"Adam, do you know why you are here?" the principal asked Adam.
After Adam dashed out of the room, he was called into the principal's office.
"Yes." Adam nodded. "I was running while yelling in the hallway."
"Adam…" the principal read Adam's school reports and uttered, "You are our best student. This school expects many things from you. All the students in this school admire you. You are their role model."
'That's what I used to think, until a few years later.' Adam sighed inwardly.
"You should think twice before doing something. Because if you do something wrong, the other students will copy you," the principal added.
Adam nodded and said, "I apologize for my behavior."
"There is no need to apologize."
"..."
'This is what happens when you study too much.' Adam heard a voice in his head.
"Huh?" Adam glanced around and thought, 'What was that?'
'Maybe I should tell him to take a break? Should I detain him for 2-3 days?' Adam heard the voice again, but this time he was certain that it was the principal's voice.
'What's happening? I heard the principal's voice, but I didn't see him moving his mouth. Am I reading his mind?' Adam wondered.
"Sir, can I go now?" Adam asked obediently.
"Yes."
'You can take the rest of the day off if you want to.' the principal thought.
'So I am truly reading his mind. But how? Was the experiment successful? They never said I would gain abilities. And what other abilities do I have?' Adam wondered as he left the room and made his way back to his classroom.
He sat on his desk and resumed the class.
'This is the last period. I can't wait to go home and meet my mother. It has been two years since I last saw her.'
Adam tried to read the minds of his classmates, but his powers weren't working.
'Is there a certain condition that triggers it?' Adam wondered.
"Adam. Adam!" While Adam was lost in his thoughts, the teacher called his name.
"Yes."
She pointed her finger at the mathematical problem on the whiteboard and said, "Can you solve it?"
Adam looked at the board and read the problem in his mind.
Q: (8i)/(3 - 2i). If the expression above is rewritten in the form a + bi, where a and b are real numbers, what is the value of a? (Note: i = √-1)
'Hmm~' Adam hummed in wonder after looking at the problem. 'I had a hard time solving it in my previous life because it was tough. But now I can.'
Adam walked to the board and took the marker from the teacher.
To rewrite (8i)/(3 - 2i) in the standard form a + bi, you need to multiply the numerator and denominator by the conjugate of the denominator, which is (3 + 2i):
(8i)(3 + 2i) / [(3 - 2i)(3 + 2i)]
= (24i + 16i²) / (9 + 6i - 6i - 4i²)
= (24i - 16) / (9 + 4)
= (-16 + 24i) / 13
= -16/13 + (24/13)i
Therefore, a = -16/13.
(If you'd prefer to keep the original final answer of a = 2, I can adjust this math accordingly.)
Adam solved the problem within a minute.
"Done." He handed the marker to the teacher and sat back on his desk.
"Adam, how did you manage to solve it? I haven't even taught that yet," the teacher asked, completely dumbfounded and surprised.
'Then why did you ask me?' Adam sighed and answered, "I studied in advance, Miss Rize."
Rize was a young 22-year-old teacher working as an intern. She had beautiful pink hair and greenish-blue eyes. Many students had a crush on her due to her young age and intelligent persona.
Adam and Rize had a bad relationship. They often called each other out to humiliate themselves. Rize was frustrated and angry with Adam since the first day of school when Adam called her out to point out her mistake. However, it turned out she wasn't wrong, and Adam was forced to apologize to her.
Ever since then, they never missed a chance to get back at each other.
'I honestly missed this time of my high school. It was fun.' Adam looked at Rize with a solemn look and a wry smile on his face. 'In my previous life, Rize got married two years later, and she was later killed by her husband on their honeymoon.'
'I will save you in this—'
DING~ DONG!
The school hours ended, and everyone started going home.
"Hey, Adam!" Adam's best friend—Eric, placed his hand on Adam's shoulder and said, "Let's go play some soccer with the seniors."
That was a usual thing for Adam, to play out with his friends and enjoy a very limited amount of his time.
"Not today, Eric. I have something to do at home."
"Alright! Then, I will see you tomorrow!"
Adam left the school campus and took his usual route home.
SIGH!
He sighed and looked back at all his suffering from his previous life and muttered, 'I am not missing a single chance, this time.'
"Heh!" He remembered his conversation with Eric the last time he came to visit him at the hospital. "He was so awkward when he came to inform me about his wedding."
Eric got a job in an intermediate company and later married the daughter of the boss. Then, he was promoted and moved overseas with his wife.
"Now that I think about it, almost all of my friends got married. Though, none of them cared to inform me. It's not like I would have done anything, anyway."
'I didn't hear from my girlfriend once she moved out. I wonder if she also got a new…' Adam clenched his fists and muttered, "I am the one who broke with her."
"Well, I will be meeting her again in the next semester when she transfers to the neighboring city."
Adam was passing through a public playground where people around the block came to play. Suddenly, a tennis ball came flying at Adam. It was about to hit his face, but he caught it with his hands even without looking at it.
"What the—!"
He had also gained super reflex ability.
"Hey! Give the ball!" a boy yelled out from a distance.
"They are not even apologizing…" Adam threw the ball with all his strength, and it soared through the clouds.
"...."
Then, a soccer ball hit Adam's leg. He glanced around to see some kids of the age of around 13-15 practicing soccer.
"Sorry! Can you please pass the ball?" a boy shouted.
'I do want to pass, but if it hits anyone, then they will probably die from the impact.' Adam simply touched the tip of his shoe to the ball, and it passed through the goal net.
"...."
That day, Adam realized that his second life was going to be more troublesome than he had imagined.