Chapter 2: History Class

The history classroom was a spacious room with large windows and decorated walls featuring various artifacts, such as an American flag from before the dispersion, an old map of the fifty states, and posters of each god. The history teacher turned out to be Mrs. Margaret from the gym, who was already seated at her desk, waiting for the room to fill. When she saw me, she greeted me kindly and let me choose where to sit. I found an empty seat near the center, leaving my bag there, while other students tried to strike up a conversation with me. In the end, I chatted with two girls sitting on my left about random topics, like my impression of the school and how good the weather was, until the class started after two minutes.

- "Good morning, my children. I am Mrs. Margaret, and together we will have the history class. But first, I need to assess your level to see where we should focus, so unfortunately, you have to take a test. Black pens out, and when I give you the questions, you may begin."

I looked at my pencil case, knowing well that I didn't bring any black pens with me. After all, how could one expect a test on their first day?

- "Hey, does anyone have a black pen? I forgot to bring one," I said.

- "Yes, I'll bring you one," a student from the back of the room shouted.

- "Leave it, I'll bring him one," a tall guy in front of me replied, frantically searching his pencil case.

- "Mine will do."

For about a minute, chaos ensued until someone found an extra black pen lying around. Eventually, a plump student with brown hair named Sophie, whom I had met earlier, came over to my desk, handed me the pen, and declared her victory to the whole class. I thanked her and waited for Mrs. Margaret to distribute the questions.

Of course, after so many years with Professor Stuart, the questions seemed trivial to me.

"How many years separated the beginning of the Third World War from the end of the Fourth?"

Everyone should know it was twenty years. Professor Stuart would have asked me to specify that it occurred from 2034 to 2054.

"To which state did our gods, the twelve Olympian gods, move after leaving Greece?"

To Mount Olympus in Washington, of course. If all questions were at this level, I would have finished in ten minutes instead of twenty.

In the end, Beiskir was right; I didn't need to try at all. After a while, I stood up, leaving my answers on the desk, with the whole class looking at me in awe. Only one more girl with short black hair stood up shortly after me, leaving her answers. Most of the others needed the full hour, during which I spent my time watching two puppies playing outside the window.

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When the class finally ended, various students came to tell me that if they had known, they would have given me their pen or apologized for not helping and offered to make it up by having lunch together. I was borderline at some point, wondering if they were doing it out of fear rather than a genuine desire to have a strong connection. After almost everyone finished repeating the same things, I was fed up. I really began to wonder what they would gain if I sat with them. They all seemed so self-assured, as if after dinner and a little chat, I would grant them a position on the council or fulfill their wishes magically. In the end, the slim girl with short black hair, who had finished after me, came towards me.

- "Yeah, yeah, I know. If you had a pen, you would have given it to me, and I can have lunch with you later. Okay, go now."

She stayed there for a minute, looking at me almost condescendingly, fixing her brown eyes on me.

- "Do you know that this pen is mine?"- "What? But Sophie gave it to me."

- "Who snatched it from me," she said with irritation, looking at me again. "Are you going to give it back, or do you expect something..."

- "Oh, yes, of course," I said, handing her the pen and we just stared at each other.

She left the pen in her pencil case and then simply left the room. I sat there for a while. I really behaved quite stupidly. I was rude and seemed like a jerk. And she was the first girl I had met today who didn't try to impress me or arrange to meet me. She treated me as if she didn't care who I was for the first time. I stood up and walked out into the corridor to look for the others, regretting how foolishly I had behaved. I promised myself to treat her as kindly as possible the next time I saw her.

The rest of the day passed by, engaging in conversations with various other students and going through mundane lessons until lunchtime. There, I found Gerard waiting for me at the entrance of the cafeteria. He was sitting next to the door, wearing his usual baggy clothes that concealed how muscular he actually was, along with a T-shirt featuring his favorite rock band. After he led me to the table where the rest of the group was sitting, and I managed to sit with them for a few minutes, I returned to my role as a wandering salesman. I visited most tables in the cafeteria, trying to be polite and humorous with everyone, but I couldn't find the girl from the history class to apologize.

The black jeep was in the same spot as it was in the morning, with the window open, presumably because Beiskir was smoking.

- "How can you be drunk again, it's barely five," I said to him as soon as I entered and saw him.

- "Kid, you know I have talent in driving and drinking. Now, tell me how your first day was?"

If Beiskir wasn't Professor Stuart's brother, he wouldn't have held a job of such importance for so long. But I had to admit that we had never crashed, whether he was sober or not.

After a brief conversation, we arrived on the opposite side of the lake where the house was. I got out of the car and bid him goodnight. The house was next to the lake, and at night, the lights of the entire city were visible. From the outside, it looked like a traditional, old American mansion one would find in the countryside. It was indeed massive compared to the old single-family house we lived in the suburbs. I didn't remember it much since we left that place on the day I was chosen as the Elect, and this house had been provided by the government.

After tossing my bag aside, I went to sit on the couch where the news was playing on the television. The blonde news reporter rearranged her papers, waiting for the graph to appear.

<< The city of Detroit today announces the plan for the demolition and reconstruction of the southern side of the city next to the river, which was irreparably damaged during the wars and the Silence. The plan is expected to take a decade and... >>

I turned off the TV and stood up to find my parents in the dining room.