Chapter 5

Samara sat quietly at her desk, the classroom still empty and the early morning light filtering through the window, she decided to pass the time by skimming through her textbooks. She flipped through the pages of her science textbook, the contents very familiar to her after three lifetimes of rigorous study. Her retentive memory honed through years of academic pressure, made it easy for her to recall the lessons.

''as expected,'' she thought, ''I remember everything after going through this curriculum three times, it's almost second nature.''

Once she finished refreshing her memory on elementary school material, she made a mental note to advance through middle school, high school and even college level content during her free time. Samara was determined to stay ahead, to create time to try other things.

The door to the classroom creaked open, and Ms. Riley, the homeroom teacher, walked in. She was a woman in her late twenties with soft orange hair and kind brown eyes that crinkled when she smiled. When she saw samara, her smile widened and she greeted her warmly.

''Good morning samara! You are here early,'' Ms. Riley said with a genuine smile.

Samara stood up and offered a respectful bow. ''Good morning Ms. Riley,'' she replied.

Samara remembered Ms. Riley well. She was one of the few genuinely kind people in her lives, though her kindness had sometimes caused more trouble than good. Because haldir elementary school had only one class per grade, the same homeroom teacher who was also their heliozvoan language teacher; the international language of the Heliozvo country, would stay with the students all the way from first year to fifth year before being reassigned to a new batch of first years. As a result, teachers like Ms. riley got to know their pupils and the class inner workings well.

"Ms. Riley was always well-meaning, but her overly optimistic belief that all children could be friends was naïve'' samara mused. ''in my first life when I was isolated by my classmates for being younger and not particularly exceptional, she tried her best to mediate and lectured everyone on kindness during every homeroom session. But that only worsened the situation.''

Samara remembered how the situation had escalated. Ms. Riley's efforts to smooth things over had drawn more attention to the issue, making samara's isolation issue more pronounced and carrying the negative treatment into middle and high school. The problem was that these children were far from ordinary. They were products of families, where the reinforcement of social hierarchy and superiority was a given, ingrained from a young age. Ms. Riley's attempts to lecture them had not only failed but had also irritated the influential parents, leading to her dismissal by the third grade. Samara had borne the brunt of the blame for her firing, becoming more ostracized and nicknamed as the student who 'got the teacher sacked in the 15 years since the last one'.

Ms. riley began unpacking her things, and in an attempt to create small talk, she turned to samara. ''so, samara, are you excited for your first day?''

Samara gave her a polite and brief nod, her attention still focused in her textbook. She wasn't interested in having a small talk about her life, family and all that stuff Ms. riley would most likely ask.

Ms. riley, ever the optimist, didn't give up easily and tried to engage samara further. Before she could retry, the classroom door slid open with a loud bang and another student entered. The girl had short spiky orange hair parted in the middle and bright green eyes that sparkled with energy. She bounded into the room with a loud, '' good morning big sister riley!''

Ms. riley turned to her with a smile. ''good morning, Ellis! Ready for your first day?''

Ellis grinned, her enthusiasm radiating from her. '' yeah, sure I am!'' she chirped, clearly excited to be there.

Samara watched their exchange with mild interest. '' big sister? are they related?'' she thought.

As if reading her mind, Ms. riley added, ''I have been Ellis' tutor since she was little''. Ellis, I told you to refer to me as Ms. riley when at school and in front of others.''

''someone else is here?'', Ellis asked, finally noticing samara who'd been seated quiet all along.

Ellis didn't waste any time after noticing samara. She walked directly over to samara and dropped her bag on the desk in front of samaras' leaning in far too close for comfort, she stared at samara with an eager smile. ''you're the girl who's seven years old right? The one all the adult's been talking about.''

Samara held her ground, her expression unchanging despite Ellis' intrusive proximity. ''her smile reminds me of an anime character'' samara thought dryly. ''a character that is always cheerful and curious, often to the point of being annoying.''

''pardon me,'' samara replied calmly, '' but am I familiar with you?''

Ellis blinked, clearly taken aback by the response. But she quickly recovered, sticking out her hand with the same bright smile. ''I'm Ellis Paola, eight years old.''

Samara eyed Ellis's outstretched hand before giving it a brief shake, barely touching herb fingertips. The gesture was deliberate, emphasizing the lack of familiarity. ''samara gennadi, seven years old,'' she replied, her tone measured and devoid of warmth. She didn't add any other information about herself or any pleasantries like 'nice to meet you' or 'let's get along'. Ellis didn't offer them, and samara wasn't about to either. She had no intention of starting or fostering a connection when the other hadn't.

Ellis seemed to accept this, her curiosity about samara's age satisfied, she moved away to return to chatting and paying with Ms. riley.

''I've always wondered how everyone almost instantly recognized me as samara gennadi, the seven-year-old first grader, when I've never appeared publicly before now. My parents obviously won't brag about me, so it's likely someone else that leaked it from inside, either to get on my parents' good side or someone setting me on a high pedestal for a spectacular failure, like Mr. Gregory doing it for my uncle.'' Samara pondered.

With time, more pupils trickled in. samara observed them silently, noting their interactions and identities. By 9;00 the vice principal gave a brief orientation, explaining the school rules and expectations. Afterwards it was time for introductions. One by one, the pupils stood up, sharing their names, hobbies, likes and dislikes.

When it was samara's turn, she stood and introduced herself simply. ''my name is samara gennadi, and I am still figuring out my hobbies, likes and dislikes.''

Her introduction was met with different stares and reactions, curiosity stares that were interested in ore information about he, stares of judgement and in some cases envy. It wasn't until Ms. riley began lapping that the pupils remembered the perfunctory applause given to every introduction. ''yep, still the same reaction'' samara thought.

Ms. riley then announced that the class representative would be chosen after a month, giving everyone time to familiarize themselves with each other before making a decision. She also handed out pamphlets on the various afterschool clubs and activities available at the academy.

Samara scanned the pamphlets and her interest was piqued by the sports clubs. ''I wonder if this fictional like world has any of those over the stop skills and ultimate moves you see in anime sports,'' she mused, a hint of amusement in her thoughts. '' that would be interesting to see live.''

But one club had her eye in particular; tennis. Samara's gaze lingered on the description of the tennis club. She had lays been interested in tennis, both as Emily and more so as samara. She wanted to play and watch the sports, but other priorities had always gotten in the way. This time, however, she decided to give it a try. ''it'll be a new experience,'' she thought, '' and if it takes up much of my time, I could avoid going home more.''

Samra decided to check out the tennis club after school.