The Last to Break

A Valuable Asset

Jay slowly opened his eyes. The bright sunlight poured into the room, causing his eyes to ache and his head to pound even more. His whole body was aching. He tried to sit up, but the pain prevented him from doing so.

Tam stood in front of Jay.

“Can I help you?”

“Help me sit up, please.”

Tam held Jay’s arm and slowly pulled him up.

When Jay sat upright, the footsteps neared the door.

Jay slowly got up. Moving took every ounce of strength he had.

The big man opened the door. He pushed the stale bread into their hands, then shouted, “To the training room.”

Jay stepped forward, but the big man held him back.

“Not you, little one. The Warden has other plans for you today.”

Although Jay was taller than all the children his age, he guessed they were all little ones to this big man.

The big man shouted at Tam, “Are you waiting for an invitation to the training room? Go!”

As soon as Tam disappeared around the corner, the big man took Jay’s hand and slowly started to walk. Jay noticed that the big man had altered his steps to match his. They walked to the next building, where a special room had been allocated to the few chosen children.

There were six children in total. Five boys and one girl. Jay was the youngest but stood almost as tall as the oldest.

There were tables and chairs with “books” on them. Jay had never seen a book in his whole life.

Is this what Kyle spoke about? School?

A thin, short man walked into the room. He looked at them. Jay noticed the man shake his head. The man told them to sit down.

Once they sat down, the man said, “I am Professor Zao. I will teach you everything you need to know. I am a professor at the University for the Gifted. If you do well, you will become my pupil.” His eyes drifted to Jay.

He started asking their names. Each gave their name and age. The oldest one was seven. Then his eyes rested on Jay.

Jay stood. “My name is Jay. I am four.”

Professor Zao’s eyebrows lifted.

“Did I hear you right? You are four?”

“Yes.” Jay sat down.

“How do you know you are four? You are very tall.”

“Kyle taught me how to count. Kyle was here for twelve years.”

“Where is Kyle now?”

“Kyle is dead.”

Professor Zao looked as if someone had struck him with a fist. Jay looked like he was on the verge of death too. So young, and he had already had to bear so much. Other children didn’t even know what death was until they were much older.

Professor Zao gave a slight cough, then told the children to open the book in front of them.

From the blank looks on their faces, Professor Zao knew immediately that none of them could read.

He was not happy. He was a well-respected professor at the University of the Gifted. How could Guy Hendrix expect him to teach children to read? It was unheard of.

As if on cue, the Warden walked into the classroom.

Prof. Zao walked up to the Warden and asked to speak to him outside. The children could hear every word.

The professor told the Warden that he was not a kindergarten teacher and did not have time to teach the children how to read and write. He was there to teach them advanced physics and mathematics, to name a few. Yet they couldn’t even read or write.

The Warden said, “Seems you’re missing the point here, Prof. Zao. You will teach the children to read and write. Remember, I know where you are staying. I know where your wife works. You will regret it if you refuse.”

Jay made a mental note of every word.

Prof. Zao was instantly silenced. The Warden walked away, and Prof. Zao entered the room.

He walked to the blackboard.

“Start writing and repeat after me. I’m only going to do everything once.”

Then Prof. Zao wrote the alphabet on the board and pronounced every letter slowly and clearly.

When he was done, he told the children to close their books. He randomly pointed to a child and then to a letter.

“Pronounce this letter.”

No one got it right.

Prof. Zao looked as if he wanted to cry. He again pronounced every letter of the alphabet, having the children repeat after him.

When he was done, he again pointed to a random child, then to a letter. None of the remaining children got it right. Prof. Zao pointed at Jay. He got it right. Then he pointed to every letter of the alphabet. Jay got them all right.

Prof. Zao’s face lit up. It was unheard of for a child who had never seen a letter of the alphabet to memorise it so quickly. He decided not to waste time and pressed forward. He started combining double letters, pronouncing them, and worked through the alphabet numerous times over the next hour. He told the children to open their books again.

He started writing the figures 1 to 10 on the board, pronouncing each figure as he wrote it. Following the same procedure, he randomly pointed at a child and then at a figure. The girl got two right. Jay got them all right.

Prof. Zao became more animated, ignoring the children who fell behind and concentrating on Jay and the girl named Zelda.

After two hours of intense mathematics teaching, the professor’s face looked more alive than when the class started.

During the course of three hours, Jay learned the alphabet, how to put words together, how to spell them, and how to write them. He learned to count from 1 to 10 in a matter of seconds and, before long, counted to 100 without making a single mistake. He could add and subtract small figures within minutes.

Prof. Zao looked as if he was sad that the time was up. Before he left, he stopped next to Jay and handed him two books.

“See if anything here makes sense. We will discuss it next time.”

Prof. Zao left in a hurry, walking to the Warden’s office.

He knocked. A voice said, “Enter.”

As the Warden instructed, Prof. Zao reported on the progress of each child. As soon as he reported on Jay, his eyes came to life. The excitement couldn’t be missed.

“Jay is a little genius. Is he really only four?”

“Yes, he is four and will turn five in four months. What makes him a genius?”

“He is way more advanced than any of the other children.”

Prof. Zao elaborated on what was taught and how Jay grasped everything within minutes. He also mentioned that Zelda was quite clever, but no one could compare to Jay.

This was exactly what the Warden wanted to know and was secretly hoping for. He was working on an idea to create a special team for special assignments. It would bring in millions of dollars.

If Jay was a little genius, and with his survival instincts, he might just create the best assassin/special team the world had ever known.

“Prof. Zao, I want to see you here once a week, more if possible. If you can’t make it during the day, you will teach after classes. This is not negotiable.”

The Warden called the big man to escort Prof. Zao out.

The sly look in the Warden’s eyes did not bode well for Jay’s future.