But at the same time, a deep fear and nervousness held him back, stopping him from looking at Clark for too long.
Clark had grown up to look exactly like the god-like hero Soren had seen in comics.
Or rather, it wasn't that he just looked like him—Clark Kent was Superman.
Back when Soren was a little cat, he couldn't speak, so he would just sit silently next to Clark, watching the young alien boy with his cat eyes.
Even though he knew back then that his little boy would one day become a great hero for all of humanity, Clark's innocence made it hard for Soren to connect that image with the mighty Superman.
Now, it hit him hard.
The boy who are standing in front of him was the very one who had given him courage, loyalty, and hope since childhood—his hero, Superman.
He was the Son of Tomorrow.
He was… the future.
Soren looked up at Clark, unable to find the words to speak.
Martha noticed Soren's odd behavior but kindly assumed that he was just shy around new people.
She gave him a warm, friendly smile and gently patted Clark on the shoulder.
"Clark, this is your new friend. Why don't you go and hang out with Soren?" she said kindly.
Clark was still thinking about that strange surge of feeling when he heard Martha speak.
He then gave him a bright, cloudless smile, as clear as the sky over the cornfield, "Hi, your name is Soren? Is this your first time in Smallville?"
Soren nodded his head looking a little bit dazed, his baby-blue eyes hardly moving from Clark.
Renee watched them with a smile, encouraging Soren, "Soren, Clark goes to Smallville High School too. Maybe you two can go to school together."
More than that.
Soren wasn't just going to attend Smallville High School—he had chosen to be in the same grade and class as Clark.
He was determined to stay close to Clark.
At first, Charlie and Renee didn't believe Soren could skip ahead to the 12th grade.
They worried he might struggle with the coursework and feel frustrated.
But after Soren casually solved several advanced math problems (which were just elementary-level for a New Earthian), they realized his learning abilities were far beyond kids his age.
Charlie immediately decided to let Soren choose whichever grade he wanted, fully supporting Soren's academic choices without hesitation.
Soren licked his lips nervously, his pale lips look like a rose petals that has been touched by dew.
He looked up at Clark and nervously asked, "Do you... want to play Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne?"
Clark: "?"
Clark responded cheerfully, "Sure!"
Soren: "???"
Wait, what did he just say???
If no one else had been watching, Soren would've probably wanted to bang his head against the wall.
What was wrong with him?
Why on Earth did he randomly blurt out an invitation for Clark Kent to play Warcraft with him?
But the words were already out, and there was no taking them back.
Feeling awkward, Soren stiffly led Clark to his small study room.
As they walked in, Soren saw his notebook lay open on the desk.
Before Clark could glimpse it, Soren quickly snapped it shut with a loud "clap."
—Inside the notebook were sketches of a gene suppressor he'd been working on.
In order to prevent anyone from understanding his notes, he'd written everything in New Earthian's languages.
Even though he hadn't succeeded in building the gene suppressor yet, Soren refused to give up.
Even after moving to Kansas, he kept working on improving the design.
Clark noticed Soren's swift move but didn't think much of it.
He figured it was just a private diary or something that Soren didn't want anyone to see.
Instead, Clark's attention was caught by a spaceship model on the shelf.
He thought it looked interesting and strange, "What's this? An alien ship?"
"That's the Silver Lady," Soren said nervously, worried Clark might accidentally break his precious model, "It took me seven hours to put it together."
"The Silver Lady?"
Soren was shocked, "You've never seen Star Trek?!"
Clark: "??"
He was confused and honestly said, "I've heard my classmates talk about it, but I've never watched it in the theater..."
"No way, I can't allow you to not know about Star Trek! It's amazing!" Soren said, sounding heartbroken.
He really had been careless.
How could he leave New York without making sure this Kryptonian kid got hooked on Star Trek?
Immediately, Soren threw all his other thoughts aside, even forgetting about Warcraft.
He crouched down and started rummaging through his drawer for Star Trek DVDs while muttering to himself, "If you haven't seen the ST series, you should start with the movies. The TV shows are too long and might feel overwhelming. But the second movie... it's a masterpiece! The Wrath of Khan is legendary!"
Clark smiled slightly and watched patiently as his new neighbor got completely lost in his own world.
At first, he thought this kid from New York would feel distant, maybe hard to connect with.
But now, watching Soren's eyes light up as he hugged the DVDs, Clark was starting to doubt his first impression.
That afternoon, Soren enthusiastically explained everything about the Star Trek series to Clark.
He even insisted that Clark sit through three Star Trek movies with him.
Every time a familiar scene played, Soren would excitedly mimic the characters' lines and voices.
He even performed a short conversation in Klingon for Clark.
His face glowed with the joy of sharing something he loved, and his eyes seemed to sparkle—so much more lively than when Clark had first seen him on the stairs.
Clark thought to himself, maybe his new neighbor wasn't so ordinary after all.
...
On Monday morning, in the noisy classroom, Clark saw his new neighbor again.
The teacher walked in with Soren and introduced the new student to the class.
Soren was wearing a cream-colored sailor top with a navy collar, paired with knee-length navy blue shorts.