"I forgot to ask, do you two know where this room is?" Sara inquired, holding out a paper to Peter.
Taking the paper, Peter glanced briefly at it while his friend Ned peered over his shoulder, both focusing their eyes on the paper to read the letters written on it.
"Hey, that's our room" exclaimed Ned.
As Ned mentioned, Sara's room was the same one Peter and Ned were in. With that, it was easy for both of them to indicate where it was, as they were heading there right now.
"Come on, I think we'd better get to the room first before we talk. I don't want to get scolded again" replied Peter, turning around promptly.
With that, the trio began walking down the halls while Sara followed closely behind. She had no idea where she was going, but from what she overheard from the previous conversation, she realized that both of them were also in her class. So, following them, she was sure she would reach her destination.
After a few seconds of walking, the trio arrived at a door leading to a classroom. Sara presumed that would be her room and took a quick look through the glass of the door. She noticed that almost all the students were already present, suggesting that only the three of them hadn't arrived yet.
"Wait here for a moment, I'll inform the teacher that you've arrived" said Peter, turning to enter the classroom.
With that, Peter looked at his friend, and both of them entered the room. Sara watched as they approached the teacher, and shortly after, the trio's attention was turned towards her, waiting by the door. When the teacher approached, Peter and Ned went to their seats.
"Hello, welcome to our school. I know it might be a little sudden for you to transfer like this, but I hope you'll enjoy the classes here" replied the teacher with a friendly smile.
(So, was that the story? I was wondering how Xavier managed to get you into the school) exclaimed Prime in Sara's mind.
Ignoring Prime, Sara just nodded. Under the watchful eyes of the whole class, she followed the teacher into the classroom. There, she saw several children of similar ages to hers, whom she had never interacted with before. Additionally, the fact that the school clearly had a high academic standard did not help alleviate the situation.
"Here, you can sit anywhere that's vacant. Although students don't have assigned seats, they usually occupy the same seats throughout the year" said the teacher, maintaining her friendly smile.
Again nodding, Sara headed for one of the empty chairs in the center of the room. By coincidence, the chair was directly behind Peter's. With a nod, Sara settled in behind Peter and then looked to the side to identify who would be her desk neighbor.
Looking to the side, Sara spotted a girl with blonde hair tied in a ponytail, focused on her notes. The girl's beauty was noticeable, and Sara also couldn't help but notice Peter's furtive glance in her direction.
Seeing this, Sara nudged Peter's friend, Ned, catching his attention. She then discreetly pointed to Peter, who was looking at the blonde girl with an admiring look. From Sara's point of view, Peter seemed like a lovesick fool. Ned seemed to understand Sara's suggestive look as he responded.
"That's Gwen Stacy. She's very smart and one of the prettiest girls in school, along with Jean. Peter has always had a crush on her" explained Ned, whispering to Sara.
Ned's words didn't go unnoticed by Peter, who quickly turned his gaze to his friend, trying to make sure if the girl had heard or not.
"What's up?" asked Ned, noticing Peter's inquisitive expression.
"Dude, that was a secret. You said you wouldn't tell" said Peter, reproaching his friend.
"Look, in my defense, she was staring at me with a scary look while asking me that" replied Ned, pointing to Sara, who just raised an eyebrow.
Sara quickly reminded herself that she wouldn't share any of her secrets with the boy. Then she realized that Peter was staring at her, almost begging her not to tell Gwen anything. Of course, Sara wasn't the type to play with others' feelings like that.
Seeing Sara nod, Peter felt more relieved. So, Sara decided to introduce herself to her classmate, as they would both spend a lot of time together.
Getting Gwen's attention, she quickly turned to Sara, opening a gentle and warm smile. From Sara's point of view, Gwen seemed to be an extremely cheerful and helpful girl. She thought people like Gwen usually had many friends.
"Hello, it's nice to meet you. My name is Sara and I was transferred to this school today" said Sara.
Even though her smile wasn't as wide and bright as most, Sara still managed to muster a decent grin from her typically stoic face.
"Pleasure's mine. I'm Gwen Stacy. Hope we can get along" Gwen said, eyeing Sara.
Soon after, Sara and Gwen chatted for a while before the teacher interrupted them, signaling that classes were about to start. As time passed, Sara found herself increasingly filled with questions about various things she was witnessing firsthand.
(Prime, are you sure you didn't do anything to make me smarter? I'm strangely understanding everything the teacher's saying with just a bit of mental effort. How does that make sense?) Sara asked Prime in her mind.
(I really didn't do anything, to be honest. Your brain seems to have a knack for understanding and assimilating things. In simpler terms, you're probably akin to a little genius. Plus, how could you say it doesn't make sense if you've never been to school?) Prime responded, to which Sara had to agree.
She had never attended a traditional school, and consequently, had never stopped to assess her level of intelligence. Though Sara occasionally encountered some math problems, she never found them difficult and simply assumed everyone had the same ease.
(Am I smart?) Sara asked, seeking confirmation.
(Seems like it) Prime replied indifferently.
Prime wasn't lying; Sara's brain was truly fascinating. While she didn't grasp everything instantly, whenever new information arose, it seemed like Sara's brain absorbed and stored it effortlessly. In a way, it was as if Sara had a photographic memory, albeit on a slightly less precise scale.
As the familiar sound of the recess bell echoed through the room, everyone began to rise quickly, diving into lively conversations as they seemed to have a clear destination in mind. Sara, as a newcomer to the school, just assumed she'd use the break to explore the surroundings and get to know the place better - at least, those were her initial plans.
"Sara, how about we go to the cafeteria together? The food here is pretty good, I'm sure you'll like it" Gwen asked with an inviting smile.
Sara saw no reason to refuse, so she simply nodded in response to Gwen's question. Before joining her, Sara turned to Peter and Ned, who were watching her closely.
(I owe you one for helping me) Sara thought as she looked at Peter.
"Would you mind taking these two? They helped me when I was lost, so I thought I'd thank them" Sara asked, addressing Gwen.
"Sure thing, I'm fine with that" Gwen replied with a smile.
With that, the quartet soon found themselves in the school hallways, exploring every nook. Ned, Peter, and Gwen didn't miss the chance to show Sara the different places, including the huge outdoor playing field. Sara easily noticed that Peter, Ned, and Gwen weren't very athletic, but were more interested in the scientific side of things.
Lately, Sara had begun to reflect more on herself, realizing that she also leaned more towards the science side. She found out that she was much smarter than she had imagined. For example, Sara could solve math problems she had never seen before with just a few explanations.
As Sara got lost in her thoughts, the loud noise coming from the dormitory finally brought her back to reality, making her gaze at the noisy area. The tables seemed to group by affinities, one of them occupied by guys wearing gaming shirts, while another gathered those with glasses and the typical nerd behavior.
(This place is pretty noisy, probably even more so than the mansion) Prime mused in her thoughts.
Personally, Sara didn't mind the noise much, but she understood Prime. Now, with her senses, including hearing, much sharper than before, it really bothered her a bit.