The Odd Ones

001. Scientia Est Potentia

Jacob heaved a sigh of frustration as he looked at the Faircastle High School seal hanging on the wall, right behind the head administrator’s table. The school seal shows an image of the phoenix, with a vague image of the sun on top of it. He then glanced at his mother who was sitting right beside him, almost pleading the school administrator to let him take the entrance exam.

The school administrator, who is a woman in her mid-30s, heaved a deep sigh as she looked at his grades from his last high school. “Ms. Everhart, your son’s grades in his former school did not reach the average rating needed for him to be allowed to take the entrance exam…”

Jacob tried his best to suppress his sigh of relief. He never dreamt of going to Faircastle High School, but his mother seemed so convinced that he was born to go to that school which is known for its unique educational system, and is a home for lots of gifted students and a successful set of alumni.

Julia, his mom, is the only one he has now after his father died before he was even born. His grandmother, who raised him while his mother worked, just died a few months ago. Now that she is gone, no one is available to take care of him, so his mother decided to enroll him at Faircastle High School. The institute is just a few blocks away from the bank where she works, so that way, Jacob is closer to his mother, even if he has to stay at the school dormitory.

Jacob looked at his mom, and he can see the obvious determination in his mother’s face. He knows his mother better than anyone else, and he is certain that she is not going to take a ‘no’ for an answer. When he saw her open her mouth, he knew what is coming. He swallowed loudly, and tried to hide his embarrassment as his mother started blabbering nonsense while trying her best to convince the stern-looking head administrator.

“It’s just 0.5 points, Miss Flynn… Just 0.5 short,” she said while looking like she is on the verge of tears, “You see, my boy here… He always dreamt of getting to Faircastle High School. I can assure you that he’s a bright child. He learns really fast, and listens to instructions well. You can ask his previous teachers from his former school to prove that –”

“Miss Everhart, we have a very strict ruling here at Faircastle. We cannot –“

“Just because his grades did not reach your requirements, doesn’t mean that he is not capable of passing the test.”

Jacob’s eyes widened as he looked at his mother. He always knew his mother is a fighter and will not give up easily, but he did not expect her to answer that way, especially to a person of authority in the school. For a while, he was confused as to why his mother is just so worked up to get him in Faircastle. It just doesn’t make sense to him, since there are other schools around the area that are closer to home.

It seemed like the head administrator tried her best not to yell at his mother, for he noticed the woman trying to regulate her breathing. Jacob noticed that she was controlling her temper.

Miss Flynn seemed to be preparing a long explanation inside her head, and just when she was about to speak, a deep voice echoed inside the room.

“She has a point, Miss Flynn.”

The head administrator’s eyes shot up, and she immediately focused her attention on the doorway. Jacob and his mother looked towards the same direction as well, only to be met by the view of a familiar face. He seemed to be in his early 40s, about 6 foot in height, bronze skin, brushed up black hair, with kind but masculine features. He was wearing a suit at fitted him perfectly, and the build of his body shows that he is taking care of himself very well.

The man entered and stood right beside the table while eyeing Jacob. “Just because he barely reached the grade required, doesn’t mean that he cannot pass the entrance examination. Just give him a shot. Don’t be so uptight.”

“I don’t want to sound disrespectful or anything, but Mr. Gallagher, it’s the protocol. We have always followed the rules, and if this boy doesn’t have the required grade, we cannot let him take the exam,” Miss Flynn replied firmly.

Jacob’s eyes widened as he heard his mother gasp softly. The man who just entered was actually Faircastle High School’s director William Gallagher. When Jacob looked at the man again, he was embarrassed when he realized that Mr. Gallagher was giving him a kind and considerate look.

The school director smiled at him, before moving his attention towards the head administrator. “Every child is intelligent, Miss Flynn. We should not discriminate them just because of their grades. Sure, that’s also important to finish school but… The only way for these students to unleash their full potential is for them to harness their own strengths and make use of it. This is why I enforced the Multiple Intelligences Division Program in this school, to give these youths a chance to know their potentials and find their strong points so that they can improve and understand them.”

When Miss Flynn heaved a sigh of defeat, the school director chuckled and took a copy of the application form from her table, before looking at Jacob and his surprised mother. “Will you come with me, Miss –“

“Everhart,” Jacob’s mother replied immediately, before wounding an arm around her son’s arm, “And this is my son, Jacob.”

Mr. Gallagher smiled and nodded as he led the mother and son outside of the head administrator’s office. As they walked on the hallway, Jacob’s heart was thudding like crazy. He doesn’t know why, but he really felt intimidated by the man’s presence. He may be smiling, but there is a certain aura of authority in every inch of Mr. Gallagher’s body.

As they turned on a corner, they finally saw the school director’s office which is located at the end of the hallway on the school main building’s second floor.

Mr. Gallagher opened the door for them, and calmly led them into his office. “Take a seat… Would you want some drinks?”

Jacob does not know what to say, so he just sat down on the cushioned seat and admired the school director’s huge office. His mother refused to have any drinks because she was also obviously intimidated, but tried her best not to look tensed.

The school director nodded, and walked towards his seat on the other side of the mahogany table so that he can start talking with his mother.

While the two adults in the room talked, Jacob’s eyes are moving all over the room. Right on the wall behind the school director’s seat is the school’s seal which looked like it was made of bronze because of the interesting sheen on its surface. A huge bookshelf is on the left side of the room, right next to a huge window draped with a maroon curtain with embroidered gold fleur-de-lis on its hem.

There is nothing much inside the room aside from the usual things you can see in an office, but Jacob just can’t seem to get his eyes away from the school’s official seal and emblem. He doesn’t know why he is drawn to it, and why it feels so familiar to him.

“…So Jacob, how do you like this school?”

Jacob didn’t quite pick that up, so he was startled as he was confused. “Er – I’m sorry. I didn’t quite hear what you said, Sir –“

“Mr. Gallagher,” The school director said as he chuckled, “You can call me that.”

Jacob averted his eyes away from the man in front of him. He isn’t like this with strangers, but with the school director in front of him, he can’t help himself but feel tensed. He doesn’t even drink coffee but it feels like he drowned himself in it.

“I – I’m sorry, Mr. Gallagher,” he apologized once again. Jacob doesn’t know why, but he felt like it was the best thing to do instead of staying silent.

“You know, I see potential in you, Mr. Everhart,” the school director told him as he leaned on his seat comfortably, “You see, when I was younger… I had bad grades. They’re much worse than yours, to be honest. But my parents – they believed that I am way more than my scores… That despite of the fact that I don’t perform well in school, I can still become who I want to be. And look where I am now…” He smiled as he moved his gaze on the glass plate on his table where his name and position as the school director is etched, “No one would have expected that the weird and skinny seven-year-old boy would become Faircastle High School’s director.”

Jacob’s mother smiled and nodded proudly. “That’s the same mind-set I have for my boy, Mr. Gallagher. I never obsess about his grades really, and I believe that he has potential that no grading system can evaluate.”

Mr. Gallagher smiled with his eyes, before handing the application form to Jacob. “Take this, young man. Do your best on the upcoming entrance exam. I’ll see you again, Mr. Everhart.”

Jacob looked at the piece of paper on his hands, before looking back at the man smiling in front of him. He was confused with what is happening, but he knew that this is not the last time he’s going to see the school director of Faircastle High School.

********

“Is there something wrong, sweetie?”

Jacob’s eyes shot up when he heard his mother’s voice from his left. That was the moment he realized that she was already sitting right beside him on the floor, while his eyes fell dazed while looking at the game controller in his hands.

He smiled slightly, before placing the game controller on his lap. “I’m just thinking about the new school, Mom…”

“Why?” she sounded worried, “It’s a good school. I know you’ll like it there…”

“It just feels weird to me.” It wasn’t completely the truth, but he meant it still. The whole school and the program it enforces onto students is something he can’t quite grasp yet.

“Everything seems weird when it’s new,” she smiled and poked his cheek, “You’ll get used to it once you start school in a few weeks after you pass the entrance examination – which of course, you’ll definitely manage to pass. You’re no genius, but you’re not stupid.”

Jacob chuckled because of his mother’s words. She has quite the blunt tongue, but she ends up being hilarious most of the time. It’s one of her charms, really. Something that Jacob knew he didn’t inherit. Not even a tad bit.

“Finally… You laughed,” his mother whispered as she looked at his face.

His laughter slowly faded into a chuckle, then turned into a faint smile after the realization hit him. After his grandmother died a month ago, everything started to feel different. Maybe it’s because he just misses her, or maybe because he is still adjusting. Either way, everything just feels so new to Jacob, and he is finding it hard to adjust to the new surroundings and situation.

After leaving his grandmother’s house, he is now staying at his mom’s unit at a high-rise apartment building. She provides him everything, but he just can’t help but miss the smell of his grandma’s apple pie, or her high-pitched voice every time she nags him for turning his room into a mess.

He wants to tell his mom about it, but is afraid that she might feel bad. Jacob knows that his mother is trying her best to fill the gap that his grandmother left inside his heart and mind. She is aware that he is much closer to his late grandmother than her, since she isn’t able to spend more time with him because she is busy providing for his needs.

Jacob grinned before looking at his mom. “I’ll do my best at school, Mom… I promise.”

She smiled after placing a kiss on his forehead. “I know you will, Jacob. And your father will be proud, that’s for sure…” She then sighed, as she admiringly looked at his face, “You look just like your father.”

Jacob’s lips curved into a cheeky smile. He heard that a lot, not just from his mom or their relatives, but from everyone who knows his dad. They all said he inherited almost everything from his late father. From the dark brown hair, his coffee-colored eyes, his nose, the shape of his face, his fair skin, to his height and body build. It seemed that the only thing he got from his mother is her plump lips, which contrasted his sharp, masculine features.

Jacob knew that he looked like an exact copy of his dad’s face because he has seen him in photos, but he thought it was funny, because he’ll never get to see how his dad looks like in person. He doesn’t really know if he misses him or if he yearns for his presence, since he never really knew him and he never had a father-figure in his life. Because of that, he feels a little guilty that he isn’t really that sad about growing up without his dad. There’s nothing to miss about him when he wasn’t even there from the beginning.

She was about to get up from the carpeted floor, but then remembered something. “By the way, are you done filling up the application form? Finish it tonight, so I can drop it off the school on my way to work tomorrow.”

“I’ll do it later…”

She nodded as she smiled, before giving Jacob a quick peck on the cheek. When she finally left the room, Jacob stood up and approached his study table. He took the application form in his hands and sat on the edge of the bed.

As he scanned the contents on the piece of paper, he can’t help but focus on the school’s symbol that is placed on the top right corner of the application form. He doesn’t know why he is so drawn to the image, but he just can’t help it.

“It’s just a symbol…” he tediously whispered to himself, before moving off the bed to the study table to finally fill up the application form.