Magnificent Magnus Mace

The Grading Curve

The Grand Disciplinary Auditorium was designed specifically to intimidate students into immediate submission. Towering oak panels lined the circular room, and the raised faculty tribunal desk sat exactly ten feet above the floor. Dean Alistair Roswell, a man notorious for prioritizing wealthy alumni donations over academic integrity, banged his heavy wooden gavel. He frequently played private golf rounds with Richard Sterling, the billionaire father of Trent. Today, the guilty verdict was already decided before Magnus even walked through the heavy double doors.

​"We are here to address the severe allegations of grand theft against Magnus Mace," Dean Roswell announced loudly, his voice echoing across the packed auditorium. Hundreds of curious students had crowded into the upper viewing gallery. "Professor Shaw has formally accused you of stealing five thousand dollars from the anthropology department lockbox. Do you have anything to say for yourself before we call our primary witness?"

​"I am waiting for the witness," Magnus said calmly, standing perfectly straight at the center podium. He wore a clean, tailored dark suit that Corbin had provided that morning. It fit him perfectly, contrasting sharply with the bruised, swollen skin around his eye.

​"Very well," the Dean sneered down at him. "Miss Jennifer Hayes. Please step forward and address the tribunal."

​Jennifer walked slowly down the center aisle. She wore a pristine white dress, deliberately looking fragile and deeply innocent. She refused to make direct eye contact with Magnus. Her hands trembled visibly as she gripped the edge of the wooden witness stand.

​"Miss Hayes," Professor Shaw prompted with a sickeningly sweet smile. "Could you please tell the committee what you witnessed yesterday afternoon?"

​Jennifer swallowed hard. A single tear rolled down her cheek, a flawless performance orchestrated by pure greed and fear of Trent. "I saw Magnus lingering near the department office. He was acting very suspiciously. He kept looking nervously over his shoulder. Later that day, I saw him throwing massive stacks of stolen cash into the courtyard fountain. He told me he finally found a way to pay his massive medical bills."

​A loud, collective gasp rippled through the upper viewing gallery.

​Magnus felt a cold, hollow ache deep in his chest. Yesterday, her brutal betrayal had been fueled by a desperate desire for financial security. Today, she was actively participating in a malicious, coordinated conspiracy to destroy his entire academic future and send him to prison. The girl he had loved deeply for two years was completely dead to him now.

​"Thank you, Jennifer," Trent called out arrogantly from the front row, adjusting his dark designer sunglasses. "It takes real bravery to expose a violent criminal."

​"This testimony is incredibly damning," Dean Roswell said, banging his heavy gavel once again. "Mr. Mace, the evidence of your guilt is absolutely overwhelming. You have completely betrayed the sacred trust of this prestigious institution. I am fully prepared to sign your immediate expulsion papers and hand you directly over to the city police."

​"I completely refuse to answer these fabricated charges," Magnus stated, his voice projecting clearly without a microphone.

​"Excuse me?" the Dean shouted, his face turning a vibrant shade of purple. "You do not have a choice in this room."

​"I have every choice," Magnus replied smoothly. He turned away from the panel and looked directly at the corrupt academic sitting comfortably at the end of the tribunal table. "Professor Shaw. I have a very simple question for you."

​Shaw scoffed loudly, crossing his arms over his expensive tweed jacket. "I am not on trial here, you arrogant street rat."

​"How exactly does a university professor earning a modest salary of sixty thousand dollars a year support a massive, crippling gambling habit at the Golden Lotus Casino?" Magnus asked.

​The entire auditorium went absolutely dead silent.

​Shaw lost all the color in his face instantly. His jaw dropped slightly in genuine shock. "What are you talking about? That is a complete fabrication. Dean Roswell, silence this student immediately."

​"I am not finished," Magnus continued, pulling his cracked smartphone from his tailored pocket. "Corbin. Override the auditorium projection system. Right now."

​"Overriding the mainframe, sir," the professional human voice echoed clearly from the tiny speaker.

​Instantly, the massive digital projector suspended from the ceiling whirred to life. The enormous white screen situated directly behind the tribunal panel illuminated brightly.

​Magnus did not touch a single button. The screen automatically displayed highly confidential banking records. It was a perfectly clear, undeniably authentic financial ledger belonging directly to Dominic Shaw.

​"Look closely at the screen, everyone," Magnus commanded, pointing up at the glaring red numbers. "You will see monthly offshore wire transfers. Exactly ten thousand dollars deposited on the fifteenth of every single month. The sender is listed clearly as Sterling Construction. The payment description claims these are private consulting fees."

​"Turn that off," Shaw screamed frantically, standing up so violently his chair crashed backward onto the polished floor. "That is highly illegal data theft. Security. Arrest him this second."

​"It gets much better," Magnus said, raising his voice slightly to cut through the rising chaos in the room. "Corbin. Cross reference the deposit dates with the university grading registry for Trent Sterling."

​"Executing cross reference now," Corbin replied.

​The screen split perfectly in half. On the left were the massive bank deposits. On the right were the official academic transcripts for Trent.

​The entire viewing gallery erupted into total pandemonium. Students began shouting and pointing excitedly at the glaring evidence.

"Look at the dates," Magnus announced coldly over the incredible noise. "Every single time a ten thousand dollar consulting f*e cleared the bank, Trent miraculously received a perfect score on his anthropology midterm. You did not earn a single grade in your entire life, Trent. Your billionaire father bought them for you to keep you from failing out."

​Trent stood up abruptly in the front row, ripping his sunglasses off his face. His eyes were wide with pure rage and terror. "You are dead, Mace. My father will absolutely destroy you for this."

​Jennifer stared up at the massive screen, covering her mouth in sheer horror. She finally realized the terrifying scale of the absolute power Magnus now wielded. He was not just wealthy. He possessed the dangerous ability to completely dismantle the elite establishment from the inside out.

​"Order. I demand absolute order in this hall," Dean Roswell bellowed frantically, slamming his heavy gavel down so hard the wooden handle splintered. He looked completely terrified. He frantically punched the buttons on the podium control panel, desperately trying to shut off the projector. "This is a gross violation of privacy. This hearing is officially suspended."

​"Do not touch that dial, Dean Roswell," Magnus warned, his dark eyes locking onto the presiding official like a predator.

​"You have made your point, Mr. Mace," the Dean stammered, sweating profusely under the bright auditorium lights. "Professor Shaw will be investigated internally. But this circus ends right now."

​Magnus smiled. It was a terrifying, completely cold smile.

​"This circus is just beginning," Magnus said softly, yet his voice carried an undeniable, crushing weight across the room. "I have not just audited the pathetic professor, Dean. I am currently auditing the entire university budget. Specifically, the new science wing construction bids awarded exclusively to Sterling Construction last year."

​Dean Roswell froze completely. The broken gavel dropped from his trembling hand, clattering loudly across the floorboards.

​"And I found some very deep rot in your foundation," Magnus whispered, taking a slow step toward the frozen tribunal panel. "Corbin. Show them the Dean.”