Head Space

Chapter 16

"Nearly there now! Can someone tell me what [cos50] degrees equals?" said Mr. Mirdle from the front of the noisy class. I admired teachers who insisted on continuing their lesson amidst so much chaos.

My hand shot up. No point hailing him, my cries would only be lost in the din.

"Yes! Octonimer. Have at it."

I stood and thought about it for a sec. "0.642787609."

His eyes widened. He reached for a calculator on his desk and tapped about. "Astounding!" he exclaimed, having confirmed my answer. "You may have your seat."

The kids around me whispered excitedly as I sat down. It was all I could do not to turn beet red.

One of such kids was seated in front of me, next to his roommate. He turned and eyed me. I narrowed my eyes unsurely at him.

"....What?" I asked. 

He remained silent for an uncomfortable while. 

"You're smart!" He exclaimed finally. His words held wonder in them, as if my intelligence was suddenly the eighth wonder of the world.

My lips pulled into a flat line, as they idly do. I shrugged. "Thanks. Thank you."

The boy jumped up from his chair and slipped into the empty one beside me. He grabbed my hands and gave them a firm shake.

"I'm Gilbert. You're Octonimer aren't you?" 

"Just call me Octo." I said politely. 

"Great!! Now can I ask you something?" His bright eyes stared right into mine. Why did I get the feeling that I wasn't going to like whatever he asked me? I nodded.

"Well, I saw that you're pretty talented when it comes to the, you know-" he tapped his head "I was wondering if you had plans to join the Number Jacks? They've only got so many spots available this year."

My head whizzed in confusion. "Wait the Number Ja-"

"Gilbert!" I was interrupted by a loud voice. We both turned our heads forward and were met with the angry glare of Gilbert's seatmate. "What the heck are you doing!?"

The boy in question responded with a pout. "Oh, don't be like that, Demi! Look I'm just helping you recruit members!"

"I don't need help thank you very much. Now get back in your seat before I tell on you!" Demi snapped and turned back around in his seat, ending the argument.

Gilbert reluctantly shuffled back to his spot. I blinked and looked around me confusedly, wondering if I was the only one who'd witnessed that. Everyone seemed busy with their notebooks.

I looked at the whiteboard and noticed the teacher had actually given us work to do. 'Guess playtime's over'

As I flipped open my books I could feel eyes boring into my skull. I peered up and saw they belonged to Demi.