Jalen stood over his opponent with a look of dawning horror; he’d won the round, sure, but at a cost. 'I know you! You're that ISO!'
The spectators had heard, and the murmurs rippled through the crowd in the packed Arena, gaining volume as the news quickly spread. ISO, ISO ISO, he’s an ISO.
Now was his chance; he had to say something, to prove he had just as much a right to be here as any basic. But he was frozen, a deer in headlights; he hadn’t counted on being discovered so soon. He was supposed to win the games first…
Then the shouts broke through the whispered murmurs, the crowd only growing louder as more and more basics spoke up.
The accusations rained down from every side, and he couldn’t move, couldn’t speak - any rebuttal he may have had died in his throat as more shouts rang out on top of each other. He took a step back, like a cornered animal ready to flee…
Then abruptly all sound ceased, and Jalen whipped around in search of the cause; to find Clu walking across the game grid toward him, a simple gesture having silenced the crowd.
The ISO hastily docked his disc; the last thing he wanted was to come across as confrontational toward the system admin, with his disc in his hand. He had no idea what to think; would the admin be just as angry with him for sneaking into his games?
He steeled himself to be reprimanded, but as soon as the admin was close enough Clu just clapped him on the shoulder and said “Don’t listen to them, man. Now, don’t you have another round to prepare for?”