It isn’t until now, sitting behind my team’s table, that I begin to understand why I want to be here so badly. It isn’t for Professor Janet or the rest of my math team. It’s not even for school pride. And despite all the whispers and odd stares I get from everyone who thought I was dead, this still feels right.
This competition is something I understand. It’s something that I can, to a degree, control and know how to approach. Sure, I don’t know what questions they’re going to throw at me or what the other team will be like, but math is something I can control, and it’s unchanging. No matter how you approach it, two plus two will always equal four.
Tony, Sarah, and Phillip all gape at me as I take the last seat at the table.
"What happened to you yesterday?" Phillip asks in a whisper that everyone can hear. I’m gratified to see that his acne has cleared up, but still bothered that I couldn’t repair his skin completely. Hmm, I ponder, I’ve been able to do more lately than I could at the beginning. Maybe. Yes! The switch to repair the acne damage on his skin forms, though I’m unable to move it more than just a tick.
"Yeah," Tony follows up, "we all thought you were dead, and then when you didn’t show up in class today." Tony keeps blinking at me behind his thick glasses, and I realize they’re no longer even his prescription lenses. He looks almost dazed, as if he’s trying to process that I’m really here and alive.
"Have you been getting headaches?" I ask him, ignoring their questions.
His beady-looking eyes blink a few more times before he says, "Yeah, how’d you know?"
I move his vision-correcting switch all the way, and he gasps, but I also lean forward and pull his thick frames off his nose at the same time. He blinks against the light and rubs his eyes, and I notice a faint smile tug at the corners of his mouth.
"But I need those" he argues, then blinks some more and looks around. "How did you?"
"The way you kept squinting through them" I tell him, as if that explains everything.
"The police were looking for you," Sarah says, as though it’s her turn to try to get an answer from me. Her skin definitely looks like it fits her better, smoother than the last time I saw her, though not completely perfect. She leans forward slightly, her eyes sharp, curious, and cautious at the same time.
I hadn’t thought about the police. After an altercation like that with the twins, it’s no wonder the authorities would be looking for me. I’ll have to keep an eye out for them. My mind flickers briefly to the other things I should be doing, preparing for the coming chaos outside, but something here feels grounding. I need this.
Before I have the chance to formulate an answer for the brunette, a buzzer sounds, startling me half out of my seat. My heart jumps, and I almost spill my pencil onto the floor. The murmur in the room quiets instantly as everyone’s attention shifts toward the front.
The judge introduces himself with a firm voice, clear and authoritative, and then introduces the two teams. I glance quickly around the room. Professor Janet is smiling at me in the front row, her expression warm but filled with that unmistakable intensity that makes her a great mentor. Tina, Dennis, and Rose sit a few rows back, eyes wide with anticipation, leaning forward slightly, as if they can’t wait to see what I do next. The judge methodically goes over the rules, his voice steady, as he explains how to use the buzzers. We test them, one by one, and then the first equation appears on the large screen at the front.
I freeze in shock when the screen lights up with the equation. It’s not that the equation is hard, quite the opposite, really. No, what startles me is that I see the answer. I don’t mean that I know what the answer is just by looking at it, but rather that the nanites have already processed it, displaying the result in my mind as soon as it’s revealed. My pulse quickens, and my fingers curl around the edge of the table.
Unfortunately, the other team is quicker on the ball and buzzes in first, claiming the point. A ripple of disappointment runs through my table, and I hear Tony mutter under his breath, "Well, that’s one down." He tries to sound encouraging, but I can tell he’s slightly awed and nervous.
"It’s okay," Tony says louder, catching my gaze.
"It’s just one question. We’ll get the rest." I almost laugh quietly to myself.
This is going to be far easier than anyone expects, and the thought gives me a strange thrill. I glance at Phillip, whose eyes are wide and bright with curiosity, and I sense him silently urging me to prove myself.
The second question appears on the screen, and my hand jerks to the buzzer almost instinctively.
Everyone in the room stares at me, their expressions a mixture of shock, confusion, and awe. I give the answer that the nanites are feeding me, clear and precise, and the judge announces it as correct.
A murmur spreads through the crowd, soft gasps, followed by whispers, and Phillip pats me on the back, his grin wide.
I feel a rush of adrenaline, the kind that makes your heart pound in your chest and your skin tingle from the energy coursing through you. Tony and Sarah exchange astonished looks, as if silently asking how I could have done that so effortlessly. Even Professor Janet raises an eyebrow, her smile faint but tinged with pride.
I take a moment to center myself, breathing in slowly, letting the confidence build inside me. The room seems quieter now, the whispers fading as everyone turns their attention back to the screen. The nanites continue to feed me, each new problem appearing on the display, and I’m ready. I know I’ll need to focus, to ignore the audience, the pressure, and the lingering fear from yesterday. For once, everything outside this moment doesn’t matter.
As the third question flashes, I hit the buzzer again. My mind sees the solution before my fingers even move, and I state the answer clearly, confidently, as if reading it aloud from a page. The judge nods, announcing it correct once more, and the crowd murmurs in amazement. Tony leans back in his chair, shaking his head, while Phillip whistles softly. Sarah leans forward, her lips pressed together in quiet admiration.
It’s a strange, exhilarating sensation. For the first time in days, I feel completely in control of something. The chaos outside, the invasion, the fear, they all fade to the background. Here, in this competition, with equations floating in my mind and my team behind me, I feel grounded, capable, and alive.
I glance at Tina, Dennis, and Rose again. They’re all watching me with a mix of awe and curiosity, their eyes wide, leaning forward, whispering to one another, though they don’t know exactly what they’re witnessing. I allow myself a small, private smile, knowing that for this brief stretch of time, nothing else matters but the numbers, the answers, and the quiet thrill of mastery.
The fourth question appears, and I ready my hand for the buzzer, my pulse steady, my mind sharp. This is the moment I’ve been waiting for, something I understand, something I can control, something that reminds me I am not powerless. The nanites whisper the solution into my mind, and I’m ready to show everyone exactly what I can