Mastermind

"Leaving so soon, Jay?" Akin asked, his voice smooth and devoid of its usual robotic monotone.

Jay spun around, his eyes bloodshot. "Get away from me, you freak! You won, okay? You framed me with that stolen phone and Mona’s money! My father is going to kill me when he finds out about the money!”

Akin stopped inches from Jay, leaning in until their shoulders almost touched. A cold, jagged smile—the first one Jay had ever seen—spread across Akin’s face.

"Frame you?" Akin whispered, his voice dripping with mockery. "Jay, I didn't have to frame a boy as predictable as you. I just had to give you exactly what you wanted. You wanted Harvey, so I gave her to you. You wanted to be a 'hero,' so I gave you an envelope to protect. You did the rest of the work yourself."

Jay’s box slipped an inch in his grip. "What... what do you mean you 'gave' her to me?"

"Harvey was never yours, Jay. She was mine the moment I found out her father was embezzling from the school board," Akin chuckled, a low, dark sound. "She didn't love you. She was just the delivery girl for your downfall."

Akin stepped back, his eyes glinting with a heartless intensity. "And about Mona’s money? I didn't steal it. I just told Leo where Mona kept her bag during gym class. I promised him I’d cover for him if he snatched the tuition cash. Leo is greedy, but he’s stupid—he didn't realize that while he was 'hiding' it, I was moving it into the envelope Harvey gave you."

Jay’s jaw dropped. "You... you made Leo steal it just to put it in my locker?"

"I needed a motive that would turn the entire school and society against you, Jay. If it was just 'blood money,' you’d be a criminal. But stealing from a girl like Mona? That makes you a monster in everyone's eyes. I even convinced Leo to 'search' the lockers today by telling him I saw the thief hiding the phone there. He thought he was being a hero; he didn't realize he was my pawn."

Akin laughed out loud now, a sharp, villainous sound that echoed off the brick walls.

"I actually wanted to thank you, Jay," Akin said, his face glowing with a terrifying joy. "School was becoming so incredibly dull. Watching you crawl around on that classroom floor, begging for a girl who was laughing at you behind your back... it really spiced up my year."

Akin turned to walk away, waving a dismissive hand over his shoulder. "Don't worry, Jay. I promise my story won't end like yours. Now, go tell your father why the police are waiting at your house."

Jay let out a guttural scream of fury, lunging forward, but the school security guards immediately tackled him to the pavement. As Jay struggled in the dirt, Akin didn't even look back. He simply kept walking, the "invisible boy" now the shadow that owned the school.

A few months passed, and the school moved on. Jay’s name became nothing more than a cautionary tale of a rich boy who lost it all to greed and a Stolen iPhone. As the dust settled, the "Invisible Boy" became a silent fixture in the school’s social fabric—not as a victim, but as a shadow.

It was during these quiet months that Akin and Leo became inseparable. To the rest of the student body, it looked like two different worlds colliding: Akin, the tactical strategist who stayed in the background, and Leo, who had long been overlooked by his peers.

Akin recognized something in Leo—a quiet resilience and a deep knowledge of the school's inner workings that others ignored. Instead of offering empty friendship, Akin offered Leo a seat at the table where decisions were truly made. They spent hours in the back of the library, mapping out the social dynamics of the campus and identifying the "glitches" in the system—those who used their status to bully others.

Under Akin's guidance, Leo began to change. He was no longer the boy who hid in the hallways; he became the one who knew everyone’s secrets. With Akin’s strategic mind and Leo’s newfound confidence, they began to influence school events from behind the scenes. They weren't interested in being popular; they were interested in being indispensable.

By the time midterms arrived, the power structure of the school had subtly shifted. The old hierarchies were crumbling, replaced by a new order where information was the ultimate currency.

Harvey, who had been watching from the sidelines, realized that the game had changed. Seeing the influence Akin and Leo now commanded, she decided to align herself with them. She brought a different set of skills to the group—an ability to navigate the social elite and a knack for gathering high-stakes information.

Together, the three of them became a formidable team. They weren't just students anymore; they were the architects of a new school culture.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***