"We have no space lefted. It is too deep." * * * * * * * * * * Tuxedo Jack ~and~ Craptacularly Spignificant Productions ~present an original story~ Error 401 * * * * * * * * * * This story is the property of Tuxedo Jack. He reserves any and all rights to it. It's copyrighted by him in 2003. * * * * * * * * * * "DELL PhoenixBIOS 2000 524288KB RDRAM OKAY Starting Windows 2000..." Eric Nakamura flipped on his computer, twisted the cap on his soda, and sat down in his swivel chair. The system continued booting until the familiar blue desktop showed on screen, at which point Nakamura turned to the phone and pressed four digits. "Principal Lee Sheridan's office," the female voice at the other end crackled. "Lee, it's Eric. The system is up and running." "Excellent. Just what's working and what isn't?" Nakamura ran the System Control Panel. "I've got the routers working, so you can have access to the Internet..." He clicked again. "The network is working. You've got the file server ready and configured for up to a thousand accounts." "Is it running the OS we agreed on?" He shook his head. "Lee, I know you wanted Unix and dumb terminals, but the fact is that more places use Windows and that's what the board paid to put in. Besides, people need to bring in documents and such and they can't do that in Unix without a system manager's help. At least this way the teachers can move files for the students." A snort came from the speakerphone. "Eric, if I'd wanted total security, I'd have had you glue the disk drives shut. But we didn't, did we?" Nakamura sipped at his soda. "No, we didn't, and that was just in case that something went wrong and I had to restore the systems. But the individual systems have their security software, and it's supposedly impervious." Sheridan sighed. "It better be. Spring Lake High caught three seniors on their SmartGradebook server last year." He nodded. "I heard about that. Relax. There's no possible way that our students could get onto our SmartGradebook server." * * * "Where's the damn bus..." Jonathan Godfrey walked up to the bus stop. He just sat there, waiting for the bus to materialize, and then... "Is this the stop for the Sepharsis Academy bus?" An Asian-looking teenager strolled up with a smaller boy next to him. "Does the Sepharsis Academy bus come down here?" Godfrey nodded. "It's supposed to, anyway. It's eight-fifteen, so it beats me where it is." The taller of the two snickered. "It's right on time." He turned to the corner and pointed. Sure enough, a single yellow bus was rolling their way. "I'm Chad, Chad Kinomoto. This little guy's my brother Shingo." "Jonathan Godfrey." He didn't extend his hand. "Pleased to meet you." Chad turned. "You're going to Sepharsis, right? What grade?" "Junior. You?" "Same here." Chad's face darkened for a moment. "I would be a senior, but they refused to take one of my credits." Godfrey's jaw dropped. "You too? I've got enough to graduate at the end of this year, and I plan on doing it whether they like it or not." The bus pulled up, interrupting their conversation, and they got on, sitting across the aisle from each other. Godfrey looked around the bus, wondering if there were any familiar faces, but none immediately leapt out from the crowd. He then turned back to Chad. "So why're you going to Sepharsis?" Chad rolled his eyes and pushed some hair out of his eyes. "Mom and Dad decided that it would be easier, since the bus stop is right next to the building where Mom works. What about you?" Godfrey smiled. "If I go there, I can graduate on time." "On time? What, you fail or something?" Godfrey nodded. "Yeah, my fishie year. I did the classes over, and I got credits, and I busted my butt to get back to where I was supposed to be." "Sounds pretty tough." "Try teaching the web design classes. That's tough." * * * The bus pulled into the front drive of Sepharsis - a renovated high school with a middle school next door - and began to disgorge its passengers. "Damn, she didn't have to hit that stupid cat," Godfrey said as he slowly hobbled off the bus, rubbing his head. Chad grunted. "At least you didn't lose expensive art pencils out the window." "I lost a Sakura gel pen." "Not even close." They walked inside, and their eyes rolled around. "Wonder where we gotta go," Godfrey mumbled. Chad merely smiled and pointed at a sign on the wall. ------------------------------------- | WELCOME TO SEPHARSIS ACADEMY! | | ALL STUDENTS, PLEASE GO TO THE | | CAFETERIA WHEN YOU ARRIVE. | | HAVE A NICE DAY! | ------------------------------------- "Aw, Jesus, not a lecture," Godfrey muttered. "C'est la vie," Chad grumbled. The pair headed towards the cafeteria - or at least in the direction where they thought it was. A sweet voice rang out behind them. "Jonathan?" Godfrey stopped dead in his tracks. "Oh, sweet mother of pearl, not her." Chad turned. "Whoa. She's hot. Who is she?" He would have walked towards the voice, but Godfrey grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. "Do not speak to her. Trust me on this." Right after the last word left his mouth, two hands clapped over his eyes and a soft mass - two soft masses, he decided upon reflection - mashed into his back. "Guess who," the voice breathed into his ear. "Hopefully a pit viper that'll bite me and get me the hell out of this nightmare," he muttered. The hands left his eyes and he was suddenly free of all encumbrances. "I'll pretend I didn't hear that," the voice said rather tartly. Godfrey turned, and a gorgeous blonde in a blue windbreaker stood before him, her hands on her hips. "Hello, Jonathan. Miss me?" (Oh, dear God, not her... Just curb your temper and tongue and you'll get out relatively unscathed,) Godfrey thought before speaking. "Not much, Ellen. Did you have a good summer?" Ellen pouted cutely, and Godfrey suddenly felt uncomfortable. "Of course, Johnnykins. It would have been better if you had come on that trip to Cancun with me like I'd wanted." Godfrey bit back a retort. "I didn't go because we'd ended it two months before, and you know that." He thought for a moment. "And don't call me 'Johnnykins'. Ever." Ellen smiled. "I can still call, though, right?" "I'd prefer you didn't." She growled. "Try and stop me!" Godfrey glanced at his watch. "I don't have time for this. I've got to go." He turned to Chad. "Come on, let's go." They began to walk off Ellen yelled after them. "See you later, Johnnykins!" "Only if I end up in hell!" Chad turned to him after they were out of her earshot. "She's hot, and you turned down a trip to Cancun with her?" Godfrey's face was grim. "There are some things that no one wants to deal with, and she's one of them. You want to know why?" Chad nodded. Godfrey snickered. "To quote someone from Slayers, 'Sore wa, himitsu desu.'" Chad looked blank. "And just why did you say that?" "That... is a secret." "No, really, why?" "That's why." "Oh." * * * * * * * * * * AUTHOR'S NOTES Whee, a hacker novel. Joy. Just the thing to get me busy again after I finish two series in three months. Anyways, this is the only original fiction I'm going to be doing for a while, but expect much more doujinshi. That's my primary focus in writing. Ja! Tuxedo Jack Tuxedojack@juno.com July 2, 2003 (Originally written September 16, 2002) users3.ev1.net/~jchiles Check everything out!