The Prodigy Series

"You're still first in our grade," Aiyana said as I got to her side. The school's notice board was crowded as people checked their overall average and position in their respective grades.

"Oh," I let out, looking up to find my name next to the number one. Ji-Hun's name was right under mine. His total average just two percents away from mine.

"Ji-Hun's scores are so consistent," Aiyana muttered, making me look over at his respect grades per subject. They were all within the range of ninety-six percent to ninety-eight percent.

That's pretty consistent.

"Yeah. That's pretty consistent..." I trailed, still looking at the individual scores.

"It's almost as if he planned for it to look that way." Aiyana shrugged. I didn't ask her to expand on what she meant, I just stared on at Ji-Hun's scores. My eyes then looked for Aiyana and Ben's names. Aiyana was fifth in our grade and Ben was thirteen. I chuckled, looking over at Ben's Chemistry and English scores. They always had a way of lowering his overall average.

"Head to the hall kids. We have an assembly this morning, remember? You can fuss over your grades later," Mr. Charles, the school's program coordinator said as he came into the crowd to send students away from the board.

We left for the hall, taking seats before the assembly officially started. Ben and Ji-Hun had come in a little late so they were sitting a good distance away from Aiyana and I. I let my gaze linger on Ji-Hun for a bit, until he turned and gave me an acknowledging smile. I felt my face warm up from the gesture, so I turned away.

The assembly started and the coordinator of events mentioned that we'd start the practice for the UNICEF education games today after school. The announcement was followed by boring announcements concerning noisiness and the school's dress code that nobody followed. I turned to look at Aiyana, and found her sleeping with her head c.o.c.ked at an awkward angle on the seat's headrest. I looked over to where Ji-Hun and Ben were sitting to notice that Ben was staring at something. I followed his gaze to the podium where the members of the student council were sitting.

I raised a brow when I noticed that he was staring at Felix, a junior who had made it into the student council. I looked away, deciding not to question it.

The assembly ended soon, and we headed to the hallway to get our books from our lockers in preparation for our first class.

I turned, startled when I felt hands wrap around my waist. I found Ji-Hun grinning behind me as his grip only tightened.

"How are you?" he asked, resting his head on my shoulder as I turned away to continue searching for my books. My face heated up as I tried to concentrate on what I was supposed to be doing.

Ji-Hun and I had decided to be open about the fact that we were dating. It had shocked Aiyana but she'd gotten over it soon enough, but it still seemed to be a bit confusing to Ben.

"I'm fine," I mumbled, using my free hand to pinch one of his arms wrapped around me. "Not here," I followed up in a low tone.

He seems to hesitate, but I soon felt him nod against my shoulder as he undid his arms from around my waist.

"Public display of affection is disgusting," Aiyana laughed in a teasing tone as she pretended to shiver from disgust. I rolled my eyes at her. She was standing on my right side while Ben was resting against the locker on the left as he went through his phone.

Ben, Ji-Hun and I eventually headed for physics while Aiyana went for her literature class.

Ji-Hun and Ben chatted for the most part since it was an alternative to practical class and we weren't really doing much. I tried to sort out my notes as the teacher went up to explain a question a student asked from time to time.

I got a little bored at looking at my notes, so I looked over at Ji-Hun to torture myself instead. Watching him write in that awkward angle he always used with his left hand made me smile. My smile only got wider when he grinned at something Ben had muttered to him. I really loved seeing Ji-Hun happy.

"It's almost as if he planned for it to look that way."

I blinked, remembering Aiyana's comment regarding Ji-Hun's scores.

Could he have done that? I asked myself as my interest in watching Ji-Hun became short lived and I turned back to my notes.

The class ended soon after. The rest of school went by quickly and when the last period was over those partaking in the UNICEF education games were made to head to the computer room for practice.

Everyone took a seat at a desk with a desktop, and I got to sit next to Ji-Hun. I could hear him try to suppress a chuckle as I tried to turn on the computer. I haven't been to a computer room since I got my first laptop in middle school.

"You don't know how to operate a desktop?" Ji-Hun asked with a chuckle.

"Of course I do. There's one at home," I answered in defense when I finally found the CPU switch. I didn't mention that the one we had at home was a far more recent model. The computers in the lab were completely ancient.

I sighed in relief when the blue windows seven sign appeared. I rubbed my hands up and down my arms, trying to beat the cold as I squinted at the bright light coming from the desktop's screen. I forgot how cold and dark computer labs usually were. It made sense, seeing as there were twenty-five to thirty computers in one room and they wouldn't want them to overheat.

Squinting in the dim light, I looked about the room for Aiyana and Ben. I found Ben upfront with the other math-inclined students and I found Aiyana at the corner with other English students, as well as her literature and English teachers who were hovering about and showing them how to use their headphones. The contest entailed a lot of spelling, figuring out sentence structures and overall listening skills for the literacy section of the competition.

A loud clap echoed through the room, making the murmuring students and teachers quiet down as they turned towards the sound. It was coming from behind, and Mr. Philip, my grade's math, and additional maths teacher stood beside the door of the control room with his hands clamped together.

"Now that I have your attention, I wanted to address something," he said, looking from one corner of the room to the other. "This competition spans for twenty-four hours. Yes, you'll be by your computer for a whole day. The competition is next week, and we have only a few days to practice together," he said, before bending over to let the petite female teacher beside him whisper something into his ear.

"Oh, and today we're all using the school's computers and headphones. If you don't feel comfortable using them you can bring your laptops and your own headphones tomorrow. Also, as from tomorrow, the English literature students will be using one of the study halls to practice instead. I understand that there would be a lot of noise here, so it's better if we're separated," he said, rubbing his skin cut head with his hand before he continued talking. "On the day of the contest, I want you all to come with your pillows and a sleeping bag. You'll be staying here all day so you'll need somewhere to sleep if you want to take a nap."

"Also, don't forget your sweaters. I can see most of you are shivering," Mrs. Green said, cutting in from her position by the wall at the left side of the room.

After that, Mr. Philip went on to explain things to new participants before giving everyone the go-ahead to practice. Teachers walked about to help answer and explain questions we missed so that we wouldn't fail them again.

Sometimes, I'd get into the same round as Ji-Hun but it was a little different from when we practiced at his place or my place. He took so much time answering questions and gathering points. It was like he was letting me win.

"Are you okay, Wyatt?" Ji-Hun asked, making me snap out of my thoughts.

"I'm fine," I mumbled, staring at the screen where my character was jumping in victory while Ji-Hun's character was bent in defeat. How even... I wasn't even mentally present for most of the five minutes round.

I looked over at Ji-Hun but he'd already loaded another math, and from the way his fingers moved on the keyboard, you'd know he was going all out. He was fast and quick in regards to answer selection and thinking, so how come he suddenly became a snail whenever we ended up in the same round today?

I shook my head, deciding not to think about it. I worked on loading another game instead. Ji-Hun continued playing like he normally did, but anytime we ended up in the same round he'd be unbelievably slow.

The practice season ended at six thirty in the evening. People started shutting the desktops and packing up their books. I was in the process of doing the same when Ben and Aiyana came up to me and Ji-Hun. Ji-Hun started talking with them as I tried to figure out how to turn the desktop off.

Curse old models. Why couldn't our school replace them with more recent ones?

When I finally got it to turn off without beeping uncontrollably, I looked about to find out that Aiyana and Ben were nowhere in sight, while Ji-Hun was resting against the table he'd been sitting by during the practice.

"Where are they?" I asked, pulling my backpack over my shoulders via the straps. Ji-Hun's smile widened as he removed his weight from the table to approach me and grab my hand.

"Come on, I want us to eat together at a restaurant or at some other place today," he said as he pulled me along with him. I almost tripped at the sudden gesture, but I found my footing soon after and trailed behind him until we got to the door.

"We've already had lunch."

"It doesn't matter. We can get ice cream and talk."

"But—"

"I just want to spend time with you, okay?" Ji-Hun said, letting go of my hand in the middle of the hallway before turning to look at me.

I felt my face redden as I kept my mouth shut since I didn't have anything to say to counter that.

"Okay then, let's go," he chuckled at my dumbfounded expressing, before taking my hand in his again and pulling me towards the school's exit. I felt a smile form on my lips as he started chattering excitedly in that his childlike manner.

God, I love him. I blinked, feeling startled by my thoughts, but my surprise was soon replaced by a grin. It was true. I did love Ji-Hun- every single thing about him.