Ben sat huddled in a corner seat, frowning as he looked into his test paper. It was the first period, and the boy had agreed to come to school because Jimmy had asked him to. He had promised Ben that mommy was okay, and that he would let the boy stay at home until she recovered fully – the only condition being that he went for the test today. It had sounded like a fair deal.

Ben trusted Jimmy.

The test, the ‘Science’ paper was supposed to be in the seventh period. Ben had taken matters into his hand and fearlessly approached Mrs. Tusk’s office once Chenric and three other bodyguards had dropped him off to the school. The principal had been delighted to see him, but the little boy had meant business. He had greeted her politely, stared gravely into the old woman’s eyes and impassively made his request.

“We have a Science test scheduled for the second last period ma’am. Please reschedule it for the first.”

It hadn’t been a request, it had been a subtle command. Benji had resembled every bit of Jimmy and Simon Hunter when he said the words. The boy knew he had a privilege. He knew how to use it too.

Mrs. Tusk had obviously agreed, once she had asked, “Yes, my boy. But why?”

“My mommy is sick. I want to go home after the test.”

That had been the end of it. Mrs. Tusk wasn’t someone who allowed abuse of privilege, but she didn’t deny what seemed reasonable enough either. That little stunt of Ben though, cost him his newly made circle of friends.

Ever since he had been little, Benji had always been moving around. His mommy never stuck in a single place for too long, and they never lived in a place where there were any kids his age. Ben had grown up alone, and he found the loneliness his constant, comfortable companion. His recourse had forever been books, but that did not mean he was socially inept.

Ben’s first trial had been the first day of school, when he had suddenly been put into a single room with kids three to four years older than himself. He had never had friends, but his mommy had taught him well.

“Think,” she would tell him, “Always, think.”

The first day of school had disoriented little Ben.

He had been unwelcomed in that classroom – he had felt it the instant he had stepped inside. Mommy had warned him about it, she had told him that something of the sort might happen. He was a five year old outstepping his domain – the older kids would not see to it nicely.

She had also said something which was rather controversial to Ben’s mind.

“Baby,” Miya had said while getting him ready for his first day, “I’m telling you this because you’re so smart. I’d initially thought I would have to say this to you when you get into high school. I’ve heard it’s tough. But… Ben, you’ll do too well in class, and the other kids would think of you as a rival. I don’t want you to become a pompous jerk, but I also don’t want you to become an outsider. Think of a middle way, okay?”

Ben had registered mommy’s words, but their implication hadn’t dawned on him until he had stepped into class the very first time.

The hostility had been palpable, as had been the discomfort.

Ben had been made to sit near a window, from where he could stare down at the park below. No one – not even the girl beside him made the effort to talk. He was lean, not short, but he was smaller than the others. He whispered a stiff, “Hello,” and was met with a cold, “Hi.”

Then, nothing.

The first half of the day had been blatant stares and hushed whispers. He had tried to communicate, in the shy yet determined way that he did. Only, the other kids weren’t interested in pleasantries. They had been interested in his presence as a whole.

“Why’re you here?” they had asked.

“To study,” Ben had very simply replied.

A mean looking boy had laughed.

“We know that stupid,” he said, “I’m asking why you’re here, in OUR class. Turns out you’re not very smart, like Mrs. Tusk said.”

Then another laugh.

Ben had been dumbfounded, his pride hurt but his being frozen in place.

He hadn’t known how to deal with the boys.

The lunch break had been no better, everyone had avoided him almost instantly. Nerd, they whispered, almost as if it was a swear word. It confused Ben, but it brought in him a rivalrous, a competitive spirit to tackle the big boys with his best resource – intellect.

The next three classes, post break he had singlehandedly answered all of the teacher’s questions.

Proud and with a triumphant smirk on his face, he had then looked back at the mortified class. Somehow, the look of contempt on their faces did not cheer him up. It made him think.

“I don’t want you to be a pompous jerk,” mommy had said, “but I don’t want you to be an outsider too.”

In that moment, Benji Hunter had managed to become both.

The dilemma had hit Ben like a bomb.

He wasn’t bullied, like mommy had warned, he was just ignored. But that didn’t go down well with him. He was mommy’s – Miya’s son.

And his mommy could not only beat the shit out of people, she could also talk her way through the world.

Ben hadn’t watched it himself, but he knew mommy must have talked to Jimmy, somehow coaxed him into forgiving them despite them beating him up. There were times when mommy could get out of fights using words alone, when he was with her and she met a bad man. Mommy was smart.

Even when she told him she was a ‘dumbass’.

That entire evening, Ben had spent in contemplating how to survive in this new world of kids older than him. He had asked Jimmy in indirect ways, the young master’s response had been unwise, in Ben’s opinion. Jimmy had blatantly said, “Be dazzling, son. Outdo those stupid elder kids, make sure they know who’s commander.”

There was no commander. And Ben wasn’t unnecessarily getting into a fight.

Grandpa Hunter had been of no use either, he had said if Ben was having trouble making friends, he would send the boy to school with a lot of chocolates the next day that he could give to everyone in class. That way, he’d have friends.

“All people have a price,” Simon had very prudently explained.

Ben had uncomfortably shrugged.

Uncle Park had simply been too concerned and worried about his queries to give him any advice, Aunty Charlie quietly told him to “Ignore dumb kids.”

Mommy, of course, used the key term.

Socialize.

“Make friends, Ben. Socialize,” she had said, “I want you to enjoy school while you work hard.”

That word was the key to everything in Ben’s mind. Because he had read it in almost all elementary Science books.

Man is a social animal.

Ben understood, by instinct that he needed to get along with at least someone in class.

He couldn’t come up with a plan, but he was determined to do something about the issue. So the next day, Ben made the mean looking boy from before, his target. He seated himself directly behind that boy, and awaited his chance.

It happened during the Social Studies class. The teacher seemed to have an extraordinary grudge against the mean boy it seemed – she directed every third of her questions at him. The mean boy too wasn’t very sharp – he was dumb actually. He could answer nothing.

So when the teacher asked him what ‘democracy’ meant, he stood silent and still. Ben took his chance.

Very quietly, he whispered to the boy, “Government. For the people. Of the people. By the people.” Because Ben was seated directly behind, he was audible mostly only to him. And so, for the first time, the mean boy – Teddy, his name was – knew an answer.

Teddy was surprised too, he blurted out the four statements awkwardly. The teacher was almost shocked, but the boy was let off.

That was the day’s first victory, as something that Ben had expected to happen, happened.

Teddy, turned around with a lousy grin on his face and looked directly into Ben’s eyes.

“Thanks man,” he said.

“No problem,” Ben replied.

“My name’s Teddy.”

I know. “Ben,” Benji Hunter replied again.

He was formally invited to join the boy for lunch. Ben wouldn’t have to sit alone for lunch anymore. The first victory was secured.

Second, was pure chance.

The kids ate their food fast during the forty minute break, so that they’d have time to hang around or play. The high schoolers hung around. The little ones played. And their games ranged everything from hide and seek to a makeshift scavenger hunt, from cricket and baseball with all its technicalities to a simple ‘throw ball’. Ben was invited for a game of hide an seek, and in his quest for one of the hiding classmates, he went too close to the basketball court.

It was a tiled lawn of sorts with two poles with baskets attached, on either end of the lawn. The bigger kids were playing. Somebody let go of the ball, and it came flying into Ben’s face.

It was one of those moments when everyone froze. The huge ball was ready to hit the child, the new, too small, nerd child. And then, magic happened.

The nerd child ducked, and with a single hand resting on the ground, propelled his body up till he had leaped to the side.

His wrist almost broke, but his face was safe.

Ben was an instant hit.

What he had done was ‘cool’ – he had given a performance publicly, done a stunt too agile, made a leap too cool. Within the next four periods, Ben went all the way from ‘New Nerd Boy’ to ‘Little Benji’ – the one who did the stunts.

The older girls in his class called him Little Benji too, as did the boys. And almost suddenly, Ben had a plethora of friends.

In the next few days, Ben noticed how much he enjoyed the company of others. He wasn’t sure they were his ‘friends’ but he liked the idea of them. He also could easily flaunt his knowledge to the teacher now and answer all questions without scoring any begrudging looks from the other kids. After all, he helped them out too.

Ben realized mommy’s advice had worked. She was a genius.

School was therefore good for Benji Hunter, almost like a game of chess. And yet, today, when he got the Science test shifted from the seventh period to the first, he had rebellion to face. A quarter of his friend circle opposed him – claimed they planned to study at lunch break. He had disrupted their schedule.

It was the first time that Ben felt something close to ‘snapping’ then. He had read it in fiction – he snapped, she snapped – Ben didn’t know what it meant. But right then, when a group of his idiotic acquaintances walked up to him and whined, he felt something in him snap. He felt angry, he was too worried about his mommy. He was annoyed that no one would tell him what happened to her. He was hurt he hadn’t seen her in the brief time when she had been awake. All over, he was just worried. He felt like crying.

And he was angry.

The little boy clenched his fists, breathed like mommy did when she was red with agitation, and thought. After a while, he came up with a simple solution. He let one boy copy his answers, it was upon this boy to help out the other incompetent kids who hadn’t studied. Then, Ben did another simple thing.

He quietly texted the teacher.

[Victor. Cheating.]

His number was anonymous, Ben knew that. And he simple shut off the phone after he had texted. That was the thing about adults he trusted – no matter where they were, or what they were doing, they almost instantaneously checked their phones.

Benji didn’t have any primary intention to rat out his friends. But he wasn’t going to be dishonest because they were stupid enough to not do their jobs. At the same time, he didn’t want to be an outcast because of the little stunt he had pulled by getting the test shifted. So, he found his middle ground.

He helped them like a friend should.

Then he ratted them out, because the help was wrong.

He didn’t lose companions, and they would learn their lesson.

Benji picked up his bag, took the teacher’s permission as she nodded a yes while looking into her phone, and walked out.

The test was over. He needed to go back to mom now.

Throughout this all, the principal couldn’t help the slight shiver that ran down her shoulders and through her spine.

Mrs. Tusk had been dealing with children for too long, and when Ben had appeared before her in the morning, something about him had disoriented her. It was the look in his pale blue, dark eyes maybe – they had been cold like Jimmy Hunter’s but there was a dreadful calm about them too. One that made her watch the kid through the cameras installed in his classroom.

That was one aspect that Benji Hunter had probably not calculated in his mind.

As Mrs. Tusk saw the boy let another boy cheat, she was furious, and deeply disappointed. Then, her curiosity rose when she saw Benji shove a hand in his bag and text. She knew he had a phone – Jim had told her it was important. And when finally, the child walked out and the teacher began to kick a fuss around Victor, the boy Ben had helped, it all dawned on Mrs. Tusk.

Somehow, in that moment, Ben hadn’t resembled his father. Or his grandfather.

He had reminded Mrs. Tusk of another, far more dangerous man that Raven High had schooled and groomed.

The Chairman of the Kan Group, Kang Sheng.

The eyes, maybe. The events from the day, definitely.

Benji Hunter would grow up to be a dangerous man, she realized.

Very quickly, she gave Simon Hunter a call.