At Pinnacle Ivy League School, a prestigious institution where the elite convened were science and tech clubs at the apex of the club hierarchy.
William, however, was brimming with confidence that his club would climb to the pinnacle of this pecking order, reigning supreme over all others.
Ramona, with her deft dissection skills, had been elected president of the Medicine Club, while Vivian had taken the helm of the Astronomy Club.
The freshmen of Class A were particularly outstanding this year.
Come lunchtime, a quartet of friends made their way to the school's pizzeria.
Ramona shadowed William like a faithful sidekick, and Vivian was keen on forging a strong friendship with Kane. Thus, the four formed a tight-knit clique.
In any school, cliques were inevitable. People naturally gravitated towards those with shared interests or simply those they meshed well with.
Soon, Skyler joined them fresh out of a biology lecture in Class B.
"Skyler, we've got a seafood pizza, a supreme deluxe, beef Wellington, and a bunch of appetizers on the way," he announced.
"Sweet," Skyler replied with an easy smile.
Blanton, too, had landed at the pizzeria with a few of his close mates. Still smarting from his loss to Kane in a recent coding challenge, he was itching for a rematch.
"Kane Stirling, I demand a rematch," Blanton declared.
Kane’s expression remained neutral as he replied coolly, “We’ve already had our match. There’s nothing left to prove.”
“That was a fluke. I wasn’t at my best,” Blanton retorted, his voice low and gruff.
Blanton was the most formidable young hacker in Pinnacle Ivy League School, born to be a mastermind. The thought of losing to a freshman was a bitter pill to swallow.
"Our school's server is protected by nine firewalls. Whoever breaches the server and gains full access wins," Blanton stated confidently.
Everyone in the room gasped. The school's firewalls were reputedly robust like a veritable fortress that no hacker had yet breached.
"Skyler, we've tried cracking that server several times with no luck. What if you both fail?" one of the members asked.
"One-hour limit," Blanton declared. "Whoever breaks through the most firewalls wins. The current record for our club is five."
The club members exchanged glances, skeptical of the fairness of the contest. They had spent three years familiarizing themselves with the school's server systems, while Kane was a newcomer with no knowledge of their intricacies.
As time ticked away, within five minutes, Blanton had breezed through the fifth firewall.
He figured Kane hadn't even passed one. After all, it had taken them ten minutes just to breach the first when they started.
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