise recognized him. He was the guy who made small talk with her during the test. Compared to
Sheldon, the boy only looked ordinary, but he seemed easy to get along with.
He turned around, and when he saw the ladies, he greeted them warmly, “Hi there. I’m Elliot. Let’s get
along, alright?”
“Sure.” Elise liked being friends with people like Elliot.
Elliot smiled, and he thumped Sheldon’s chest. “Wanna go to the internet café today? The guy on the
forum challenged us to a duel last week. Man, he’s super annoying. I’m gonna headshot him and teach
him a lesson!” Elliot swung his fists angrily.
Sheldon didn’t want to stay at school, but going back home meant he would get scolded, so he agreed.
“Fine. The internet café it is.”
Elise felt like she stumbled upon her friend’s kids doing something cheeky, and it was amusing, so she
asked, “What games do you play? League of Legends?”
That was Danny’s favorite game, and he was a seasoned player.
“No.” Elliot waved his hand, looking proud. “That’s some noob game. Men play Dead Battleground.”
“It’s already online?” Elise knew that game was developed by Arthur’s company, and she was the one
who squashed some of the harder bugs.
“It’s been online for six months. Where are you from? Mars?” Elliot mocked.
“Well, looks like I’m behind on the news.” She shrugged. “Why don’t you add me and my friend to your
team. It’s a lot more interesting that way.”
“I thought you don’t know the game, so why do you know it needs a team?” Elliot asked.
“I used to play LOL with my friends, and that needs a team, so I think most games are like that,” she
explained.
“Yeah. Lots of games emphasize the experience. Single player games are no fun. Multiplayer games are
better. But do you know how to play? It’ll be hard if you don’t,” Elliot asked out of consideration.
“A bit. What about you, Mikayla?” Elise looked at her friend.
“Only a bit as well.” Mikayla smiled sheepishly.
“Sure. You two will pick up stuff and heal us, while we’ll carry you.” Sheldon then went straight to the
internet café.
Elise sighed. Teenagers were great, but the one thing about them was they were arrogant and thought
everyone was weaker than they were. I guess I’ll just play along. Jamie is his brother after all.
As they went to the café, Elliot patiently told the ladies how the game was played. “It’s not a game of
skills either. Just lay low and you’ll stay alive until the end.”
“You mean like a dog?”
“No! I mean just stay low profile.”
“I see.”
“Not the point. The point is, dodge bullets, get the win.”
Tissote University was the top university in the nation, and it was located in the center of Athesea, the
city of finance. The cost of living in the area was high, but even so, Sheldon went into the most
expensive internet café and rented the whole place just so nobody would disturb him.
That’s a little too much, Elise thought. I have to tell Jamie about this. His family might be rich, but that
doesn’t mean Sheldon can squander money like that. Elise felt amused. Hey, that makes me sound like
his spy.
They waited outside as the boss got all the other customers out, and the customers were annoyed.
“Man, I wanted to watch those pros duel tonight.”
“They are rich, after all. We’ll just go somewhere else. Not the first time this has happened.”
When they came out, Mikayla suddenly said, “Miquella?”
“Mikayla?” The boy noticed her, and he came up to her happily. “Why are you here?” He held her hand.
Mikayla smiled imperceptibly, and she pulled her hand back shyly. She looked at Elise. “I came with my
friend.”
She was fast, but Elise still saw it, and she was surprised. Mikayla is in love?
Miquella looked at Elise, and he greeted, “Hello.”
Elise nodded with a smile. After a pause, she looked at them curiously. “You guys are…”
Mikayla bit her lip and introduced, “I was just going to introduce him. Elise, I have a boyfriend, and this is
him. He’s Miquella, and he’s from the faculty of music.”
Miquella scratched his head shyly. They looked at each other, love welling within their eyes.
Elise felt happy for her. “Congratulations,” she said.
“Thank you!” Miquella smiled, then he asked Mikayla, “I thought you have something to do tonight, so
why are you here? Did you get stood up?”
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