WARNING: UPSETTING.
NOTE: Please read the message in bold at the end of the chapter. Comment here to show me you've read this please.
"Close the blinds!", yelled Professor Harrow, throwing his arms up in the air as Silas placed K375B on a table.
"Good job clearing the table quickly, Quinn", said Yukishiro.
Despite the chaos, he still wanted to give credit where it was due.
With Maya, Bennett and Azlan still in their lessons, the others had to try and fix K375B. This was proving to be a difficult task.
After all, it's almost impossible to fight an army of 3,000 soldiers with only 2 people.
Flipping her on her stomach, Professor Harrow pressed down on her neck, revealing a hidden compartment. A thin piece of glass raised up, and Professor Harrow placed his thumb on it. The biometric scanner turned green, and K375B stopped making noise.
The group huddled around Professor Harrow's computer. Silas and Professor Harrow scanned through all the coding and programming. Even Yukishiro, who was confused most of the time, managed to keep up and contribute.
Quinn just stared at the screen, a mixture of confusion and irritation appearing on her face. Quinn wasn't stupid, not at all. It just took her so much longer to understand things.
Silas could understand things instantly, whereas Quinn would need to take this data home and spend a couple of hours going through it. Even then she'd have to take the time to formulate some thoughts and ideas.
So it's safe to say she felt more than useless.
"This is stupid! I'm not staying here to fix that idiot's mistake", whined Quinn, pushing her chair back as she stood up.
Yukishiro frowned.
"Quinn, please don't go!"
But it was too late.
The girl had already stormed out. Knowing that they couldn't afford to lose another person, Yukishiro turned his attention back to the computer screen.
"Will K375B be ok?", asked Silas. His stomach churned with guilt.
Professor Harrow sighed.
"I don't know. When you pushed her she wasn't prepared. She's incredibly smart but she's practically still a baby in terms of social cues and communicating. It overwhelmed her. Caused her to, quite literally, break down."
Silas frowned, his eyes landing on K375B. He didn't have many friends, and kept himself to himself. But he cared deeply about the friends that he did have. He was just so excited that they finished a project this complex. All he wanted to do was understand her better. He never wanted to hurt anyone.
He just pushed too far.
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Maya excused herself from her lesson, under the pretence of her needing to go to the toilet. Truthfully, Maya's diminishing hearing made it hard for her to understand what her teachers and peers were saying.
She walked through the halls, glancing at every poster, though she wasn't really taking any of them in. The faint sound of sobbing caught Maya's attention, despite it being so quiet.
Call it an instinct, but Maya could sense this was someone she knew. How else would she have been able to hear it?
She made her way to the girl's bathroom, stopping in her tracks when she saw Quinn's bag from under the door.
"Quinn?"
The sobbing stopped abruptly, but Maya knew she was just holding her breath.
"It's Maya. What's wrong?"
"N-Nothing. I'm fine."
"Come on, Quinn. It's me."
"Just go away! You wouldn't understand."
"Try me."
After a long pause, Quinn exhaled sharply. She opened the door, mascara dripping down her face. She rushed to the sink and attempting to wipe it off with the tissue she had. "You don't know how lucky you are. You don't know what it's like to be... stupid."
"Hey... you're not stupid!"
"Yes I am! Every time we do those stupid study sessions, you always act so proud of me. But I know you're just laughing at me!", sobbed Quinn.
Quinn's breathing became irregular as she tried to suppress her sobs. She choked up, coughing violently, tears streaming down her face.
Maya placed her hands firmly on Quinn's shoulders.
"Quinn, look at me. Don't try and fight it. I need you to let yourself cry."
Quinn shook her head as she whimpered. Maya pulled the girl into a hug, giving her the comfort she desperately needed.
She started to feel safe in her arms, and when Maya gently rubbed her back, Quinn broke down.
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Yukishiro, Silas and Professor Harrow stood around K375B like witches around their cauldrons.
Yukishiro placed his index finger and thumb on either side of his chin, one eyebrow raised.
"Why do I feel like we're watching bread bake in an oven?"
Silas' eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"Huh? Why bread?"
Yukishiro shrugged.
"I'm hungry."
Silas rolled his eyes and turned to Professor Harrow.
"Will she be any different?"
He shrugged.
"She shouldn't be. Not if we restarted the programming correctly. But remember... she's like a newborn baby. We need to introduce her to things slowly. Ok?"
Silas nodded.
"Ok", he said. He groaned and hit the table in anger. "I could've cost us everything! I still can!"
To Silas' surprise, Yukishiro placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Sarude sae ki kara ochiru."
Silas and Professor Harrow stared at Yukishiro incredulously.
"You what?", questioned Silas.
"The Japanese phrase translating to 'even monkeys fall out of trees'. In English, it is similar to the idiom 'everyone makes mistakes' ".
The trio whipped around to see K375B sat upright. Her eyes had returned to their normal colour and her voice had also turned back to normal.
"K375B!", they exclaimed, in unison.
K375B smiled.
"Is my programming adequate?"
Professor Harrow grinned.
"It most definitely is."
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"You're right. I've never known any other way. I'm just... good at school. But I've never taken that for granted. I always do extra reading and tests to keep myself active. It sounds stupid but... I'm so scared of losing my intelligence", said Maya.
"Why? Because stupid people are worth less?", questioned Quinn.
Maya shook her head.
"No! Look, I... I don't have anything going for me other than my intelligence. If I lose it... I won't mean anything."
"Don't say that!", warned Quinn. "You're my best friend. I could've spent most of my time with any of the kids in your children's home but I spent it with you. It's always been you and me, Maya. Way before being smart mattered."
Maya smiled.
"You mean, back when rolling down a hill was the highlight of our day?"
Quinn chuckled.
"Yeah. Now all people care about are grades, universities and jobs."
Maya shook her head.
"It's not all I care about. I mean, sure I hope for those things but they aren't what matter most to me."
"I wish I knew what mattered to me. Guess I really am just stupid."
"You're not stupid. Life's a journey."
"My journey sucks."
"That's why you've got me. To try and make it a little bit better", said Maya, a bright smile appearing on her face. When Quinn looked at her, she crossed her eyes and stuck her tongue out.
Quinn giggled and pulled a face reminiscent of a fish.
"God, we're dorks."
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Hi.
Just to clarify, Quinn is an A-B grade student. That's really good, but Quinn isn't naturally intelligent in the way that someone like Silas is.
So whilst she gets good grades, the issue for her is she has to work 10 times harder to achieve those grades, whereas people like Maya can achieve them without even trying.
I feel bad for having to explain this, because if I had done a better job in the chapter I wouldn't feel the need to add this clarification.
I thought it was really important to cover this subject, especially now that people are returning to school. Please don't push yourself too hard. Instead of comparing yourself to your peers, ask them for tips or advice on how they achieved their grades.
Be better than how you were yesterday. Do better than how you did in your last test. Be the best version of yourself, not someone else.
I know this is easier said than done, trust me, but I'm here for you if you ever want to talk about school or life stress. Take everything one step at a time.
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What are your thoughts on this chapter?
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