Centum Malediction

Chapter 3-5

Tuesday, September 21st. 2010

Alexander woke up feeling refreshed. He didn't even remember the previous night's events until he left the room and saw Satori. She was sitting in her creation room examining a blank canvas. She looked over to Alexander after hearing him walk down the hall. This time she wore a worried look in comparison to her usual expressionless one.

"Good morning Satori." At first Alexander wasn't going to say anything, but then he remembered his conversation with Ms. Aoki about talking with her if he had the time. She bowed her head with a smile before turning back to her canvas a pencil in hand. Not wanting to overdo it Alexander made his way to the kitchen to grab some breakfast.

Mr. Reynolds triple checked with Alexander on the car ride to the college to make sure everything was okay. He wouldn't relent no matter how much Alexander reassured him that it was just a bad dream. Of course Alexander was having a hard time convincing himself that it was all just a dream.

He actually brought dreams up with his professor knowing that his hard look on the world would help ground him. Given that he was taught privately it was easy to do. Just as predicted the professor was quick to reassure Alexander that dreams were part of the brain's maintenance and that there was no meaning behind them whatsoever.

Despite getting exactly the response he hoped for, Alexander couldn't help but feel frustrated about it. He remembered Mr. Reynolds telling him to keep his mind open even to views he disagreed with, but it was difficult given that this person spoke as if he knew all the answers to the universe.

"You can't be so sure. Dreams could mean more." Alexander was going to continue by citing some research he had done, but was quickly interrupted.

"I'm going to cut you some slack because you're young. It's perfectly normal for a child to believe wishes to be truth given that your brain hasn't even fully developed yet. Once your prefrontal cortex has fully formed you will understand this better. Consider it like a mental puberty." The professor quickly snapped. It wasn't angry, but he gave off an incredibly smug know-it-all attitude. Alexander had no choice but to concede and battle the rage that was building within him.

The lesson didn't require any philosophical thinking, but Alexander still found it interesting. The first section of class was focused on the history of philosophy, such as researching famous philosophers and learning from them. Alexander had done a lot of this research on his own time and the professor admitted to being impressed by his knowledge. Of course, there was a lot more to learn than what a simple search on the internet could get him.

The only other class Alexander had was an introductory course essentially teaching him how to be a college student, what was expected of him, and how it differed from the High School curriculum. It was incredibly dull, but at least it wasn't a private lesson. There were other students, all far older than him, that paid him no mind. Only one person was curious what someone of his age was doing in a college class. Once Alexander explained he was part of an accelerated learning program she simply nodded and went on her way.

Mr. Reynolds was happy to hear a positive report about the day. Alexander explained that while the professor frustrated him to no end because of his close mindedness that he would instead focus on the schoolwork which actually interested him.

"I'm pleased to hear this Alexander and I must say I am quite proud of you for overcoming this obstacle." Mr. Reynolds smiled as he drove Alexander back home.

"Welcome back." Ms. Aoki said as they entered back into the house. Satori was still in her creation room. The once empty canvas Satori sat in front of was now an illustrious drawing of a woman surrounded by colorful flowers. Strangely enough, the woman had no color to her despite Satori going out of her way to make the backdrop as colorful as possible.