"So," Anthony sighed. "Is that all there is to it?"

"Yes."

Even after breaking it down for him, he didn't sound the least bit bothered. If anything, he seemed rather annoyed. Whether that concerned me or not, I had yet to decide.

The reason I contacted Anthony was because of the Rank Portal app. It played a vital role in the school's operation, providing a detailed overview of every student's performance scores.

What bothered me wasn't the fact that anyone could search for my grades. If anything my scores were average at best. There was nothing that made me stand out.

What troubled me was the inclusion of the profile pictures on the app. If those images made it onto the school's main website, accessible to anyone online, it could spell trouble for me... Big trouble.

"It hasn't even been a day and you're already calling me," Anthony snorted. "Come on, admit it... You just can't stand to be away from me, can you?"

I rolled my eyes. "Judging by the tone of your voice, it's obvious you're not taking this seriously."

"Correct!"

"Which means you've already checked things over and there's nothing to be concerned about."

"Correct, again!" Anthony exclaimed. Though I couldn't see him, I could practically sense the satisfied grin he likely wore.

"Can you explain?"

Even though I trusted Anthony's competence and judgment, I wanted a more detailed explanation. At least, it would put my mind at ease.

"As I'm sure you know, Crestwood is very particular about protecting the privacy of their staff and students. To prevent any information from being leaked, the school operates using an intranet... In other words, you need to be physically on school grounds to use the app."

"I see..."

If that was the case, then my worries had been for nothing. Unfortunately, Anthony wasn't finished speaking.

"Having said that, there's always the risk that someone might take a screenshot of your picture and share it with someone on the outside. If that occurs, it's only a matter of time before your face ends up on the internet."

Anthony brought up a very valid point. Just because the app wasn't accessible to outsiders didn't guarantee that someone wouldn't leak information to the outside.

It was inevitable that students would start using the app to scope out their competition. Thankfully, this implied that as long as I kept a low profile, there would be no reason for anyone to start digging into my background.

Or so I hoped...

"I'm guessing you have a contingency in case my picture somehow ends up on the internet?"

"Absolutely," Anthony replied confidently. "I've set up multiple programs to run facial recognition scans throughout the day. If any of your pictures end up online, these programs will detect and remove them as quickly as possible. That said, no system is perfect, so there's still some level of risk... I'm sure you understand that."

"I do."

Even with an arsenal of defenses in place, it was simply impossible to fully eliminate the risk of exposure. All we could was lower the risk as much as possible.

Anthony cleared his throat. "Now that we've settled this issue, I have a question. A very important one... How's your first day of school going?"

I couldn't tell whether Anthony was genuinely interested in hearing about my day or simply setting me up for ridicule. Knowing him, it'd probably be the latter.

"It's fine, I guess..."

"Have you made any friends yet?"

"No."

"Oh, my! I wonder why..."

I sighed inwardly as I sensed the amusement in his voice. He wasn't even trying to hide the fact that he was mocking me. Not that it bothered me or anything... It just seemed childish.

"List-"

Before Anthony could get a word out, I preemptively interrupted him, sensing someone approaching from behind.

"I have to go. I'll talk to you later."

I hung up the phone and turned.

"Ah, James. I thought that was you. What a coincidence!" Violet smiled as she closed the distance between us.

"Hey..."

"I hope I didn't interrupt anything!"

Violet had changed into her uniform as well. It was the same uniform the student council president had worn, except her bow tie wasn't black. It was yellow, just like mine. From what I gathered, the color of our ties seemed to indicate our respective grades.

"Oh, no. I was just talking to a friend," I replied.

"Are you sure? It looked like you were talking about something important."

Violet leaned in, studying my face for any signs of deception. It was the closest I'd ever been to a girl. Though my mind urged me to retreat, my body remained locked in place by an unseen force.

What sorcery is this...

"Hey, you two! What are you doing!?"

We turned in response to the unexpected voice. A girl with light-brown hair stood in front of us. Even though I recognized seeing her during the entrance ceremony, I didn't know her name.

"Who's this?" the girl inquired, shooting an inquisitive glare in my direction.

I didn't like the way she was looking at me. It made me feel uncomfortable.

Violet smiled and patted me on the back. "Oh, hey Nicole. This is the neighbor I told you about."

"Hmm... So, he's the guy who'll be joining our group today?"

"Yep!"

Group?! What group?

From the look of things, it seemed Violet had talked about me. But that wasn't what I was concerned about. Not anymore...

When we met earlier this morning, she had proposed we wander around the mall together. Of course, I readily agreed. What she hadn't mentioned was that there would be others coming as well.

This was definitely an unexpected turn of events. And not a good one by the looks of it. Even though I'd gone through countless outing scenarios in my mind over the last couple of weeks, I still felt nowhere near prepared to handle the real thing.

Looking a little less inquisitive, the girl called "Nicole" crossed her arms and walked up to me.

"My name is Nicole, what's your name?"

"I'm James."

"James what?"

It kind of felt like she was demanding my name instead of asking. Wasn't she being a little too rude considering this was our first time talking?

"James Lee," I said, curious to see why she wanted my last name.

Without wasting another second, Nicole pulled out her phone and opened the Rank Portal app. I watched silently as she scrolled through the list of first-years before stopping when she spotted my name.

"Let's see," she muttered. "Academic score, C+. Grade ranking, 78... 1st Circle Mage... From what I can tell, you're pretty average."

"Hey, cut it off!" Violet exclaimed. "You're being extremely rude..."

It was clear from her expression that Nicole’s actions didn’t sit well with her. That being said, I was taken aback by Violet’s willingness to stand up for me, especially since we were also kind of strangers.

"Never mind. I take back what I said," Nicole said after a moment.

Violet let out a sigh of relief.

Wait a second... Could she have figured it out?!

"He's actually a little below average," Nicole clarified.

Nope. I was wrong.

Violet's eyes widened in anger but before she could voice her thoughts, I stepped in. "Are my grades that bad?"

Nicole shrugged as she put her phone away. "Not unless you're trying to make a move on my friend."

"HEY!"

Without missing a beat, Violet grabbed Nicole by the wrist and led her away. The two of them immediately launched into a hushed argument, their voices too low for me to catch. For a second, I considered trying to read their lips but quickly dismissed the idea. Respecting their privacy seemed like the smarter move.

After about a minute or so, the two girls ended their discussion and returned, both looking a little more composed.

"Nicole has something she wants to say," Violet said, pushing her friend forward.

Nicole rolled her eyes and sighed. "I... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have called you average. It was thoughtless of me. It won't happen again."

Nicole glanced at Violet who nodded in approval. With that, Nicole stepped away and took out her phone. If I didn't know any better, she seemed eager to get away from me.

"I'm sorry about that, James." Violet gave me an apologetic smile. "Nicole has the habit of speaking before she thinks sometimes."

"It's fine."

Judging by how close the two girls seemed, it was obvious they'd known each other for some time. By my estimate, they were probably childhood friends.

"So... Despite what happened, are you still willing to accompany us to the mall?" Violet asked, her expression hopeful.

I hesitated for a moment, uncertainty gnawing at the edge of my mind. Just as I was about to reject her invitation, I caught sight of the pleading look in her eyes and found myself nodding in reluctant agreement.

"I guess I can go..."

A bright smile lit up her face, her excitement palpable. "Great! I'm glad you're coming. You're going to love the others!"

Ah, yes... I forgot more people are coming.

Just as I was about to ask how many people were going, Nicole's voice cut through the air. "Hey, guys! The others are at the mall waiting for us. We should get going!."

"Yes, let's not be too late," Violet said, taking hold of Nicole's arm.

With a resigned sigh, I pushed aside my reservations and followed the two girls. It seemed like fate had other plans for me today.