My Deceiving Eyes

Chapter 5

"In chess, there is no luck. If you lose, it's not because the opponent has more luck, but because you made a blunder. That's why the perfect game of chess is a stalemate."

December 31st, 2266

Ever since the procedure, I've noticed some subtle changes. Like how I'm able to remember almost everything that happened after I read a passage, picking up a strong smoky smell coming from Michael, my pinky on my left hand is bent weird, or the fact Ms. Grant only wears clothes in white, blue, or black. It's an eerie feeling to pick up things you didn't notice before. I guess the implants really do work but, I feel like there's a catch, like I'm supposed to have some sort of side effects.

A creepy thing I've discovered with this new power is that everyday, maybe when I'm in class, someone goes into my room and slightly moves my things around. I first noticed this the night I woke up after the operation. The mat in my room that has a track road for my toy cars was moved to the left from where it was that morning. The mirror in the bathroom is shinier, like someone wiped it. The blanket felt different that night. I guess someone has to clean the sheets but it's weird to know that someone was in my room when I wasn't. I knew someone would come in and clean up the mess every time I played with my toys but I would usually catch them in the act. This made me wonder what else is going on that I don't know about.

The assessments are tests I take monthly while on the other hand, I take the Aptitude test yearly.  Like the assessments, it tests your knowledge and determines what you need to work on. It's important you pass because being behind in this department is a huge risk. All of the classes are already hard and I can't afford to create more stress for myself. And who knows, wouldn't want to risk getting another brain implant.

The test is divided into six categories: Science, History, Computer Science, Math, English, and Combat. Exactly in that order. Over the span of six days, I will take a test each day for each subject. If I don't finish a test, the unanswered questions will be marked as a zero. During the testing week, I'm not allowed to take a break unless I'm done. Including lunch and bathroom break. During this week it's also Christmas but we don't celebrate holidays.

The first day, the subject was Science. The Science test was split into four topics: matter and particles, density and volume, organisms, and genes/DNA.

The second day, half of the History test was about the Thirteen Colonies and everything that came with them. The Boston Tea Party, the Revolutionary War, etc. The other half was about Great Britain plus a little bit about the history of the Serpent department.

The third day was Computer Science and I'm going to be honest, I don't remember any of the questions on that test.

The fourth day was Math. To me, math is the easiest out of all of the other subjects. Math was split into five topics: basic equations, patterns, word problems with a mix of fractions, Geometry (shapes, area, volume, etc), and graphs.

The fifth day was English. Long story short, it was randomly mixed between reading, vocabulary, and definitions.

That was the writing portion of the Aptitude test. What that means is that I sit in a classroom filling and writing my answers on a screen. Each written test has 100–200 questions but don't worry, for this year, I only have 100 each. The reason why I am given six  hours to finish is probably only if you have 200 questions.

The screen is tilted at a 120 degree angle. On the side is a stylus pen. On the screen is a button that says: Login. You logged in using your identification ID. The instructions are basically to scroll down and answer the questions until you reach the end of the page. Between every test, my teacher has to read the same terms and conditions to make the rule of the Aptitude test clear. It's protocol.