"Before we end today's lecture I am going to return your pop quizzes," Professor Astor says to the class.

I've been anxious to receive my results for a couple of weeks now, I hope I did good. I am still trying to make up for my horrible first impression.

"Disappointing. Insufficient. Dissatisfying," I hear him say to the individuals he passes to hand them their paper. He finally stops in front of Pik and me.

"Well done," the professor says to Pik, joy lacking in his tone whatsoever.

Pik accepts his perfect score with a nod of gratitude. When I am given my paper I don't receive any comment. Professor Astor doesn't even look at me when he drops my quiz on my lap and walks back to the center of the room.

While I stare at my points Pik hands me a little note.

*Wow! Not bad, Hyrule!*

He is holding both thumbs up. I wish I could force a smile but he'd know it's fake.

"What's wrong?" He mouths without a sound.

"It seems, as low as my expectations were, I was overly optimistic," the professor spits at his students. "I don't need supernatural powers to look into the future... If you continue like this, you will all fail next week's exam."

*It's not good enough,* I write on Pik's note when Professor Astor isn't looking. Pik reads it over my shoulder, then, with a puzzled face, his eyes settle on my grade. He shrugs and shakes his head, unable to comprehend why my 92 points don't satisfy me.

*I need a perfect score* I add to my reply.

If this quiz had been an actual test I could say farewell to my dreams. Pik is writing something again.

*A 92 is really good though. Getting a perfect score in Astor's class is almost impossible. I am one of the rare exceptions* Pik replies. I can sense his confidence even when he writes something on a tiny sticky note.

I close my folders and books and push them into my bookbag, letting out a long sigh when the teacher finally dismisses us. Once Pik and I have left the planetarium we are able to speak again without getting in trouble.

"You didn't seem happy about your 92," Pik notes.

"It should have been a 100. I studied really hard for it."

"Why is a perfect score so important? A 92 is excellent, and it's still an A-."

I just nod. I don't feel like explaining myself to him. He puts his hand on my shoulder and smiles.

"Keep your head up, it was just a pop quiz, it doesn't count toward your final grade."

"No, I know that. But we have our first big exam next week and I have to get a 100."

"Why?"

"I just have to, okay?"

"Okay," he raises his hands in surrender. "Go to the tutoring center then."

I'm a bit surprised that he isn't offering to tutor me himself but I suppose after weeks of brushing him off, he has finally given up on studying with me.

"See you next week," he says without making any more conversation and walks away from me.

It's odd. Ever since I ran into him at the aquarium he has been acting different. He is no longer flirty and while he isn't necessarily cold either I can tell that he is trying to be more distant.

Even if he still sits next to me in class and writes notes to me, as soon as we leave the planetarium he goes his own way. At first I thought he was upset that I was with Link but he hasn't brought it up once. And as far as I know he hasn't told anyone else either. Which means that my secret is safe. For now. The only people who know about it are Pik, Riju, Urbosa, Daruk, Revali, and Impa. I have to be careful not to extend that list any further.

I haven't seen Impa ever since the morning after I stayed at Link's frat house but tomorrow we're planning on going to Daruk's again for our Friday night dinner and now that there is no curfew on weekends I want to surprise her by going to the pier afterwards. Maybe we can finally get her that plush animal she's had her eyes on. Link and I want to hang out this weekend too, but we haven't decided on what we should do or where we should go.

As I pass Father's office on my way to the tutoring center I hold my breath and scurry by. I've been avoiding speaking more than two sentences with Father. Mainly since he isn't home much anyway but also because I am not in the mood to talk to him. The fact that he went to Seattle without telling me while I was worried about going home all day was too overwhelming. Every time I hear or see him from afar, I imagine approaching him and telling him that his rules are tyrannical. Then I usually dodge him and breathe into an imaginary paper bag. I always chicken out and in the end I think it's for the best.

I continue to the tutoring center and stop by the open door. A girl sits behind the counter, typing stuff on a computer. The room looks like a tiny library with only a few other students sitting by the tables and two standing by the shelves in the far back.

"Hi there," the girl smiles up at me when I enter the room. "What can I do for you?"

"I, er... I need tutoring." I nearly whisper.

"Come again?" she says in a normal volume, making me want to whisper even more.

I shouldn't feel embarrassed for seeking tutoring lessons, I just can't help but feel like I'm failing... I have to swallow my pride and do anything I can do to get that 100 in astronomy. So far I've successfully scored in my other classes, without the help of anyone, but I sense that Professor Astor is deliberately making it hard for his students to get an A. So a bit of support might not be such a bad idea.

"I need a tutor."

"For reals?" she gapes at me. "But you're the president's daughter?"

"So?" I glare at her.

"Nothing," she purses her lips.

Yes, I am a Hyrule, that doesn't mean I excel at every single course.

"Did you make an appointment?" She asks.

"No, I didn't know I needed one."

"Everyone needs an appointment, even the president's daughter," the girl mocks. I want to just turn my back at her and leave but I decide against it.

"What subject do you need help with?"

"Astronomy 450," I mutter.

"Have fun with that, our astronomy tutors suck."

"As long as they can help me get a 100..."

"Yeah no totally," she shrugs and nods. "So what time would you like me to sign you in for? They're always here Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6 to 8 PM."

"Are they here right now?" I look around the room.

"Yeah, no one has signed up for tonight so you can take the slot if you'd like."

"Sure."

I hear her keyboard clicking, then she looks back up and points at a chubby guy bickering with a brawny tall one in the back.

"Kohga and Sooga are our only two astronomy tutors. You can choose either of them."

"Thanks," I adjust my bookbag and walk up to the two men.

"Give that to me," the tall one snatches a banana from the short guy and holds it out of reach.

"Don't be a jerk Sooga! At least share it." He jumps up and down like a cartoon character while Sooga lets out a deep laugh.

"Excuse me," I say more mousy than intended. Both stop their little fight at once and look at me with a mixture of confusion and excitement.

"I need some help with--"

"You're Zelda," Sooga states.

Kohga's head snaps in his direction, then he looks back at me as his jaw drops to the floor.

"Zelda? The Zelda?" he gasps.

"Well, well, well... Aren't we lucky?" Sooga says to Kohga.

"I just need some help with astronomy," I say timidly. These guys are strange.

"Awe, I thought you were supposed to be the super genius?" Kohga cackles.

I bite my tongue in an attempt to keep my rude remarks to myself.

"Well boohoo, we're not tutoring you," he pretends to wipe a tear.

"Pardon my partner, of course we will help you. Take a seat," Sooga says eerily and Kohga pouts.

I do as I'm told and open my textbook on the table. Sooga and Kohga take a seat beside me and begin to review the past units with me. After an hour and a half the only ones left in the room are the three of us plus the girl from the desk, who has been on tiktok for the past hour. I look out the window; the sky is pitch black and in the reflection of myself I spot dark shadows under my eyes.

"What's a recurrent novae?" Sooga quizzes me.

"Recurrent novae is a term for a binary pair that exchanges mass, causing multiple novae," I say with confidence but Kohga shakes his head.

"Wrong again," Sooga chants merrily.

"I was so sure about that one," my head falls into my hands in frustration. "What is a recurrent novae then?"

"It's a nova that occurs where another one has occurred in the past," Sooga explains.

"What? Where does it say that?" I question.

"Nowhere, I made it up," he answers.

"Just like the other two hundred fake answers we've been giving you," Kohga adds.

"Wh...What? Why would you do that?" Please tell me this is just some really cruel joke. We've been at it for almost two hours now.

"Just 'cause," Kohga shrugs. He leans back in his chair and places his feet on the table, crumbling my notes.

"We've been planting wrong answers in your head all evening. You are going to fail the exam. Even if you miraculously find the right answers, Sooga and I are Astor's TA's, so we'll be the one grading your paper. We'll be sure to read your answers with extra attention. Give us one tiny reason to mark your answer wrong and we will make sure you fail," Sooga whispers in his deep voice, sending chills down my spine.

"I don't believe this! You are abusing your power. I'm leaving," I get up to gather my notes and books but Sooga's hand wraps around my wrist. I wince at his touch, remembering what happened last time when a guy grabbed my arm like this when I attempted to leave. I almost drop my stuff to the floor. The girl in the front has her headphones in her ears and her eyes are glued to her phone. So far she hasn't noticed a thing but if these guys go any further I won't hesitate to get her attention.

This is infuriating. First they waste my time and try to sabotage my grades, now they're getting physical. I try to get my arm back but his grip is too tight.

"Hyrule is not as strong as it used to be. You think you can save this school but it's going down. Ganondorf is the rightful leader and your old man will see that soon enough," Sooga lets go off my arm but I'm too dazzled to leave. Ganondorf? Did I hear that right? Who are these guys? "Your father knows it too. His only hope is your brains and Link's muscle. So much pressure for two ordinary teens. Might as well give up now... Before somebody gets hurt," Sooga says, making sure I heard that last part.

I gulp. Is he threatening me and Link?

"Who do you think you are?" I try to sound dauntless.

"Lorule's pride," Kohga says casually.

My lungs feel strangled, I can barely catch my breath. So they really are connected to Ganondorf and that demonic school. Nausea is brewing in my stomach. I wouldn't be surprised if they're friends with Ganon and those other baseball players too. Maybe that's why they were so excited when they met me earlier. They want to make my life hell. Maybe they're just as sick in their heads as Ganon.

"I will ace that astronomy exam," I announce in a shaky voice as I take two large steps backward. "And then I will tell Father all about your imposturous actions."

"What actions?" Kohga laughs, peeling another banana.

"You are threatening me and making students fail on purpose."

"And where's your proof?" Sooga asks.

"I don't need proof. I'm the president's daughter."

"That'll look great to the public press. Two TA's fired as a family favor."

I want to say a million things but all the words swimming in my head are blurred from the anger rushing through my veins. I can't stand here for another second and bear their threats. If Link knew about this he'd probably start another fight. Better keep him out of it... What can they really do? As long as I don't make any mistakes on the exam they can't make me fail. Maybe I should tell Father about this though... I wonder how many other students have failed their astronomy course because of these two jerks.

I walk back to his office door and stand before it for a good minute, preparing myself mentally to enter. What am I going to say? Will he be mad at me for interrupting his work? Should I discuss this issue with another authority instead of the president of the college?

"Hey. What are you still doing here?" Pik's voice cuts through my thought process.

Shock and panic take over me and I begin to frantically shake my head from side to side.

"What? You okay?" he laughs. Ah! Be quiet please!

I slap my forehead and grab his hand to drag him into the closest empty classroom before I explain my strange behavior.

"What's going on with you?" he chuckles once I've shut the door behind us. The classroom is dark and small.

"You can't just pop up like that in front of my father's door and start talking to me," I scold him. I already know where this is heading; I'll have to give him some kind of explanation now.

"Gotcha, my bad," he says. Wait what? "I had no idea that was your dad's door, or that you aren't allowed to talk in front of it," he shakes his head as he shrugs halfway and laughs. His sarcasm always throws me off.

"It's not about me talking in front of his door. It's about me talking to you."

"I doubt your dad knows who I am. Unless all the awesome rumors I started about myself finally found him. Word has it I'm a spy," he whispers, pretending to be nervous about it.

"No, he probably doesn't know you. It's just that I can't talk to you. Or any guy. It's a long story and I don't want to get into it."

"What a cliche," he remarks.

"Excuse me?"

"The whole 'I'm a strict parent who doesn't let my daughter have a boyfriend' trope. So not original."

I don't reply.

"I'm spot on aren't I? You're not allowed to have a boyfriend and now you're scared that if he sees you talking to a guy he'll get the wrong idea."

"Yes," I nod.

"My advice? Get a girlfriend instead, just to piss him off," Pik chuckles.

"I'll keep that in mind," I joke.

"So what are you doing on campus so late? I thought you went home almost two hours ago," he says.

"I could ask you the same, Nosy."

"I was at rehearsal," he informs me.

"Didn't you have rehearsal at noon already?"

"Yes, but there is no such thing as rehearsing a kiss too many times. I'm just kidding, we were doing the death scene today. But yeah, I usually stay at the auditorium for a couple hours in the evenings. Sometimes I'm the only one there so I have the whole stage to myself. On those days I mostly sing and compose music. No use in rehearsing all alone, am I right?"

I shrug and nod at the same time. He talks a lot. In a way, he's a lot like Impa. Although... I don't think he's as much into sports and parties, and Impa isn't really into the arts. I still think they could have the time of their lives if they found a topic they are both fascinated by.

"Still haven't answered my question," he smirks. "What are you still doing here? Meeting someone in all secrecy? Or was there a soccer game tonight?"

This is the first time he has mentioned Link in the past two weeks and he didn't even really mention him at all.

"No, there was no game. I was... Well to be honest, I was with the tutors."

"Oh, nice. How did it go? Are you ready for war-- I mean the exam?" he jests.

"I'm less ready for it than I was before I got tutored."

"Why? Does it worry you that much?"

"I wouldn't be so worried if it wasn't for those awful tutors. They were playing me the entire time and gave me wrong answers to confuse me. Now I'm not sure anymore which information in my head is poisoned and which isn't."

"Shit. Were you going to tell your dad just now?"

"Yes."

"I see. I hope they get expelled for that, or at least fired."

"Me too."

"Well, good luck then. As you were," he says and opens the door to leave. "Let me know if you need any help with anything."

"Actually--" I bite down on my lower lip. I can't believe I'm about to ask him this... "I was wondering if you could help me study for the exam on Tuesday."

He freezes for a second. Neither of us expected me to ask this.

"You sure?" he asks, excitement waiting behind his bright eyes.

"I really need your help, yes."

"Who am I to turn down Miss Hyrule? Of course I will study with you."

"Thank you, Pik."

"Sure, my pleasure. Here, give me your number and I can--"

"No," I cut him off. "No exchanging numbers. This won't be some kind of study date, I just need to get a 100 on the exam, that's it."

"Dang, I thought this was your subtle way of proposing, poor me. How will I ever recover from this heartbreak?" Theatre kids. I roll my eyes at him. "Come on, give me more credit than that. I'm well aware of your intentions. I know you only have eyes for him. That's fine. I was going to get your number so we can plan for the time and place to study at."

"I don't want my father to see that I'm texting a guy though."

"He's that controlling? Girl, you have to voice your right to privacy."

"We can meet at the library tomorrow," I say to avoid talking about Father any more than we already have.

"Time?"

"4 PM. If that works for you."

"I'll be there."