Scene at School

Sanjay slowly opened his eyes. It was as if a blind man had regained his sight. The entire world transformed from 240p to 1080p; nothing could escape his senses.

All the information that had seemed confusing before now flooded vividly into his mind, and his brain settled itself.

"So, I died, and the otherworldly being gave me another chance in the year 2010, and I got NZT-48 as my power. Can I control it and shut it down?" He attempted to control it, but it seemed like the effect of NZT-48 was permanent.

However, he needed to conduct more tests to ascertain whether the side effects shown in the movie still lingered, but still he was pretty sure he became the smartest man in the world.

Feeling hungry, his brain continuously overworked. The school bell rang for lunchtime.

"Trrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr."

It was lunchtime, and he exited the restroom, feeling refreshed. Through NZT-48, he could recall every single thing that had happened throughout his life, including this day.

He had forgotten to do his math homework, which consisted of 20 questions his math teacher had assigned for completion within a week. However, he was not stressed, as NZT-48 automatically calmed him down.

He quickly headed toward his classroom, where he noticed girls eating their lunch in a group, and boys discussing which games to play. Some were busy copying homework from others.

He didn't disturb anyone and quietly made his way to his desk, taking out his notebook. His friends were also busy copying from one of the smarter students' notebooks.

"Hey, Sanjay, what happened, dude? Did you think about Riya all night?" his best friend, Aditya, asked.

"Hahaha," all his friends burst into laughter.

"No, bro, I was thinking about how you love Jaya, and no one knows."

Adhitya was flustered, not knowing what to say. How did Sanjay know? He hadn't told anyone. Jaya was his new crush.

"Ooooooooooooooo," the boys teased, while both girls, Jaya and Riya, glanced towards Adhitya. Adhitya hung his head in embarrassment and busied himself with copying homework.

Sanjay looked at Riya. He used to have a massive crush on Riya before, but with maturity, he realized that no girl would care if he wasn't successful in the future. At least he should be able to provide basic necessities. Both Riya and Jaya were among the top students, with Jaya holding the first position and Riya usually securing second or third. But Riya was the most beautiful one.

Sanjay stopped caring and focused on his notebook, completely forgetting about the homework. He hadn't even started the first question.

Sanjay began solving the questions one by one, finding it as easy as a breeze. He could solve the problems in various ways, but he chose the shortest method to save time. He was so swift that within 15 minutes, he completed all 20 questions.

"Okay, done. Now, I'll just grab some lunch." There were only 15 minutes left before the class resumed.

The school had a cafeteria, and he hurried there, purchasing a bun for 10 indian rupees. Taking a bite, he pondered his future and how to become rich.

Still in 8th grade, he had a desktop at home. He could start writing some programs on his desktop and sell them to a big corporation. It was still 2010, and with his brain and knowledge, it wouldn't be very difficult to earn money.

He wanted to become rich, but he needed to gather the capital first. After accumulating capital, he had multiple ways to become wealthy. His brain worked like a supercomputer, calculating every possible method to become rich within a few years. However, becoming rich was not enough; he also needed to become powerful. Every money-making corporation was targeted by money hungry politicians.

The best way to become rich and powerful was through social media. Jeff Bezos once said, "If you control data, you could control the world." And data is most widely available through social media, if he could build a popular social media platform, he could easily dominate the entire Indian market. Given India's population, its market was expected to be the most emerging one.

Soon, the bell rang, signaling the start of the next class. He returned to his class and sat near Aditya. Aditya still couldn't look at him without shame, but Sanjay smiled at him. Both Jaya and Riya sat in the front row, while he and Aditya occupied the second bench. They didn't choose the second bench willingly; they had to rotate their seats every day. The next day, they would be in the first row while Jaya and Riya would be at the back.

The class began, and their math teacher entered. Known as one of the strictest teachers in the school, he wouldn't hesitate to reprimand or physically discipline the students, especially since there was no proper law in India to prevent such actions.

"Everybody, take out your homework," he instructed, going through the assignments one by one, starting from the first row.

In the second row, he first checked Aditya's homework. Despite not working too hard, Aditya managed to remain among the top 10 students in the class. On the other hand, Sanjay has even been in the top 10 from below. However, he was still Aditya's best buddy, even after Sanjay got a job and Aditya moved to the USA; they still kept in touch over the phone.

As the teacher started reviewing Sanjay's homework, he didn't seem impressed.

"What is this?" the teacher asked, raising his voice. "It's my homework, Sir," Sanjay responded calmly.

The teacher was infuriated. "What rubbish is this? Who told you to do it like this? Show me your hands!"

"Sir, just because you don't understand doesn't mean it's wrong. The problem is solved using differential equations. It's taught in the 11th standard. You must have studied it in college," Sanjay explained in an innocent voice.

"Rubbish! How could a dull boy like you know an 11th standard solution? You can't even solve an 8th standard problem!" The teacher attempted to slap him.

Sanjay dodged the slap and caught the teacher's hand mid-air. The entire class was shocked, never having imagined such a dramatic scene in their midst.

"Under Section 17(1) of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, it is expressly banned to subject a child to mental harassment or physical punishment. Cruelty to children is also prohibited under Section 23 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000."

"Sir, you should know that any physical harm you do without justification can lead to criminal proceedings against you. Not only did you refuse to accept a correct method, but you falsely accused me of not doing my homework, which is a form of mental harassment. Please think before doing anything," Sanjay said calmly, releasing the teacher's hand.

The events unfolded so rapidly that all the students sat with their mouths agape, forming a big "O."

"You!" the teacher was stunned, not knowing how to react. He had never felt such shame in his entire life.

He left the classroom in anger.

"Wow! Dude, you're cool," Aditya gave him a thumbs-up.

"Will you be alright?" Riya asked, sounding concerned.

"No issue."

The whole class turned into a fish market without the teacher after the recent drama.

A few minutes later, the math teacher returned with the principal. Everybody stood up, saying, "Good afternoon, sir."

"Who is Sanjay?" the principal shouted. Sanjay stood up with a calm face.

"Are you blackmailing your teacher to file a case against him?"

"No, sir, I am just mentioning the rules of law that people need to know."

"Enough, call your parents now." Sanjay knew that no matter what scenario arose, the school would first contact his parents. However, he had a remedy for that as well.

"Sure, sir, but my parents have been out of town for a few days. Can I call my uncle? He is my guardian now." Sanjay lied, claiming his parents were not at home.

"Okay, call your uncle now and come to the office." Sanjay walked towards the principal's office. His teacher looked at him, smirked, and soon resumed the math lesson.

Sanjay decided to call his uncle, knowing he would be better in this case as he was a high court advocate and was close to Sanjay.

"Hello, uncle, it's me, Sanjay," he described all the incidents at his school and how his teacher usually mistreated him. His uncle was angered.

After doing everything, Sanjay sat in the room while the principal went for a round around the school. He started thinking about what program to create to earn quick money. He thought about building the "Flappy Bird" game, knowing that although smartphones were not widely used in India in 2010, but it was gaining significant market share worldwide.

He didn't need to ponder long; his brain was already mapping out the entire code flow. That was the benefit of NZT; he would be a genius in any field he touched.

Soon, his uncle arrived.

"Sanjay, are you alright?"

"I am alright, uncle."

The principal entered the room.

"Hello, can you tell me what mistake Sanjay has made?" his uncle asked the principal directly.

The principal was astonished to find that both the uncle and the nephew were on the same page.

"He misbehaved in the class. Don't you teach him proper manners at home?"

"I apologize for my mistake. I thought we paid the school to teach him these things, but why are we paying you if you're going to blame everything on a child? He told me his teacher often beats him in school, and when he tried to defend himself, you started victim-blaming. I didn't expect such a prestigious school to stoop so low."

"How dare you say such a thing about our school? I will not listen to a single word." A heated argument ensued, and all the teachers came out of the staff room to witness the commotion.

"No need to listen. I am calling the police. The police will decide what to do." The uncle took out his phone to dial the police.

The principal, displaying his attitude, did nothing. However, the advocate uncle called his best friend in the police department. After the call, he continued arguing.

Sanjay observed the commotion as if it had nothing to do with him.

Soon, his police friend arrived, and everyone narrated the entire incident.

"Who is the person who beats students?" the police officer asked.

The math teacher stepped forward, saying, "I am not beating, I am just educating."

"Okay, is the solution he wrote incorrect?" the officer inquired.

"No, it's not wrong." Sanjay had brought his notebook with him and showed it to everyone in the room.