Chapter 52: They are everywhere
"But why do you need to show that you're a family guy, exactly?" I asked.
Dad sighed. "She's about to go off and marry some jerk just because he loves her and wants to settle down."
"I get it, you're Satan," Alan muttered flatly.
"Alan, this is serious. I could lose her forever." Dad's tone grew a little tense. "She's the only one I ever thought I might eventually wind up with," he added.
"Eventually wind up with. I'm touched," Alan quipped, letting out a dry laugh.
I patted Charlie's shoulder. "You'll need more than that, Dad."
Then I turned toward the door. "Count me in. But now I'll swing by school first and pick up a gift for Luke later," I told as I was already stepping out, giving them a quick wave.
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"Look who's here," Summer teased, pulling a face as I entered the classroom.
I slouched into my seat and set a small box of fries on the desk - I had stopped by McDonald's on the way.
After the first day, I'd given up bringing a backpack or any school materials.
Marissa spun halfway around in her chair. "Are you okay? Coming so early..."
I frowned and glanced at Summer. "What happened to her, Sum? She used to be so nice. Now she's all sarcasm."
Marissa rolled her eyes and stole a few fries before turning back.
Summer did the opposite - she left a few fries and stole the box...
She even whispered, "I'm your girlfriend," as if that already justified everything.
Then, a young blonde woman appeared next to the principal.
"Class, this is Miss Paige Swanson. She'll be your new Geometry teacher," the Principal announced.
I leaned toward Summer and whispered, "What happened to the old one?"
She looked at me, shaking her head in disbelief but answered, "He was caught having relations with one of the girls in Haley's class."
I frowned again. "And they decide to bring in a very beautiful young blonde teacher? Is it to give us boys a chance too?"
My girlfriend pinched my arm.
Professor Swanson began the class, introducing herself and getting to know the students.
I stared at the ceiling, mentally outlining a few steps from the latest analyses of graphene's properties (too bad I didn't read much in my past life)
The behavior of electrons in graphene seems to replicate endoscopic representations of unitary and orthogonal groups.
Who would've thought this could bring a chance to unify quantum field theory with algebraic geometry.
I blinked. "What is it, Sunny?" I asked since she nudged me
She gestured toward the teacher and murmured, "Your name and your dream."
"My name is Jake Pritchett, and my dream is to live a happy life," I said, making the class chuckle a little.
Paige nodded encouragingly. "Anything more?"
"Do we need more than that?" I returned the question.
Miss Swanson looked like she was about to respond but paused for a second, thought about it, and decided to move on to the next student.
I just raised an eyebrow and went back to focusing on the problem.
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During the break, Haley was complaining at our table, "Ugh, the guys won't stop talking about the new pretty teacher. Isn't it bad enough that it's Geometry?"
"About that, I have something to tell you," I glanced at Marissa and Haley. "I'm a genius," I revealed casually.
"What?" Marissa looked at me strangely.
"Yeah, I'm dating Albert Einstein here," Summer remarked, resting her head on my shoulder.
Haley made a weird face. "The guy from Back to the Future?"
We all snapped our necks in her direction.
"Haley," I gritted my teeth, "sometimes you really make it hard for me to like you."
"Okay, that was totally out of sudden" Marissa joined the conversation again, "so you're like Einstein?!" She thought for a moment. "Is that why you can do whatever you want here?"
I nodded. Marissa caught on quickly. "Yep. Someone valued by all the most prestigious universities in the world is far more important than any ordinary student. Small privileges are to be expected."
"Small..." Summer scoffed beside me
"I thought you had bribed the principal," Haley muttered.
"You can't really bribe the dean of Brentwood High School," Summer replied, "but you can make big donations or have powerful families behind you," she explained
I nodded again, "I'm not the only one who gets special treatment. Some others also receive a blind eye because of a specific status."
"Well, now we know who to ask for help on every test we have," Marissa joked lightly, not thinking too deeply about it.
I smiled. One thing I like about Marissa is that she's not overly impressed by money or intelligence.
Haley placed a hand on my arm. "We still love you, even if you're actually a big nerd," she spoke affectionately.
"Uh… thanks?" I replied in a conflicted tone.
We started talking about other things.
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"We'll talk more after class," I said as I stood up. "I'm going to say hi to the guys."
As I approached the other table, I greeted them, "Hey, Ryan and Seth, how are you guys?" Then I joked, "Ryan, your girlfriend looks a little different today," noticing a new girl sitting with them.
"Jake, this is Anna," Seth introduced. "She's from Pittsburgh and just joined our class."
"Anna Stern," she greeted. "And I already know about you - the bad boy who drives a Ferrari, gets into fights, makes his own schedule, and still never gets punished."
"You forgot the good-looking part," I helped her, not denying any of it.
She made an amused face and asked, "Does this school protect prodigies or kids from influential families? Which one are you?"
I glanced at Seth first. "This girl really says whatever comes to her mind, huh?" But then I turned back to Anna.
"The answer's the first one. The school doesn't want to lose a future Nobel Prizes and Fields Medal winner," I responded.
Anna burst out laughing. "Sorry, I thought you'd be more like the jerk type, not the funny one." She remarked, thinking as a joke.
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