Locking In With My Life System

The academic decathlon team at Silverlake High was usually given the avenue to miss some classes without being penalized for it, all in favor of preparing for the upcoming event as best as they could.

Considering most of the students participating in the event weren’t no slouches in their academic endeavors and were well-ahead of their classes, the teachers were even more inclined to follow through without being bothered that they’d have to retake their classes.

Today was one such case, where the first two periods just after lunch break were put aside for their preparations.

It was also why Aiden’s classmates were just as stunned when their Physics instructor mentioned that Aiden wouldn’t be joining today’s class as he had joined the decathlon team.

Casper, Clyde, Benjamin and Larry on the other hand looked to each other and shook their heads in acceptance, light sighs escaping their lips.

Considering he’d informed them over the fall break that he had plans to hop on the ’scholastic wagon’ as he’d so eloquently put it, it didn’t come as a surprise to them.

Still, even though all four were extremely proud of the person their helicopter mummy was becoming, they couldn’t help but be worried that he was taking on far more than he could chew.

However, they were also well aware that he wouldn’t have joined had he not figured it would be worth the hassle.

It was also why they were in support of it as long as he didn’t burn himself out.

Because for as much as they all joked, roasted and bantered every now and then, they were all always keeping tabs on each other’s mental health like a hawk.

In any case, Aiden was currently making his way towards the designated classroom for the decathlon team.

Upon arriving, he pushed open the door and was immediately met with the sight of roughly two dozen students already meandering around several tables and chairs facing the board.

Some had their noses buried in textbooks, others were engaged in quiet discussions, whilst a couple more were staring at flashcards as a light murmur filled the air.

The way they were all focused and the intensity with which they were, one might’ve assumed they were trying to defuse a couple bombs on a rapidly ticking timer.

And who could blame them when right in their literal fronts, Mr. Lazlow and Mrs. Delacroix were reviewing the quiz they were about to distribute to them.

Nonetheless, a couple heads had turned in Aiden’s direction, the first of which was Theo whom was seated at the back, a college-level physics textbook in his hands as he offered him a small wave.

Megan on the other hand briefly raised her head and gave him a curt wave, the lady burying her head in her book almost immediately.

Naturally, Aiden reciprocated the gestures, a familiar voice reaching over to him a moment after;

"Well, well, well, look who finally decided to join us."

"I’d assume council work was already stretching your limit, but I stand to be corrected." Damian remarked as he leaned back into his chair, a thin grin on his features.

Considering Damian had been in talks with their instructors about students they could potentially recruit to bolster the team, he was well-aware of Aiden’s prior evasion, hence the comment he made.

Shifting his gaze to the Student Council President whom was seated in the farthest corner of the room at the very back, Aiden soon replied with a casual shrug;

"What can I say? I have a penchant for getting swept up in things I never had plans for."

Damian found himself chuckling lightly in response, a reaction he, Theo and a few others in the room shared.

"Mr. North. Welcome to the team. Kindly take your seat. We’re about to begin the practice test." Mrs. Delacroix gestured briefly with a palm.

Doing as he was told, Aiden picked a seat somewhere in the middle as Mr. Lazlow adjusted his glasses and spoke;

"Alright everyone, since this is our first proper practice session, we’re starting with a diagnostic test to assess where everyone currently stands."

Immediately, the room quieted as the students quickly moved towards their seats.

Theo took his seat next to Aiden, quietly asking;

"You ready?"

"As I’ll ever be." Aiden replied simply with a curt bob of his head.

The academic decathlon had three separate brackets--honors, scholastic and varsity--with students grouped according to their academic GPA.

Damian and Theo were in the honors division, their GPAs well above 3.80.

Aiden, having joined the team late and falling within the middle scholastic bracket--students with a mid-range GPA between 3.20 to 3.799--would naturally be competing against the other students assigned to it.

As for the students in the varsity section, theirs was in the 3.199 and below range.

"Fifty questions," Mr. Lazlow stated as he began sharing the papers.

"You’ll have twenty minutes." Mrs. Delacroix added as she equally distributed the papers.

A couple students immediately grimaced, one of them already complaining in an almost audible whisper to her friend;

"Twenty minutes?"

"Twenty minutes." both instructors, having picked it up nonetheless, reaffirmed, their tones blunt and their respective expressions unfazed.

By now, every student had a stack of paper on their tables, and each paper represented a different subject.

Mathematics. Literature. Sciences. Economics. Art. History. Geography. Social Science.

Then there was a Super Quiz which was an amalgamation of ten questions requiring an in-depth knowledge from several different subjects to answer... but with the difficulty dialed up to eleven.

Honestly, the more Aiden stared at it, the more he came to the opinion that quizzes weren’t exactly the best test of knowledge.

Rather, they functioned more like a test of how quickly someone could retrieve information than anything else.

Fortunately for him, he was overly equipped for it.

Which was why, no sooner had Mr. Lazlow declared for them to begin, Aiden remained unnervingly calm as he retrieved his pen.

Question after question, his pen moved without delay.

Question after question, he ticked the correct answer.

An equation?

Solved.

A historical question?

Answered.

A paragraph requiring analysis?

Done.

The molecular structure of a compound?

Blitzed.

Every bit of information he’d spent the past month and a half assimilating, and even some he’d crammed into his skull seemed to rise to the surface the instant he needed it.

More than that, he could actually see where he’d learnt it.

The pages.

The paragraphs.

Sometimes even the exact position of the words.

At some point, Aiden couldn’t help but mutter to himself in a mix of awed concern;

"Oh, this is so disgusting..."

At some point, he had to force himself to slow down because he was almost done with the quiz and there was still fourteen minutes left on the clock.

Roughly sixteen minutes later, Theo’s pen clicked, its cover snapping shut over its lid.

At the same time, Aiden dropped his pen with a soft tak.

Naturally, heads briefly turned in the duo’s direction.

Theo, they could understand. He’d proven several times over that he was in his own league.

Aiden on the other hand... had several students feeling skeptical even as they promptly returned their attention to their respective quizzes.

Though they were well-aware that he was very resourceful given all that they’d seen of him since senior year began for their set, they weren’t of the belief that it directly translated over to him being academically brilliant.

If anything at all, most students believed he was more average--if slightly above average--than anything else in that department.

Mrs. Delacroix on the other hand asked, the hint of surprise in her tone evident;

"You’re done?"

Both students nodded.

"You’ve reviewed your answers?" Mr. Lazlow asked this time, his gaze flicking towards Aiden specifically.

Yet again, the duo nodded.

"Alright then. If you’re certain, you can submit your sheets. Honors in the middle, scholastic on the right, varsity on the left."

Casually, both individuals rose up from their chairs and did as they were instructed.

As Aiden returned to his seat, he and Theo quietly discussed a couple things regarding the game they were building, Mr. Lazlow couldn’t help but study him for a moment.

Though it seemed to have skipped everyone’s notice, he had noticed that Aiden had long rounded up the quizzes a full twelve minutes earlier but had instead chosen to pretend that he was reviewing his questions.

Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, he wasn’t exactly sure of just yet.

Afterall, despite the brilliance the youth had been showing in his academics since the start of the session, he couldn’t possibly have had the well of knowledge his peers whom had been prepping since their junior year had.

In any case, eighteen minutes later, Damian submitted his sheets, his expression just as relaxed as the other two.

After the twenty minutes was up though, and all the papers were retrieved from the students, it was time for the instructors to mark the scripts.

Then, after a few minutes of marking the scripts, Mr. Lazlow’s gaze flickered when he began assessing Aiden’s work.

For a while, he simply blinked, flicked his gaze over to the youth and then returned it back to his sheet.

Letting out a deep, almost excited breath, he continued reviewing the youth’s work.

Ten minutes later, he and his fellow teacher collated the top scorers and spoke.

"To start with; the Honors division," Mrs. Delacroix said as she read out the top scorers;

"Theo got the highest with ninety-eight points, Damian with ninety-five points and Megan with eighty-seven points."

Par for the course, the students simply nodded in acknowledgement, their reactions impressed nonetheless.

Though they’d long gotten used to it, they knew it was far from normal for students in their level to have such extensive knowledge of college courses in high school.

"As for the Scholastic division," Mr. Lazlow casually called out.

"Aiden got the highest with ninety-eight points, Gabriella with ninety-points and Troy with eighty-two." he declared.

For a moment, silence descended into the room as all heads turned in Aiden’s direction.

However, what he ended up saying would’ve caused some of them to choke on water if they were drinking it;

"Damn, what’d I miss?"

"It’s number five, isn’t it? Under the super quiz?" he thoughtfully asked as he gestured to Mr. Lazlow with furrowed brows.

Glancing at the sheet for a brief moment, the bespectacled instructor simply replied a second after with a thin smile;

"That’s right."

"I knew it." Aiden snapped his finger, a noticeable hint of satisfaction on his features.

Yet, everyone else in the room--well except Theo and Mr. Lazlow--remained shell-shocked, their question seemingly of the same hive mind;

Which rock has he been hiding under this whole time?!

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