The Theory Of Knowledge (And How To Lose All Your Friends)

Chapter 3: The Theory of Knowledge

"The Theory of Knowledge is something that every IB student knows about, but in a criminally surface-level way." explained Jayden.

Y/n was intrigued. "So it's not just another class that we have to go to, then?"

"Far from it. Different students see it differently, and they can't agree on the truth."

"Doesn't Dr. Kemp say that truth cannot be interred from our human knowledge, or whatever?"

"That's all garbage. There's a universal truth that explains everything... I just know it. The Agtokstics would say otherwise; some kids deny the existence of truth, which is what the IB hates." Jayden's expression darkened.

"This sounds uncomfortably philosophical"

"Trust me, nothing about IB is comfortable. It even made the SKC headmasters uncomfortable - that's why they tried to get rid of it. This whole search for truth's driven so many kids mad - maybe even myself."

"That would explain a lot," remarked y/n, reminiscing on how drastic Jayden's change in attitude was, and how it turned their life upside down.

"Believe me, if I'm mad now, I went mad way back in BBI. The whole reason I treated you how I did was because I couldn't get past my own social anxieties."

Those memories started to creep back in again - arguments, fights, and unseen anger.

"I know. I tried to help you with that and you acted like I was insane," y/n replied with an uncharacteristically serious tone.

"I only thought people were insane because of my own hubris. I was the one that was insane. I became so spiteful of everyone around me that I pushed myself away from those I loved the most. It happened with Mike as it happened with you."

"Mike?" y/n's interest was piqued once again.

"The guy whose knee I was riding. He doesn't hate me... but he doesn't see me the same way. Nobody does."

The memory of Jayden covering his face at the bus stop in Year 8 resurfaced - this was the point where y/n has considered him a lost cause. "What you looking at?" He'd yelled. The fluctuations in his voice told y/n that he was on the verge of tears at that moment.

"How much did you change? Why did you change? I missed the old you."

"On the pursuit of knowledge, you have to make sacrifices. Terrible sacrifices. It could even be yourself sometimes. I never thought about the consequences of my actions because the big shots up at the IB headquarters kept pulling at my strings."

Y/n thought back to the initial IB talks, and their slogan "a world of opportunity for young boys and girls." An oddly corporate motto for a school - one that seemed all too appealing to parents, making them more eager to pay up for these services. Why have a child if it wasn't going to be great? Despite this, y/n had never heard of such "big shots."

"What big shots?" they asked.

"The Center of Anti-Stagnatism. Stagnatism is the belief that knowledge is stagnant, and can't be gained. The longer I keep trying to prove that it isn't, the more I want to quit and accept that it may not be. But the CAS won't let me."

"Sounds corrupt. What's in it for them?"

"Thousands of obedient students who don't question the world they live in. This curriculum isn't built to nurture young minds, it's meant to compartmentalize them. We're being forced into laborious roles, like prisoners at a concentration camp, heaving pickaxes at ores for all eternity. There's so much we don't know about ourselves and the system we're trapped in. They want us to chase our tails in pursuit for knowledge until we forget about everything and become focused on the search and the search only."

Jayden's knuckles whitened around his backpack strap. Y/n saw the Science Center coming up ahead.

"The search for knowledge will make you do crazy things," Jayden continued, "I just hope it doesn't make me do more things that I regret. There's... some people that I've wanted to get rid of, but it's just for my own selfish gains. It- it doesn't mean anything; it's just another one of my problems. I've gotta understand that other people have been affected by IB other than myself; everyone's a nutcase here."

He let out a halfhearted snigger, but y/n did not speak for the rest of the walk. Nor did Jayden. The sound of the raindrops tintinnabulating against the tarmac was more deafening than ever.