Situational Awareness

Alex didn't see what was the purpose of them having to register for class when they knew that they would be in the said class.

It wasn't like the first day of school where they didn't know the layout of the school or the rules. Why couldn't they have just emailed them the details and they just show up in class?

Alex found this act to be quite redundant and he was already feeling apprehensive about how effective or good the so-called 'Accelerated' Class would be. Sure, it was his father that had initiated it but that was only at the planning stage, right?

The implementation itself may become faulty.

Alex sighed and stood there quietly while the others listened intently to the instructions. He looked behind and noted that his father was standing there with Ariel, who waved at him happily but didn't say a word.

Alex just gave her a nod, and turned his attention back to the teacher at the Accelerated Class 'counter'.

"How many other students are there, Teacher?" asked Aurora as she took the files.

"At the moment, including the four of you, it is ten," replied the teacher.

"Wow! So many!" Fleur gushed.

Alex rolled his eyes.

Ten is considered a lot?

From what he understood, the Accelerated Class wasn't just for P2 students like them but it actually encompassed the entire primary school division. So ten was really very little.

There were 6 levels of primary school (P1-P6) and each level had 6 classes with 18 students. This meant, there were 648 students in total. Thus, 10 out of 648 meant a mere 0.15%.

0.15% !!

Alex didn't think there were so few 'geniuses'. Surely there should be more?

Ariel leaned over to her father's ear and whispered, "What does the sign say, Daddy?"

"It says 'Accelerated Class', Rie," Kyle told her in a low voice.

Rie nodded, "I see."

After a few seconds, she then asked, "What is ack-se..se.."

"Accelerated," Kyle said, helping her.

"Ack-se.."

"Le.." Kyle prodded.

"Le..sdsms," Ariel mumbled, giving up. It was so hard! Why was there such a long word??

Kyle held her tighter to him, noting her down mood and thus, did not mention the way she had stumbled over the words.

"Accelerated," he said, saying the word slowly this time, "means that it is faster."

Ariel tilted her head, "Faster? You mean, they move faster in class?"

Kyle smiled, "Yes, but not in the way you mean. They learn their subjects faster."

Ariel was silent for a while then she asked, "Oh, because Brother Alex and Sister Rory are so smart, right?"

"Yes, Rie," Kyle said.

She leaned on her father and asked in a softer voice, "Would you be sad if I don't enter the same class like Brother Alex and Sister Rory?"

Kyle turned his head to look at his dejected little baby and kissed her forehead, "Rie, you are you. As long as you do your best, I am happy."

Ariel gave a small sigh but didn't say anything. Instead, she just stared at her siblings in front of her.

Kyle began to wonder if it had been a good idea to let her see what was going on, then immediately dismissed the thought. It was better for Ariel to learn as much as she can, and at least, at this point, he could reiterate the fact that she need not compete with her elder siblings.

The only true person you're competing with, is yourself.

To be a better you.

Kyle said as much to her.

"Rie, each person is special in their own way," Kyle said, "You can look at your elder siblings as inspiration, perhaps, but never to compare what they can do, with yourself."

He held her tighter to him and continued, "You're fine as you are and you're working hard to improve yourself. Like breaking your bad habit of sucking your thumb."

Ariel finally lifted up her head and smiled at her father, "Yeah. I did that, right?"

Kyle smiled, kissing her forehead again, "Yes, yes you did."

She snuggled back into her father's arms and said softly, "I love you, Daddy."

"I love you too, Rie," Kyle replied, rubbing his cheek on her head.

Ariel giggled.

✿ Author posts on WN and neovel ✿

Though Alex appeared to be focusing his attention on the teacher in front of him, he was actually listening (or trying to) to his surroundings.

Situational awareness.

That was something he was recently training on and it was really hard to do.

He had already been doing it, albeit unknowingly, since P1.

Looking at his surroundings, identifying entry and exit points, and even imagining what he would do if there was unexpected danger.

But it was only when his father started teaching him systematically about 'situational awareness' did Alex realise he had been doing it all wrong.

Well, not all wrong but he had missed out on a few steps.

There were six basic steps, and this was mainly derived from Krav Maga (i.e. art of self-defense).

First, identify the objects around you or rather, be mindful of your surroundings. To take note of every object in the immediate vicinity. Everything, from chairs, tables, trash, and even walls should be noted and recorded in the mind.

This was crucial to know when something goes out of place (or is out of place), or you don't have to look about should you want to fight. Your mind already knows where things are and your body will react and act accordingly.

This was one of the things Alex didn't do. Well, not at first. He would only consider his environment when he started visualising scenarios. However, he acknowledged what his father had tried to teach him about how important this first step was.

It wasn't just about being familiar with the environment but to be aware of it. Seemed like the same thing, but it wasn't. When you're too familiar with an environment, you would take it for granted. There could be hidden dangers that you didn't notice - well, yes, that is what 'hidden' means but what this meant was that if you were aware of your environment, the dangers wouldn't be hidden.

The second point: notice other people. This was something Alex always did, but it was more to learn or observe them rather than to watch out for nervous or agitated behaviour. One was to keep an eye out on people who seem to be moving outside the norm. The ability to detect inconsistencies or distress in other people can allow one to anticipate dangerous situations.

Another aspect to this - and one which his father seemed to be nagging him about - was that Alex had been here for a year and had yet to identify the MIB agents that were stationed at the school.

The MIBs here were kids like him, so they couldn't really be that highly skilled.

Or were they?

Were they skilled, or was it that he, Alex, was just that bad?

Alex gritted his teeth.

Well, he admitted to himself that his focus on this aspect had been wrong. He had been looking for MIB agents and this was done by trying to observe the people that had been in contact with him.

He envisioned that these MIB agents would want to be friends with him; but, unfortunately, that theory went bust.

Probably because he hardly made any friends.

So, now, as he learned more about situational awareness, Alex knew he should really be focusing on the behaviour. Were those the norm or not? Anything that would tip him off that they did not really 'belong' here - then, they are either bad guys or MIB.

Same difference.

The third point, is to identify entry and exit points. This part was one that Alex did quite extensively so it wasn't such a big issue. Knowing how to run away was also important.

Fourth, practice prediction. To predict the actions of the people around. This was in line with the second point (to notice other people). What he had been doing was to prepare for the worst case scenario but he had not been doing it from the perspective of the people that were around him.

It was more of 'what if someone attacked the school' sort of scenario and not 'what if one of the classmates was an assassin'? Of course, the latter was ridiculous but the point was, he was to observe people with suspicious behaviour and then imagine what the worst-case scenario.

For example, the amicable teacher in front of him had a strained look in his eye. What if he snapped and went bezerk, attacking the child in front of him?

The fifth point: to be vigilant. Not to be engrossed in the phone or lost in thought. To maintain constant vigilance so that one is able to predict problems before they arise. Such exercises would naturally be extremely exhausting, but when practised enough, it becomes second nature.

And when that becomes second nature, one's instinct also gets sharpened.

Which leads to the final point: trust your instinct.

This, however, was something that Alex was the weakest at. And it was something his father poked at him mercilessly for.

In order to hone his instincts properly, he had to let go of certain … things … such as his 'almost second nature' aggression towards his father.

Such as right now.

Though he was trying very hard to focus on the surroundings around him, he was too well aware of his father behind him. Making him lose focus.

Darn it.