By: David Wang
Tap, tap, tap. A soft clicking came from near the rear classroom window. Calculus was boring Karl to death. Why did he have to sit here in this stuffy old classroom and listen to the teacher drone on and on about some stuff he might not ever use? It wasn’t hard for him, as he was born with a high IQ, the specific number of which he didn’t know as he hadn’t ever taken an official IQ test. His family (excluding his sister) didn’t know about his intelligence, and he just plain didn’t care much about it. He also wanted to remain low-key, because if his test results got published, it could bring unwanted trouble and attention to him. Along with the fact that he had no money to waste on something “boring” like that, Karl’s IQ was never measured.
As Karl was pondering all of this, the bell rang and class came to an end. He shoved the textbooks into his bag and got up, not bothering to grab the homework from Miss Kaths. “Hmph. There he goes again. That arrogant guy who thinks he’s on top of the world.” “I know, right? It’s not like he actually gets good grades. There’s nothing that allows him to be like that, so why bother?” “He should just cut the act and admit that he’s not smart instead of pretending. I bet he won’t hold up for long.” Sneers and malicious comments were whispered, loudly, by his peers as he walked away with one hand in his pocket and the other over his shoulder holding his bag.
The reason for all this treatment was simply due to the fact that Karl was the school outcast. He had no friends, got average grades and had a cold personality. Naturally, no one was willing to be involved with this kind of person. He never received an invitation nor a passing greeting, and he ate alone on the roof during lunch. Karl was totally fine with all that, after what had happened in 6th grade. He now lived alone in a large house, not quite a mansion but still fairly big, his foster parents always away on business trips. His foster parents adopted him to keep his sister, their biological child, company. Most of the time, they wore a cold and impassive face, along with business suits and perhaps a necktie. They rarely spoke to Karl, but it was always an order or reprimand when they did, not once a compliment. His sister was the one who gave those out.
There were no maids or butlers to take care of the house, so he did. The only other regular occupant of the house was the cat Phoenix, whom Karl’s sister adopted and he was rather doting on. He often hugged Phoenix and brushed her fur or scratched her chin as he researched various topics, his own way of making up for the loneliness.
After finishing club time at the Quiet Club, his own personal club with just him in it, Karl went home. Yanking some yogurt parfait out of the fridge, he added some granola while pouring cat food into the bowl on the floor for Phoenix. Opening the door to his room, he swept some papers off his desk to continue researching. This time, he was researching a rather weird topic - the acceleration of plant growth. A cherry sapling from overseas, courtesy of his sister, had arrived in a porcelain pot. Karl was a little doubtful of his ability to keep a plant alive for a few years, especially considering his lack of attention to one thing for any prolonged period of time and the fact that he was heading off to college the next year.
He tried a variety of ideas like improved fertilizer or nutrient rich water on test plants, but the growth rate couldn’t be improved enough for the plants to quickly mature. He kept trying until late into the night when Phoenix’s meows of hunger startled him. After that, Karl just resigned himself to searching online and listening to advice from experts. He petted Phoenix on the head, to which she responded with a purr. Karl brushed his teeth, got into his pajamas and hopped into bed, cuddling Phoenix and waiting for tomorrow.
The next day at school, the homeroom teacher announced that the last day of school was coming up, and that it was time for finals. Karl belatedly realized this was his last year of high school, and he still didn’t have a single friend. The thought saddened him, but he was also confident that he could make it to a good college. He tried recalling when he last had friends and realized it was before “that” happened that he had a friend. She was kind to him, and that was enough for him, as his younger sister was always studying overseas, so he was lonely. And desperate.
Back then, his personality hadn’t been so closed off. He maintained the friendship well and his personality gradually improved. But in 8th grade, he overheard someone gossiping about how stupid Karl was, letting himself be taken advantage of by “that cheating copycat.” He realized then that he was just a tool for her, and never spoke to her again, despite her pleas and apologies. That was around the time he stopped trying and fell from number one student to a slacker.
After her betrayal, Karl had closed himself off to anyone but his sister, who was now studying at some fancy European girls’ school. She was 2 grades below him but 3 years younger than him, and was also very smart, maybe even smarter than him.
While all this thinking was happening, Karl’s eyes slowly moistened. He sniffled a little and grabbed a tissue after going to the boys’ bathroom. He kept thinking about his choices over his high school years, and he came to the conclusion that he didn’t need friends, he already had them in his sister and Phoenix. One was mostly absent from his life and the other couldn’t directly communicate with him, but he was content with them just being with him. He decided to study hard for one last time and ended up becoming the top scorer in the nation, shocking all his classmates who suddenly had a 180-degree attitude flip. Karl simply ignored them, as they just judged him without finding out the whole truth about him.
Finally, the last day of school arrived. Karl’s sister was coming back for his graduation, as her school had allowed her to leave for this special occasion. When he was called on stage and the principal handed him the diploma, Karl finally smiled for the first time in a long while. His sister was the only one who clapped and cheered for him, but he felt that it was okay. He no longer had any regrets, coming to peace with the idea of him not needing other friends. When the congratulations announcement came, Karl couldn’t hold it any longer and threw his cap into the air, cheering and yelling like everyone else. He was happy for what seemed like the first time in forever.