Modern Monster

It wasn’t long before the class ended with the bell ringing. The teacher's chalkboard, or screen board as he should put it, was displaying a complete map of the world. Since the class was now finishing, the teacher walked up to the screen and simply turned it off. People once told him that they used books, notes, and actual drawing boards when learning not too long ago. But of course, a lot of things can change in a matter of years.

Putting his slim touchscreen tablet in his school bag, he started to exit the classroom. Unfortunately, as he was, the teacher stopped him.

“Sen, do you have a moment?” Mrs. Aoiko asked.

Her voice seemed slightly less harsh, so he guessed it wasn’t anything bad this time. At least I’m not in trouble. Not that I’d ever be.

“Sure, what can I help you with.”

“You can’t help me with anything. I’m a teacher. I’m supposed to help you.”

Oops, I spoke too soon. There’s that icy tone.

“Sure, I understand. So, then, what could I not help you with today?” he tilted his head. Sen wanted to get out of this already. He was running late to his martial arts class, after all.

“Of course,” the teacher let out an exasperated sigh. “I swear I’ll never understand you, Sen. You and your little words.”

“What’s wrong with using words? I wouldn’t be able to communicate with others now, would I?” he slyly remarked.

“Exactly that, that is exactly what I’m talking about.” At this point, Sen was testing the waters of how far he could go. Probably not the best idea to test the theory with his teacher.

“Anyway, I wanted to ask you a question, and I want you to answer it truthfully.”

“I don’t really lie, so sure, go for it,” he shrugged. Sen didn’t remember when he last lied to anyone, so he was curious about what Mrs. Aoiko wanted to discuss with him.

“Why are you still learning in this school? You’re fifteen years old, and you have the academic level of a university student. You clearly are ahead of everyone else; don’t you want to be successful?”

Sen wasn’t really expecting such an inquiry. “Sixteen, actually,” he corrected. “I’m turning sixteen tomorrow.”

“Good for you, it still doesn’t matter! My point still stands,” she urged him to answer, then added with a lighter tone, “… Happy birthday.”

He nodded his head in thanks for her birthday wishes. Although she was strict, she was kind at times, when she wasn’t under her stressful task as a teacher, that is. He couldn’t blame her for losing her temper when teaching, too. If he were getting paid minimum wage to teach a bunch of soft-brain people, he sure would show signs of irritation. Although he never got angry or emotional, in fact. He couldn't quite remember when the last he was. But regardless of her kind gesture, he didn’t seem to understand her question.

“I’m not sure what you’re implying, but I’m perfectly fine learning here,” he truthfully answered.

“But you could be so much more successful in life! Listen, you need to take every opportunity you have since you don’t…” her voice trailed away when she rejoined.

Since you don’t have a Super Sense, Sen guessed her sentence in his mind. He wished people would stop taking notice of that. He’d come to terms with the fact that he was different from everyone else quite long ago. He couldn’t do much about it. And that was the end of that. It would have been preferable if she had just stayed out of his business.

“It’s easy here, that’s why,” he finally admitted. Mrs. Aoiko narrowed her eyes in confusion. “Why would I spend my days studying and pushing my academic limits when I could just relax and take it easy here.” That was a complete lie.

His answer made Mrs. Aoiko’s face fall into shock. She fidgeted her glasses and cleared her throat. She was clearly trying to figure out words to reply with. She made a few muddled murmurs while scratching her lengthy, sleek, black hair. Resting her head on the teacher’s desk, she sighed in defeat.

“You truly surprise me,” she said after a long moment of taciturnity. “For someone who’s been deprived and ostracized of such an important part of modern society, I would think you would have some ambition for the future. But maybe I was wrong.”

…

“How do you know?” he responded.

“Pardon?”

“How do you know I have no ambition?” Sen's expression seemed to change slightly. Not by a lot, but something seemed to gleam in his grey-blue eyes. Mrs. Aoiko thought she was imagining it, but the difference was apparent on his face.

“I-I don’t get what you mean. What is your ambition?” she fumbled while gazing up at Sen on her desk. Again, a slight blue light seemed to flicker in his eyes, but it soon disappeared as quickly as it came. The teacher disregarded it, but it did give her a slight tremor of fear.

“It’s okay if you don’t have a Super Sense. I mean, I have Hearing as my Super Sense, and I teach. I’m not a Knight like the others. I’m practically useless.”

A Knight? Was that the occupation his teacher thought he wanted to become? Becoming a Knight meant it was necessary to be proficient in a Sense to become High-ranking.

Knights were a very indispensable part of their society. They were akin and had the same driving motives as modern-day police, except they were in a league of their own. They did far more dangerous and challenging jobs than the run-of-the-mill police. Knights were also a big part of slaying monsters in cities or more riskier areas. Above all else, people wanted to become knights to grow their Super Sense beyond their capabilities. They were the many who desired to become heroes in this dangerous world. When he was younger, he also wished to become a strong, dependable Knight of society, as anyone would. But as he grew older, the realization that he didn’t have Super Sense grew stronger, and he was stripped away from that aspiration.

To think, there was a time I actually thought I would get a Super Sense. This line of thought made him remember a memory not so long ago when he was around ten.

#

“Mother, when do you think I’ll get my Super Sense? My big sister already got one around my age,” he remembered asking his mom one day. When he questioned her, he vividly remembered a shadow coming across his mother’s friendly and elegant face. At that moment, Sen knew something wasn’t quite right with him.

He was always smart, observant, and read everyone's expressions quite well. So, when he saw a layer of doubt and a forced smile come across her face, he knew something was obviously wrong.

After that day, his friends in middle school (Although he didn’t view them as such) would start expressing their delight and showing off their Super Sense. While Sen would only watch in the corner of it all, the odd man out. Of course, pondering on the fact he was powerless was a waste of his time. He couldn’t change that fact. But ignoring the cold stares and murmurs of people was hard. Especially when some of them were people he once knew.

“Do you remember Sen? You won’t believe it, but he doesn’t have a Super Sense. HA! What a freak!”

“I don’t wanna sit next to him again. He’s weird.”

“How can you even live without a Super Sense?”

“Honestly, he should just kill himself...”

Those were some of the remarks he remembered when he was a child. Hearing people tell Sen to kill himself wasn’t the best for his mental health as a kid if he was anyone else, of course. Personally, he was never bothered by that, oddly enough. It could have been possible he was desensitized from it or never cared to begin with. He viewed all the people who said such things as mere insects. They couldn’t survive one day in the actual world. And his thoughts weren’t in spite of them either; it was merely a fact.

“Sen?” Mrs. Aoiko suddenly made him snap back into reality. “Are you okay? You looked dazed. I still want to know the answer to the question, you know? I can’t be here forever. If you don’t want to be successful and use your God damn genius brain, what the hell do you want to do?”

Sen already knew what he wanted; it was a long time ago. But it wasn’t something he wanted to share with people, let alone his teacher.

“Mrs. Aoiko,” Sen murmured, “I suggest you not get into my personal life…”