Scene set

“But Sir!..”

I wailed at the top of my voice. The students in the first benches turned around and looked at me, expecting a show.

“I want to hear no arguments. My word is final. Any more disagreement from your side and you will face major consequences, I am warning you!”

I was determined. If there is one thing that mattered to me, it was my values. If I did not defend them, what was I?

“Sir, with all due respect, you have already told us what will be in the final examination paper. How then are we expected to improve, and what is the meaning of all the work we have put in throughout the year to reach here if the answer is just going to be spoon fed to us?”

It looked like I had moved the professor, for there was a twitch in his eyebrow. I could tell that he was keeping himself from being too harsh on me.

“Okay now, I understand how you feel but we all want to score good marks, now don’t we?”

“Then what is the point of school anyway, if everyone will do well I say let us all sit at home.”

This was not the first argument I have had with Professor Charles, and it was certainly not the last. Out of all the teaching staff, his ideas seemed to trouble me the most. Rote memorization and following his advice - that’s how a physics class should be run according to him.

“And what is the point of you teaching us, might as well hand us the answer key, for we learn nothing.”

I realized that I had said too much and had tested the limits of his patience. His expression suddenly changed and a glowering vexation settled in. Fury erupted.

He walked towards me slowly. That made it clear that he was trying to show authority, he was here to make an example of me. I knew this could go one of two ways. Either I win or he wins, and in both the cases it would be bad for me.

“Misfits really don’t belong in school do they? Like father, like son.”

Option B just evaporated from my mind. Charles had made it personal, a topic that was too close to me.

“I am terribly sorry sir, what do you mean by that?”

“Oh, isn’t it clear you idiot. Oh look we have a genius here. Well what has he achieved - absolutely nothing! And what of his father, who proclaimed that he would change everything, how the world is run? Killed himself. So yes, like father, like son.”

I lost myself when he said that. In a fury, I threw myself at him, desperate to make him feel pain, a pain that would come close to the one he had made me feel. I could feel my knuckles hit against his temple and then I blacked out. I could hear the buzzing of a taser and his malicious laugh.

I described my day to G, (without the violent account) she always seemed to understand.

“But what is so bad about it? Okay, I understand you are upset that the system only focuses on getting results, even sometimes through cheating. But why do you complain, aren’t you getting the marks? It is not like they are targeting you.”

I shrugged. I thought she would understand, but yet again it felt like I was up against a wall of reason that was based through fear and expectation. It was like trying to convince someone whose memory relapsed every ten seconds. It always went back to the same argument – ‘Why do you care’, or ‘What’s it to you?’

I wondered why this transition had taken place. It was clear to me that something was wrong, but everyone seemed oblivious to what was so evident, like ignoring a black mark on a tapestry. ‘Look at the bigger picture’, they would say. Lost in my thought, I forgot about G who was walking beside me and had presumably asked me a question.

“You forgot about me again didn’t you? When will you change? It’s a wonder that you do so well in school with the disregard that you look at it with.”

What seemed like a perfectly normal quip struck a knife blow to me. It was singly something I despised. Although I hated everything about the system, I could do nothing to change it. The only way up was through it, so I had to reluctantly obey its rules and regulations. I was a brilliant student, without even trying. G was envious of me, as she spent many hours studying whilst I spent most of my time pursuing more ‘important’ professions. It was an ironic image, truly and I often spent hours laughing at it. I was scared – Me who had faced death in the face was scared of trusting myself. To go apart from the system would mean starting from nothing. It wasn’t that which scared me, no, my fear was more deeply uprooted. It was that..

“Hey now, if you don’t answer me, I will stop lending you my father’s research and then you can’t have your fun anymore.”

In a jolt, reigned back to reality by her voice I looked at her simply. She was the exact product of the system. Loving daughter of her caring parents, nice and kind. Does well in school and would no doubt do well in life. But what did well in life mean? Would the system’s definition ever bring her true happiness?

“Okay, okay I’m sorry, I just got a little lost in my thought that’s all. Your question is simple, but it has a complex answer. Let me give you an example to try to make you understand. Imagine a small baby. Now what is the protocol here to make it learn how to walk? Well it’s simple you would say, bring it in front of other babies that walk. Through human behavior it will try to emulate what the others are doing and through trying again and again, by slowly refining his process, he will learn to walk. Right?”

“Hmm.. yes. Let me guess, the system spoon feeds us and doesn’t give us the freedom to fail, which is more people have trouble later in life?”

“Now you’re starting to get it. We assume that everything will be given to us and we end up living life to the half-line barely reaching our potentials. Not only that, but it teaches us to be satisfied with work that just is good enough because that earns us that grade. Look at me and tell me honestly, do you think I have ever been satisfied by the work I have produced in school?”

“Well, no, but you haven’t tried, have you?”

“But that’s my point, there is no reason for me to try. If I produce a Mona Lisa it would be lauded, sure, but as long as it fit the narrow range of the accepted answers. If it was beyond the textbook, it would immediately be seen as an attempt to undermine the teacher, to show him that you may just know more.”

“I’m starting to get why you hate school so much now. But then, if you say that school doesn’t push us, why do they make us do tough tasks that are seemingly impossible. For instance, solving equation after equation in math is not everyone’s cup of tea.”

“It all comes down to the method G. There is no distinguishing factor between a Robert Langdon and a normal human being. Maybe they learn faster or maybe they make connections more easily, but basic stuff should come naturally to us if we are taught the right way. The system has ingrained in us that ‘help is just a click away’, so before we even try, there is an answer. We never really learn how to learn or how to think. This is why people have trouble. It’s not because they are not smart, it’s just because they haven’t tried to dig into their heads and form patterns and methods. They want information that fits into their heads, without effort. Such is the knowledge that we are made to learn.”

“But I don’t agree. All people are cut out for different things, as such they should be allowed to choose what they want.”

“Ah yes, the eternal debate. I don’t agree. The reason is simple. We don’t know what we like until we have enough logic and sense. In our childhoods we all wanted to be something that may seem cool to us then, but we wouldn’t even consider it now, save for few. We should be given a base and then we should be allowed to expand from there.”

“But then school is right. We have subjects that are mandatory till a certain level and then we choose, aren’t they then doing a good job?”

“Certainly not. What are they preparing us for, really? To become successful? Is that what the true purpose behind life is?”

“But they are forced to are they not? If we don’t earn money then how will we ever support our parents and live fulfilling lives?”

“If you had a choice between unending money and happiness what would you take?”

G paused. I could see her thinking intently about it. Her expression told me that she was pleased with whatever thought had come to her head.

“Neither. As you have taught me.”

“Saw through the trick question didn’t you? God I wish people could be as open minded as you.”

We had reached the end of the path that we walked together. From there I would walk four more miles to my house and she would take a bus to her home. We both came from troubled households and were the sole hope to take them out of their troubled times. One often forgets themself in such circumstances.

“Bye now. I will beat you in mental chess tomorrow!”

“You wish.”

I didn’t turn back as I walked away. I could feel her eyes trained on my neck, and I knew that if I looked back I would see her smiling at me. Yet I disregarded it. I had to look beyond temporal royalties and remember that when the day came there would be no change and it would all return to the same. We had been having the exact same conversation for over a month now, and it was not going to change. Every time she talked to me and had a change of heart, every banner, every sign, every news article and everything in her life reinforced what she had been forced to adopt ever since she had been born.

‘You are not your own. You belong to society and society belongs to you. Sacrifice yourself for the well being of others. Only then will you find true enlightenment.’

I knew this from the very start ever since it happened. I had no plan yet to change it, but I knew that if I were to live in the world and be a part of it I needed to make it change. I just didn’t know how.

The beautiful scenery was my consolation. It was always splendid on my walks back to my home and today was no different. The sky turned purple as the sun was setting and there were brilliant streaks of red dispersed amongst the clouds. The wind blew upon my face, providing me comfort, and it seemed to wash away my thoughts that were troubling me and brought me back to a memory….

“Son, son wake up! The night is here. Let us go greet it!”

I looked up from my bedsheet and saw him standing there. To describe him would be simple until one would reach his eyes. Although the rest of him seemed so ordinary it would be impossible to pick out, his eyes were different. They had a gleam and they looked like they had a life of their own.

“Okay, dad I’m up, what are we doing today then?”

“Mom has made cupcakes. It’s already 10 pm. We are going to stay up all night and watch the stars.”

I remember that night vividly. It was the 5th of October and we had planned it months ago. I usually slept by nine, so I was wondering how I was going to stay up on one hour of sleep and go to school in the morning.

My dad must have read this, and he plucked it right out of my mind.

“Oh don’t look at me like that. What is the first thing that you learnt in your life?”

It was his standard dialogue whenever I rebelled on late night cafe runs, other events and his weird shenanigans.

“Some things are worth sacrificing sleep for..”

I rumbled as I rubbed my eyes and got up in bed. He was always like this. I hated him then for making me be all tired when going to school. School was fun. All I had to do was answer easy questions and everyone would be impressed. I had lots of friends and they always seemed to want to talk to me. Spending time with my dad on the other hand was not so fun, he made me think about things that would never matter and it often irritated me when he gave me his wise lessons.

“Son there is no wrong answer. If someone tells you that you are wrong, then in reality they are the ones that are wrong. There are a number of ways to look at something. Some ways are more appropriate than others, but if you truly want to be great, you should look at the most number of ways that you can, and then decide your interpretation.”

It was always stuff like this that set me off then. My argument was always that then there was no meaning to life for we would spend all our time just trying to look at things. He would smile and say, “Well isn’t that beautiful?”

How silly was I to not see it then. I could see it very clearly now what he was trying to teach me then. His lessons had been deeply rooted in me, and had become the way I evaluated life. I resented it, because it made me different from everyone else. It made me awake in a world that was being put to sleep.

I looked up and I saw in the sky that my wish had been fulfilled. Or was it just a figment of my imagination? I decided to embrace it regardless, as the memory continued to wash over me.

I could see my mother now and how beautiful and radiant she always looked. She was wearing an apron and she was screaming at dad, who had put a metal plate in the microwave as an ‘experiment’ to see what would happen. I understood how she felt. I think that is why she married him. He was so stupidly alive that he made everyone around him feel the same way. Life had a special meaning when you spent it with him.

The night commenced and I remember lying down in my mother’s lap as we collectively looked up at the tapestry of heaven.

I looked up too, and I saw them, their faces in the sky. Without knowing I could feel streams gushing out from my eyes. I could even taste the kool aid that we were all drinking then. Yes, nothing had changed, I said to myself as I sunk deeper into the grass and my consciousness faded away from me.

Samuel

He woke up as usual at 5 in the morning. It was a Tuesday, but it didn’t affect how he spent his morning. He always woke up and made his bed, followed by drinking some water and going to the bathroom. The next task for him as usual was getting in some exercise. Samuel, having pursued sports until he reached secondary school, was extremely fit and he had learnt the importance of keeping his body in good shape in order to be at his best. This had influenced him to establish a morning ritual as such.

He decided to go to the gym that day, the other options being boxing or sprinting. He put on his headphones and filled his bottle. As soon as he was ready, he headed for the gym. It was still pitch black outside, and Samuel preferred it. Although he spent most of his time surrounded by people, he preferred to send his time on his own, in the dark. One would not be able to tell that about him by looking at him though, he did not have the appearance of a …(word for someone who plans maliciously). Samuel looked at the empty streets as he walked and thought about how life would change if all the people just disappeared, leaving only him. Would the activities of his day change? Probably not. Having reached the door of the gym, he sat on the bench and put on his shoes.

“Let’s have another perfect day,” he quietly said to himself and entered the gym.

The workout was as good as he had expected it to be. He looked like a perfectly oiled machine, that knew exactly what his purpose was and what he had to do. Nothing could distract him. Exactly how he wanted to look.

But nothing seemed to excite him anymore.

Samuel reached back to his house and got ready to make some breakfast. His parents had woken up in the time that he had completed his morning routine and seeing him return, with a glowing face covered with sweat, they couldn’t help but feel a sense of immense pride that their son had turned out so well.

“Welcome home, champ! Good morning!”

Samuel returned the greeting and walked to his room. His mother came up to him and asked him how his workout was. He went in detail of what he had done. It seemed to his mother that he cared a lot about what he was saying, but Samuel was just repeating an automated answer. He had repeated the same answer to her almost every day, changing a few things here and there. His mind was pondering over how much time he would spend on his book while he ate his breakfast.

On completing his breakfast and wishing his parents luck for their workdays, he left for school. He usually cycled to school because his school was just a little far away from his home. He loved how the wind blew against his face when he cycled to school, but today it didn’t excite him as much. His mind was already at school.

The first lecture was English. Samuel was a transfer into the Children’s Academy, one of the most prestigious schools in the world. His father was a very rich and influential man, and just his word was enough for him to be able to attend this school. It would not have even been needed either way, for Samuel was far too gifted in his academics. He had passed the entrance test for senior secondary when he was in 8th grade, so he skipped two standards in order to attend the Academy. His father had no objections, but his mother was worried that he would not be able to keep up with the older kids. Her misconception was quickly cleared when Samuel stood 1st in the opening examination of the Academy, to determine class structure. He was placed in the ‘High Achievers’ classroom – one that was filled with experienced and brilliant students. It had taken Samuel five days to become most of the teacher’s favourite and to be chosen as the class President.

FILL INTRO TO SAMUEL

‘

Jonathon

Jonathon woke up, covered with grass and filthy from head to toe. It was still before sunrise, so he had some time to decide what to do before he went to school. Jonathan rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and decided to go to school rather than go home and return. He knew he had an eventful day ahead of him, because of the previous day’s interaction with his teacher.

He cleaned up a little using the water of the pond that lay beneath the sprawling hedge, and washed his face in it. If only he could wash away what had happened yesterday.. He sighed to himself. He knew that the repercussions