First day at college and I was about to be expelled. Here I was in the dean’s office, sweating profusely, a singularity box in my backpack, and the card to the boys’ dorm on my keychain. It was inevitable that I'd be caught. Schools such as this had a reputation to uphold.

“Miss Pangelica,” the dean began from behind her desk. She was old as my grandmother and five times as scary. Rumor had it that she'd been working at the academy for seven generations. “How would you explain this?” She tapped on my keychain with her cane.

“Err, I have a perfectly valid explanation for this, Dean M’Bo.” I shuffled uncomfortably. “But first, let us talk about parallel universes.”

The dean’s frown deepened. She wasn't buying my rhetoric. At this point, however, I was so deep in shit that it didn't matter. I had to keep going.


“Scarsnatchers have always tried to find a way to break the universal embargo,” I started. The dean arched a brow. “Yes, I know about them. My grandfather was a Proxy Marshal during the war, so he’d often tell stories about it. I know what Scarsnatchers are. That's how I noticed one at the opening ceremony.”

“The blonde in the corner of the hall.” The dean nodded. “Which you were instrumental in capturing. Paradox authorities are still trying to piece together her background. How exactly did you find out she was a Scarsnatcher, might I ask?”

“The pew.” I smiled. “Espera Nova is one of the few colleges that has wooden pews. Every graduate scribbles their name on it at some point. My mother carved out hers when she was here. Yet there were no marks anywhere near the blonde girl, so I knew something was off. Later when I followed her to the nurse's office, I saw her tap a fellow student on the shoulder. He had scars on his neck this morning, but they were gone after she tapped him.”

“Hmm…”

“You must understand, I’m fully aware how stupid my actions were. I would never have broken into the science lab if I had any choice.” The lie was so obvious that even I wouldn't believe myself. In for a penny, in for a pound, I guess. From here on the only way I could go was up. “I remember my grandfather telling me that singularities would cause Scarsnatchers lose their perception in our universe, and as I didn't have a singularity cannon—“

“You helped yourself to one of our singularity boxes,” the dean sighed with the shake of her head.

“I was going to return it!” I insisted. “Actually, I was on my way to return it right when the invigilators caught me.” The truth was that I didn't think there would be any mind-readers present on the first day. “Still, it was funny how the Scarsnatcher ran into a wall when she realized she was found out.” I started laughing. The dean didn't join in, so I stopped.

“To summarize,” the dean said. “You—a recently joined scholarship student—noticed a Scarsnatcher on campus on your first day. You knew what she was, thanks to the stories your grandfather, a war hero, used to tell you when you were young, and instead of choosing to inform me or the authorities set off to stop her on your own.” She paused for a moment to increase the tension. I felt as if the true weight of the black hole was on my back. “Not only that, but you broke into one of our lab facilities, helped yourself to a singularity box, and released a colony of inquats from our xenomorphic study rooms, and set a cafeteria fountain on fire?”

“Err, mostly?” I put on my most innocent smile. I had totally forgotten about the inquat incident, thought it wasn't like the little creatures didn't appreciate being let loose. If I had the money I would definitely buy one as a pet. “The fountain had nothing to do with me! I was just at the wrong place at—“

“Very well!” she cut me short. “In light of the arrest and subsequent investigation of the Scarsnatcher, I am willing to show some leniency on the matter.”

[i]Yes![/i] I let out a sigh of relief.

“However, that wouldn't explain why you’re in possession of a keycard to the boys’ dormitory.” The dean narrowed her eyes. “Care to explain [i]that[/i],”

“Well…” I swallowed. It was going to be a long night.