Hunting the Elusive Target

Scarlet was dying of second-hand embarrassment on the inside. Danny walked past the other classes ongoing like a proud mother showing off his new hatchlings.

The health station was devoid of people when they arrived and Danny even had to shoo away some stray sparrows chilling on the weighing machine.

"Welcome to the health station! I'm Danny Wong, the school's counsellor, your homeroom teacher, and also your Physical Education trainer! Please remove your shoes, you can leave your socks on. Let's start with attendance. Scarlet Wilde?"

"Present."

"Alexandra Wilde?"

"Here!"

"Jasper Hopper?"

"..."

"Brilliant! We have 25% attendance today, better than usual. Alright, boys and girls, we will be starting with the height measurements. Please step inside this box and put your feet together. After that, look straight and let the machine do its job! Any questions?"

The three children were speechless when Danny continued talking to himself with never-ending optimism. Alex wasn't sure if their teacher was a qualified counsellor or simply a brilliant quack.

Scarlet was the first to go up and Danny praised her after recording her measurement.

"Oh! You're 142 minus 21cm tall, slightly below average but nothing to be ashamed of, it's a fun size and you'll shoot right up once puberty hits."

Jasper didn't know if this teacher was serious. For the special class, they definitely didn't cut corners. Even the teacher was an extra special case.

"Oui! Elegantly five-foot, you have the potential to be a model in the future, Alex."

Jasper was slightly reluctant when it came to his turn. He didn't want to listen to any of the flowery commentaries this nutcase was spewing but still complied to get over it quickly.

"Jasper Hopp- oh my, you must be eager to know your height. Alright, let's see... 136cm tall. Not bad."

"..." Jasper didn't know what to say about that disappointed tone. Clearly, Danny was judging him silently.

They moved on to the wright station and that was where things became slightly more serious. Scarlet didn't hear the teacher announcing her weight but his lips thinned. In fact, Danny didn't announce anyone's weight. The BMI was quickly calculated and everyone except Scarlet received the passing mark.

"Does this mean I have to do a retest?" Scarlet asked.

Danny smiled less openly now and patted the girl on her head. "No, it isn't necessary. However, I will need to have a talk with your parents to make some changes in your diet. As a growing girl, you are a little too thin to be healthy. I'm worried about you. I don't think you're a picky eater after all..."

Scarlet blinked. "I am eating well... the Wilde's are treating me very well..."

Danny looked at the girl and blinked. Nobody could tell what he was thinking, but he didn't remain serious for long and patted Scarlet again before concluding that they finished the Physical Education lessons for the day and would be heading back to class.

Scarlet needed some help with putting on her shoes but other than that, they returned as silently as they came.

Back in the classroom, Alex asked if they needed to change out of the sports attire. Danny blinked. "You can choose if you want to do that. There isn't a real dress code for the special class unlike the rest of the school."

Scarlet blinked. "Who are the other students in the class?"

Danny danced a little when he heard that question as if he'd been waiting for it. "Young Scarlet! I'm glad you asked!"

Before the children could react, Danny dimmed the lights and turned the projector on. The blogger wasn't sure when the teacher had the laptop ready, but there was a powerpoint presentation already on screen. Jasper whistled and Alex raised a brow. They were beginning to see why none of the other students bothered to attend class.

"Meet Lin Lin! She is eight this year and a violin prodigy. Lin Lin has played the violin solely by listening and is a professional violinist. She travels around the world as a guest performer so it is rather difficult to see her in classes. Lin Lin occasionally comes back to take her tests. Her mother engages a tutor who travels with her so she wouldn't fall behind on her studies."

"Next up, we have Mr Farid Haik, a child Thomas Edison! He's too busy talking with scientists and engineers alike and occasionally pays NASA a visit. Like Lin Lin, Farid is usually too busy for classes."

This went on for fifteen minutes and in summary, Jasper knew that these kids were bigger geniuses than they were. Jun Le was a chess grandmaster. Rebecca Wee was a Youth Olympic athlete competing in horse riding. Nathan Chia was a math and physics mega nerd who was currently working on his PhD in Quantum Physics. Ria and Camila Lopez were twin sisters who sashayed the world stage as dance prodigies competing from ballroom to hip-hop. Jean Dawn was a girl who spoke sixteen languages and was still learning more. Elfie Yskandar was a techy person who was working with the government to catch virtual criminals. He was a full-time white hat hacker.

From what Scarlet understood, the youngest student in their class was Lin Lin, who was eight, while the oldest was Nathan, who was fourteen. Nathan also happened to be the record holder for the highest Mensa IQ of 178 in Joyville International. Everyone was usually preoccupied with something and the class was usually an empty room. School was merely a name and a cover for these kids to pursue their professional careers.

Danny continued talking away explaining to them about every student's accomplishments, but Scarlet was already spacing out, thinking of how she could spy on the students and write her observations into the blog.

There were nine students, one teacher and that made ten entries. Her second goal within the ten weeks was to complete a novella by herself for evaluation. While Scarlet tossed ideas around in her head, Danny was entertaining queries about the school extracurricular activities that Alex and Jasper were interested in applying.

The counsellor was thrilled to receive such enthusiastic students. It was a huge jump from being a placeholder due to the short-staffed school. Now that he had actual students, Danny decided not to disappoint them.

"Would you like a tour of the school? I can show you the clubs and what they do!"

Scarlet refused and pointed to her leg. She wished Jasper and Alex good luck when Danny dragged them away.

When the blogger was finally alone, she decided to continue with her research. Psychology and philosophy were very interesting subjects for her.