(Was she know...) -Alice

Know what? ...Nevermind.

I wonder how long they will finish all the exam papers. Oh yeah...

Sitting is boring so I decided to ask Alice. "Mrs Alice... I think? Could I go outside?" Asked me politely. She is my teacher now anyway.

"Of course, and address me as big sis okay?" Said her with a smile. I can feel intimidation by her smile. She didn't like to be called old I think.

"Y-yeah."

"Then, I would like to." Said Yulia after standing up from her seat.

At the canteen near our class.

"This is your order miss." Said the waitress.

We nod at the same time to the waitress. She back with a little smile on her face.

Then... Awkward. Is there anything I could do!? This awkward feeling is making me nervous I don't know why. Wait, maybe I am nervous because she didn't think anything at all. Is she stupid? Or maybe I should change the definition of stupidity in my head.

"You look in trouble don't you?" Asked her while looking at me.

Yes! Why you followed me is troubling me! Uh... What should I do? Am I getting too cocky before and making her annoyed?! Think... What I should reply...

"This chocolate is good." Said me with a happy feeling.

My brain stops working. It's at its limit. Just... Whatever, I just want to taste this chocolate.

"So, you mean it in literal or implicit?" Asked her with a plain voice. Still, she is curious about it.

"Literal. Just it." Said me with an awkward smile.

"Don't force yourself really. (It's seems Nexus already completed her task.)" Said Yulia after taking a drink of her avocado juice.

Sigh* this trick is the trick that my dad used while I went to the doctor to check my condition.

And yeah, I didn't want to fall into the same trick. She didn't let out her voice but synced her mouth to her thoughts to create the same effect as normal talk. But sorry, "I am read it not hear it."

She look down a bit. She is thinking but I didn't want to read it. It's too complex for me.

"Let's play chess." Said her suddenly.

"Okay..." Said me getting curious about what she would do with that game. I am bored anyway.

She used her phone and the other waitress came to us with a chessboard. She left after putting it on our table.

"So, you played chess now?"

Nexus comes out from the classroom. While looking at her, she waved at me with a gentle smile. Nah, I simply just turn my head around.

"Fun fact, I never beaten in this game." Said Yulia proudly yet her face was still flat.

"Then, excuse me."

Turned it off and I will see inside the number one genius.

What is this? Floating in the middle of nowhere. This darkness... No, it start to be shaped as a chessboard...

What's this!!!? What the hell with this number of calculations!!!

Looking at her mind makes me feel anxious and frightened. It does not come from a child twelve years old!! It's... something different...

Ah, I know it. Her obsession is... curiosity.

Her frightening curiosity makes her do whatever it takes to know the answer. Sigh* just do it and don't think it any further.

The chess is going normal. My vision is blank. My ears are unused. Even my senses feel numb. It's the cost of my untalented brain trying to imitate what a genius brain does.

Even a surprised face comes out from Yulia's face, I can't see it. As I recognized, all of them appeared around us and looked at me with a surprised face.

It's a draw. Nothing less and nothing more. Just two king standing each other in their position.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

I didn't win and didn't lose either. And yet, what's this feeling? It's truly joyful. It's like, I did it! But with soulless expression.

She was a bit trembling. Oh, Didn't I get it over extent right!? What should I do? Wait... Why I am panicked!! It's not like this is my fault, to begin with it! But... How is it? Am I going to stand out this much? But it feels refreshing to compete with others...

"H-hey..."

Her words trembling but, I think it was not fear or something bothering her. It's like, excitement.

She jumped at me and hugged me. With her beauty and the finest smile she could do she pleaded to me.

"I am curious!"

Clap! Clap! Clap!*

"Okay, that's enough." Said Alice while leaning on the door in the classroom.

She crossed her hand and said. "The lesson is not over yet.".

We get inside and I put down this little girl. It's not like I expected. It would be like "I will revenge!" And the study of Yulia begins... Like that but, it's not.

...

"So, as I thought, Yulia has her first initiation. And you would do it too." Said Alice like it's normal to say it.

Wait, wait, wait! What did she mean? I didn't understand!

"Let me continue. This S-class is not a normal class you know. The exams are finished and without checking, I definitely trust your capability to get a perfect score. Therefore, our Lesson Management decided that we should act it like a game-"

A game? ... This is so weird and makes me confused. Why you are not thinking anything... Hello? Are you all alive? Why do you not think about a game she mentioned? Or maybe they already know and just me who didn't get the news.

"-to explore, upgrade, and search for another possibility from your capability." Said Alice explaining with a serious face.

She is too serious about this thing.

"Let me start with one simple thing. What do you know about adjectivity?" Said her while writing Adjectivity? on the whiteboard.

They are silent. Some of them think it is not serious and just make it a part of a joke. So ignorance huh? They didn't even think that the website was full of lie... Or maybe it's just me who get the basic website. Hmm...

"Sigh* Adjectivity, as the word it said. It's just a bunch of words with opinion restrictions. They didn't have a fact and standard to explain it the same word as its literal mean or not." Said her after looking at us again.

No communication, just we are silent and do nothing.

"In conclusion, it depends on each individual. They said that 160cm is tall while others said that 160cm is still short. Perspective is the key to this Adjectivity. On the other hand, people seems didn't know about it and believe that there must be some kind of meaning of those words there in our life."

I didn't choose this school to learn about philosophical things you know? This lesson makes me feel sleepy. Yawn* See?

"Just what the point already?" Asked Tohru getting annoyed by the full-length explanation.

"In short, we try to make this Adjectivity feel more real than before." Said Alice with a sigh and crossed her hand.

(Eh? Is it not to educate people to stop believing in those things?) -Eluthya

"Not the opposite?" Asked Eluthya a bit confused.

Alice started to laugh a bit and burst out in one moment. "Challenge! That's all about challenge! Imagination can't be separated from logic. We theorize and get the proof! That's why!! We will create human creativity into something useful to our daily life." Said Alice getting excited.

"Kinda boring." Said Tohru with a sigh. She left from classroom and didn't come back.

Even Tohru stands out like that, they just... ignore it.

"And the first theme of this first semester is... Love." Said her joyfully and suddenly a curtain with the letter Love was pulled down to our classroom.

(Eccentric teacher...) -Geraldine

"Then, As I briefed you all before... You can go home now." Said her with a sudden flat face.

Sigh* I want to say she is unpredictable but that's not valid if I count my ability. We stand up and leave but...

"Oh, except Nina." Said her while preventing me from getting out with her body.

After people left, she shut the door and locked it. She approached me slowly.

(Now, we are alone.)

"Then, what's your business?" Asked me with a flat face.

She walks passed me and looks through the window of our class to the outside building. She looks at me with a serious face.

"Nina, you know about the definition of genius?" Asked her with a normal voice. I don't know how to describe it. Her voice is normal but it makes me feel chill in some way.

Confused? No, it's just... Knowing I can react to it naturally makes me feel there is something wrong with me. Ignore it, ignore it...

"You didn't want to know?" Asked her again.

I want...

"Don't you think you should know something you didn't know?"

She starts to approach me with that flat face.

Yeah, I do...

"Then... What do you think about genius?" Asked her in front of my face. Our noses meet with each other.

I step back and breathe deeply.

"Genius is someone who has ability from their born." Said me normally.

She turned back and said. "You are totally wrong. Genius is someone who has capability over normal humans." Said her while looking out the window again.

"So what's the difference?!" I will be crazy if I talk with this person longer than this. Someway, this atmosphere makes me feel anxious and insecure.

She looked at me with a bright smile. "Obsession!!"

Huh?

"That's it, Nina! Obsession! Don't you understand it?!!" Said her with a joyful face and happy voice.

Huh...!?!?!

"Obsession can make you feel relieved, obsession can help you reach your dream, obsession can make the world in your hand, and obsession... Can conquer this world." Said her with an eccentric pose while looking at the ceiling.

This woman is outta her mind. Just what's she doing in the middle of noon? Shocked and don't know what to do next, I just sit and be a good girl there.

"That's why, we start the Lordeca program for making that obsession stronger than before. But, something strange happened in the midway, one variable that didn't meet this criterion. Part of genius but didn't have any obsession. That's you, Nina!! That's you! The normal." Said her with excitement feeling and pointed to me with her finger.

"..." I think Nina.exe is not responding now. Sigh* Just what kind of nonsense is she talking about? It makes me feel curious... No, what is that way of thinking? This does not make me feel any curious about it.

"So what I should do?" Said me stop thinking.

"Why don't you make them fall in love with you? After that, you will not be normal..." Said her with a delightful face.

I close my eyes and think. School is where we will study all kinds of knowledge in the world. It will make us smarter than before and slowly reach the standard of society. That standard makes us, humans approved to be normal. And yet, this school is asking their student to become more abnormal?

I opened my eyes and suddenly realized. I have made a wrong decision.