Iris and Grandpa Lu both stayed at the campus. He had a house in one of the residential districts which was mostly occupied by instructors. He sent someone to pick up her luggage from his mansion in Zürich and sent it to her dorm.
The unit she was assigned to was more like an apartment suite. It had a bedroom, a living room, a bathroom, a study room and a kitchenette.
What pleased Iris the most was that it also had a computer room already equipped with three high-performance computers. Of course the computers couldn’t compare to her own back at the penthouse, but she knew that the academy had more advanced computers in the Computer Department available for her to use.
She hadn’t met with any of the other students yet, probably busy with their own studies. However, Giulia Moretti assured her that Professor Dupont would be throwing a welcoming dinner for her and Grandpa Lu soon. She would have a chance to meet her fellow students then.
In the meantime, Iris began immersing herself in her own studies. She met with Professor Kalisha Schwarz and Professor Hisakawa Akio.
Besides her language studies, she also visited the Computer Department. They were informed that the hacker Drakon would be coming. When the current department head saw her, he teared up.
Iris also blinked her eyes rapidly, trying hard not to cry. He was one of her previous instructors as Evelina.
“Oh, forgive me. I thought that you’re one of my former students. For some reason, you give off the same vibes,” he said, wiping his eyes with his sleeves. “But that’s impossible. You’re clearly a different person. And besides, she’s…she’s not with us anymore.”
“Are you talking about Fantom? Or should I say Evelina?” she asked in a soft voice.
His eyes widened. “You know her?”
“Oh! So that’s why your style, Drakon’s style, is so eerily similar to Fantom’s. I see.”
It seemed that Professor Dupont didn’t inform others about Iris’ claim of being Evelina’s student.
“So you’re the student of my student. I was a little disappointed when I heard that Drakon didn’t enroll in our Computer Department, but now that I know that you’re Evelina’s student, I’m not surprised. She had been a key force in advancing the development of our department to what it is now. She had long surpassed me and her other computer instructors in just two years since her enrollment.” He sighed, shaking his head. “It’s unfortunate to lose such a genius among genius like her.”
A lump caught in her throat. She took a few deep breaths to control her emotions.
After that, she began coming to the Computer Department regularly.
In just a couple of days, she reinforced the campus’ computer security system. They were still using the old system she developed as Evelina in the past, albeit they made several improvements on it. However, she developed a newer, sleeker and more secure version. It was also more aggressive against attackers.
The department head and the other instructors verified the security of her version. In the end, Professor Dupont approved it and it became the academy’s new security system.
When they finished installing it, the department head teared up again.
“Ah, I must be getting old,” he said, giving a sheepish laugh as he wiped his tears. “You just remind me of Evelina so much. I’m sure that she’s proud of you as her student. I wish she’s here with us to see your achievements.”
Finally, it was the night of the welcoming dinner. All the students, instructors and alumni gathered at the main castle’s dining hall. The walls, windows, ceiling and the floor were ugly as always but the elegant furniture and decorations made up for the architecture’s ugliness.
Grandpa Lu chatted with his fellow alumni, their loud conversations and boisterous laughter livening up the atmosphere.
Iris also finally met her fellow students. All of them were older and enrolled years before her. Thus, they were her seniors. But if she was still Evelina, they would be her juniors instead.
At the moment, there were eight current students staying at the campus in addition to Iris.
The first one was Logann Wiztein, an attractive man. He was a brilliant student specializing in genetic engineering. His research involved evolution and bloodlines. His work was very controversial. The academy kept a close watch on him so he wouldn’t go too far when it came to morals and ethics in the science community.
Second was AJ Zheneres, an economist. She was a small and bubbly woman, but her gaze was sharp. Although she was still technically a student, she already started working for the academy. Her instructors swore that she had a frighteningly accurate intuition, bordering on psychic, when it came to predicting market trends. This innate talent was so valuable that the academy didn’t think twice to recruit her. It was rumoured that the academy’s business profits tripled because of her.
Third was Amanpio Kileksky, an inventor. He was an attractive guy in a nerdy way. He was charming but sometimes would speak utter nonsense. His inventions were also a mixed bag. Some of them were simply useless. But his best inventions were so ingenious that he already received world recognition, possessing several patents under his name. He could invent anything from the simplest daily tools to the most complicated mechanisms used by space agencies.
Another inventor was Florence O’Sevan, a pretty woman. Unlike Amanpio who invented random things, her inventions focused on environmental sustainability. So besides being an inventor, she was also a sustainability specialist. She was one of the students who rarely stayed in the campus. She preferred travelling to different places around the world with her instructor, mostly helping poor villages to live more comfortable lives with her inventions without relying too much on wasteful technology.
Fifth was the gorgeous Ashandra Knightson. While Iris’ beauty was ethereal, Ashandra’s beauty was almost demonic. She looked like a vampire goddess. Despite her dangerous beauty that could destroy nations, she was actually very nice, sweet and quite shy. She was an artist, specializing in paintings but she also liked making sculptures and fashion designing. Her works always sold well in auctions.
Next was the lovely Theresa Blipsburg, a biomedical engineer. Together with her instructors, they already developed innovative state-of-the-art medical instruments that were gradually becoming available in some of the best hospitals in the world. She also minored in chemical engineering with focus on synthesizing new medications. Her research was still in the early stages but if she succeeded, she would save a lot of lives.
Last was the serious Michael Exlorsson. He was a taciturn man who had an intimidating gaze. His hands were large and calloused, but those hands created marvels of advanced technology. He was a mechatronics engineer. Of course, he specialized in robotics and automation, but his ingenious designs were already making waves in the automotive, manufacturing, and even the medical industries.
Iris had never met other Cross Academy students in person before as Evelina because her small army of entourage didn’t allow her. That was why she was excited and curious meeting other students in this lifetime.
Comparing herself to their numerous achievements, she realized that she still had a long way to go. These people were, without a doubt, geniuses.
Although their fields of expertise were different from each other, they were still able to find interesting topics of conversation, especially the ladies. They all spoke in English because only Iris could speak German among them.
Amanpio sidled close to her. “Hey. Can I get your number? I also want to invite you for lunch or something. I know a good restaurant near the mall. And…do you have a boyfriend?”
Iris gave him a polite smile. “I can give you my e-mail address. If the others are willing to join us, we can have lunch together. And yes, I do have a boyfriend.”
“Oh dang. Tsk. Oh well. I tried. By the way, you’re my type.” He winked at her, only leaving her side when she gave him her e-mail address.
She didn’t really think much about it. He didn’t look serious. Besides, they were fellow students. Forging close connections with anyone from Cross Academy was always a good idea.
‘I’m so glad I decided to stay here at the campus,’ she thought. ‘But I miss Liwei. I wonder if he’s alright and taking care of Ice Cream and Popcorn. I miss them so much.’
Her heart longed for him…for home. But she must regain her inner balance first before returning to him.
