The ringing in my head subsided, leaving a strange, quiet hum. My mother's concerned face was hovering over me. "Shelly, are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost."
I nodded slowly, my mind racing. A ghost? More like a digital apparition. The "Rich and Academic System." The words echoed in my head, feeling both absurd and incredibly real. I took a deep breath, forcing a small smile. "I'm fine, Mom. Just a bit tired from all the studying."
She gave me a skeptical look before turning her attention to Clifton, who had finally succeeded in making Leratho cry. The chaos of our family life, which had once felt suffocating, now seemed oddly comforting. It was a tangible reality I could cling to while my mind tried to comprehend the impossible.
I returned to my desk, my gaze fixed on the chemistry textbook. The words, once so daunting, now seemed... different. They were surrounded by a faint, shimmering outline. I blinked, and the shimmering intensified. Suddenly, a small, transparent menu materialized in my vision, visible only to me.
[Rich and Academic System]
[Status: Active]
[Host: Shelly]
[Current Task: Master the content of your Chemistry O-Level textbook. Reward: 1000 Zimbabwean Dollars (ZWD) and a skill point in 'Academic Mastery.']
I stared, my heart pounding in my chest. My mind, still grappling with the rebirth, now had to deal with this. A system. Like in the novels I used to read. I felt a mix of disbelief and an exhilarating sense of possibility. My secret dreams of fame and fortune were no longer just fantasies. They were a quantifiable goal, with tasks and rewards.
I touched the shimmering menu, and a new window popped up. It was a breakdown of the Chemistry textbook content, but it was presented like a video game quest log. Each chapter was a "quest," with a percentage meter showing my mastery. I instinctively looked at my phone, wondering if the system was a hallucination. My phone was dead. I looked at the textbook again, and the menu was still there, completely unaffected by the real world. It was a part of me now.
My head shot up as my younger sister, Leratho, scampered to the front door with my mother chasing her. I had to focus. The system promised money, ZWD. At the time, with the economy in turmoil, every dollar counted. But more importantly, it promised a way out, a path to my dreams. I had to at least try.
I opened the textbook to the first chapter and began to read, a new kind of determination bubbling inside me. As I read, a progress bar filled slowly, chapter by chapter. I was not just studying; I was leveling up. I felt a deep sense of purpose that had been missing before. This was it, the chance to rewrite my own story, not just in my daydreams, but in reality. The path to Ohm and Pond, to fame and fortune, had a starting point, and it began with mastering my chemistry textbook.