FIXated

"Look, guys."

Antonio flashed his phone in front of the two nosy female students, who immediately leaned in to check.

"This is a currently hot topic in the forums," he excitedly mentioned.

Spoiler

[collapse]

The post titled "The Oracle" appeared at the top of the list, trending.

"Ooh... What's that all about?" Judy expressed her curiosity.

"No clue, but it looks like a promising app!" Antonio hyped up.

Feyline tapped the screen to check the post. A long introduction appeared in front of them like a wall of text. Talking about its features, purposes, and other uses.

"Oh wow," she was impressed by the sheer amount of information. "Is this legit?"

Feyline quietly scrutinized as she scrolled, skimming through the words while nodding in understanding.

"Hmm? What is it, Fey?" Judy chimed in, awaiting her explanation.

"This is just a chatbot, isn't it?" Feyline blurted out, skeptical.

Antonio just shook his head and clicked his tongue.

"No. no. It's not just a chatbot," he waved his finger in disagreement.

"It's THE ORACLE!"

A bunch of footsteps came forward right behind Antonio before a light pat hit right at the back of him.

"We are back!" Robin exclaimed as he wrapped his arms around Antonio, who was stopped midway from his usual blabbers.

"Got you guys lunch." Alexis peered right beside him, holding a tray full of food.

Right next to him, Raphael arrived holding another set with a small forced smile across his lips.

"Hey, there's still a bunch here," he spoke up.

Despite being traumatized recently by the cafeteria, he still took the initiative to accompany them.

"Save that macaroni salad for Judy and me." Robin gestured out as he set the rest of the food for them to share.

Judy excitedly reached out for the salad. "Thank you, babe."

The group sat and filled the lunch table with excitement on their faces as they began eating and sharing lunch. Everyone quietly took their first bites, followed by pleasant expressions of satisfactory deliciousness.

Raphael quietly poked his salad bowl with his fork before taking a small bite to chew. His face appeared distracted from something else in his mind.

"Yo, Raphael. I am so glad you came by." Antonio began. "So, how was your electives class?" he curiously asked.

Raphael rubbed his chin, thinking. "Seems fine."

But his other hand clenched the fork with tension.

"Is it? It's one of the jam-packed classes." Judy chimed in.

"Yeah, it is a lot of students," he replied with a gaze averted with unease. "A bit overwhelming to say at least."

Spoiler

[collapse]

Emma Huang.

Sitting beside another one of those delinquents in the Academy wasn't in his checklist. He didn't have the guts to share his unfortunate encounter.

It was embarrassing at most.

"It's okay, man. Who knows... You might meet a bunch of way cooler guys than us." Robin teased.

"Hey, don't say that! We are cool too, you know." Antonio protested.

The rest of them chuckled as Raphael glanced at them, forming a small smile to appear better. Feyline tapped his back reassuringly upon noticing Raphael's uneasy expression.

"Don't worry, Raphael. You will get used to it."

He nodded before a smile formed across his lips.

The gesture gave him a bit of comfort as it slowly eased away tension from his shoulders.

"So, what were you guys talking about a while ago?" Robin opened another conversation while munching on a mouthful of his burger.

Antonio rose from his seat, standing confidently, and gestured with his arms spread open.

"The Oracle App," he said in the most ominous tone he could muster.

Raphael tilted his head as he watched him. "Oracle, what?"

"An app that answers everything you ask for," he replied in a cheerfully tone before eyeing each one of them.

"Basketball League predictions? Homework? Theories? You name it all!" Antonio exclaimed.

An all-knowing bot? That's just too good to be true. Raphael was baffled at the thought.

"That's far-fetched," Raphael commented in disbelief. Feyline and Alexis nodded in unison right beside him.

"Wanna look for your crush? Hated rival? They have this thing called Find The Student," he continued to introduce as he showed them once more his screen.

All of them hovered in, quietly reading the contents.

Find The Student.

Spoiler

[collapse]

In bold text and highlight.

Pretty much a simple explanation on how it works as written in the blog post.

"Just drop in a picture. The app scans... and it finds the student as it claims." Antonio explained it briefly.

Raphael's curiosity piqued upon hearing the term: Find the Student. Immediately, something clicked into his mind, hitting him with utmost realization.

What could go wrong with using that app for his search?

"Sounds like an Evanderhill Exclusive app." Feyline thought.

"Yeah, right." Alexis nodded.

"Hope it's not gonna hack us." Judy trembled at the thought. Robin rubbed her back to comfort her, hugging her in his arms.

"Don't worry, babe. I will take the risk for you."

"So, when is it coming?" Raphael asked.

Antonio scrolled through the end of the thread where an announcement was posted.

"Like two weeks from now," he replied.

Raphael nodded and quietly took a mental note of the release date. Two weeks...not too far off. He could wait for it.

The group continued to talk about the app's features and other possibilities. As Raphael stared at his half-empty bowl of salad, the bantering and chatting slowly faded into indistinguishable background noises.

Find the Student.

The faded photo of Elena Wallace flashed into his memory.

He had been searching for her ever since.

Still, no trace. No leads.Nothing.

But this....

It gave him the opportunity.

A newborn hope.