Chapter 19 (competition)

Somehow I was able to convince my parents why I was away for a while, I told them again that it was because I was working on a movie project with my friends. I also told them that I was clueless about the occurrence of the strange pale-white creature they saw in the house, I was glad that they did not recognise that it was me.

My parents were unhappy with me for living for more than two weeks without telling them so I was grounded for a month--double the weeks I was away. I had to also explain to my parents who Skylar was, I told them that she was a transfer student who came to my school recently and she was one of the friends I was working on a movie project with.

My parents were happy especially my mom, because this was the very first time I was bringing a girl home. I was able to make Skylar look more human through make-up so that everybody she met would be comfortable around her. But the problem with makeup is that it doesn't last long, so Skylar can only stay in public for seven to nine hours and then she will have to redo her makeup.

It was easy to lie to the police officers and my parents now I have to make sure that they never find out that everything I told them is a lie. If I want to do that I will have to make all I said a reality.

"Why the heck can't it last longer?" I cuss and punch the tiled wall of the bathroom. I am in the male bathroom in my school and the competition I am participating in is about to start. My subconscious chuckles lightly.

The fact that whatever I create or change with my imaginative powers can't last very long, the moment I stop thinking about it, it will reverse to normal.

"You're still in level two so doing that will be almost impossible. You have to master your power before it can last for a longer time." It explains and I grit my teeth. When I first had this power I thought it was the coolest and strongest but it was the lamest ability I've ever seen.

"Tsk. It's a shame that I inherited this useless power." I say through my teeth and begin to think of another way to cover up my lies, I need to do this as quickly as possible. The secret government agencies can find out that there is no movie project I'm working on with my friends, or that Skylar is not a student or even human. I can't rely on my power to help me solve this, so I have to do this alone without my abilities.

"This very power was the greatest throughout Zyron and it only appears once in a millennia. You should be glad that you have it." It frowns and warns me sternly, "And don't ever talk about my master's power in such a trivial manner."

"Why..."

A boy comes out from one of the toilets and I stop talking. The boy weirdly looks at me while he washes his hands and I keep a blank facial expression.

"Bro, the school's clinic is not far from here you can go there if you need any help." He urges and I facepalm myself. He must have heard me while I was having a conversation with my subconscious, he couldn't see it so he thought that I was talking and shouting at myself all this while. He thought I had lost it and run mad...

You know what, It will be better if I am actually mad.

"I'm fine., I say smiling to reassure him and he gives me a worried stare before leaving the toilet.

I check my wristwatch on my left hand and it's almost ten o'clock. It is almost time for the national competition, I should get going.

I exited the toilet and headed to the school auditorium.

"How do you expect to win this competition?" My subconscious asks. "I never saw you studying or preparing for it."

I chuckle and run my fingers through my hair, I am the best student in my school and competitions like this are so easy for me and who told it I have not been studying.

"You didn't see me studying but that doesn't mean I didn't study," I smirk and its eyes become wide.

"I'm always with you and I can swear that I didn't see you study for once." It explains bewildered and I chuckle lightly.

"I can't just stay in a place for more than two weeks without moving around a little and utilising my time." I wink at it and then its face becomes comical when it realises that I went to other places when we were in the past.

I experimented with the Xera Link several times when we went back to the past, I explored the Earth in a short time thanks to it. I gathered knowledge, explored old civilisations, trained and studied for this competition, there was no way I could go to a competition without studying, even though I am smart it would just be like going to fight a war without weapons or skills. There are some things I know how to do that my subconscious doesn't about, I still don't fully trust it so I don't want to be careless revealing everything to it.

I entered the auditorium and my subconscious lingered behind me.

"What are you up to?" It grits its teeth and I half turn.

"Nothing." I smile. I know that it is thinking I'm up to something thereby reducing the trust it has for me while that doesn't matter to me, I am trying everything I can do to become strong and gather more knowledge. When I got this power, I realised that there are so many things in this universe both hidden and exposed that I don't know about, and I have the longing to know about everything, being inexperienced is very dangerous and frustrating, just like how humans on this earth don't know that there were extraterrestrial beings and this being is coming to wipe out humans or enslave them. Now inexperience and no not knowing of this will make them continue with their normal lives and when these creatures come for them they will be helpless like little chickens but if they know about it they will prepare for it. Above everything is knowledge.

I climb the stage when my name is being called and everyone begins to clap for me. I wave and smile at them. I am quite popular in my school thanks to my intelligence and activity in sports, I have won a lot of medals and gained some popularity in my school.

I sit down next to my fellow competitors and I take a deep breath.

"Welcome, Jayden Russell, how prepared are you for this academic competition?' The host, Mr Brown asks me. Mr Brown is my maths teacher, he is quite tall, he has brown eyes, and he always wears a white Italian shirt with coffee brown trousers.

I bring my head closer to the microphone which is on the wooden desk in front of me and with a smirk on my lips I say proudly, "I am always prepared." When I am done speaking the hall burst into a roar of cheers and applause.

The hall is filled with students from my school and from other schools who came to participate in the competition worldwide.

"Just as expected from our most brilliant student, we are happy to see you here Jayden. Now if perhaps you win this competition, you will get a reward of half a million dollars, can you tell us what you are going to use the reward money for?"

"Well," I think of what I'll use the money for if I get it, I rub my chin with my fingers and then a great idea comes to my mind. Since I lied to that scary government agent that I was doing a movie project, I can use the money to fund the project so that even though he investigates he will find out that I am truly doing a movie project. With this, he will never know that I lied to him.

"To fund a secret project I am doing with my friends."

I look at the students from the other school I am competing against and they have this impish grin on their faces. I know they are thinking that since I was away from both my house and school for days, I would do badly at this competition but they were ignorant and foolish for thinking they have a chance against me. First I'll make it look like I'm losing and almost giving up then at the dying minute I'll defeat them crushing any hope they have left. And they shall feel the excruciating pain and embarrassment that comes with a dying minute loss.

"That's nice. We'd love to see what that project is all about." Mr Brown jumps cheerfully and facepalm myself.

He gets too excited easily, I have never seen a maths teacher like him before.

I look at the panel of Judges; a judge from my school, Mrs John Esther who is my English teacher while the five other judges are from different schools.

My eyes widen like large saucers when I see the seventh judge who is sitting separately from the other judges. It is Prof Kelvin House, who is a renounced professor of mathematics in the country. He won the Maths Frenzy last year a competition for only people who have sold their souls to Mathematics and he was crowned the King of Maths.

I admire him a lot.

"Let the competition begin." Mr Brown announces with his hand gestured in the air and my lips part into an evil smile, this is going to be easy.