Sure or Not

James stared at his laptop screen for a long time. He could not determine the kind of programming language he wanted to learn. There were many options to choose from, but he decided to go for the popular ones.

He could learn Java, Ruby, C++, or Kotlin. Anyone would be good to start from. But they do have their advantages and disadvantages. As for James, he decided that it would be tomorrow's problem. James then closed his laptop and climbed on his space-themed bed. Then young mind drifted.

He was about to start in a new school, new faces, and a new environment, but it came with mixed feelings. All these things were moving fast. First off, the fact that he had never attended a private school before gave him an uneasy feeling. There were a lot of changes he had to cope with, and dislike changes.

Even though he had no friends in his old school, or that he was constantly being bullied, he still would have preferred to continue schooling there because of the familiarity. But just as a Greek philosopher once said, "There is nothing permanent except Change". He had to adapt to change no matter what.

With that conclusion, he decided to sleep.

He was just about to go to slumberland when he heard his mom's voice rang from downstairs "Honey come downstairs quick". James began to speculate as to why his mom was calling him at, what time was it, 6 pm. Just like that, his slumber was ruined. He sluggishly climbed out of bed and changed his old clothes to a newly cleaned one and left for the sitting room.

In the sitting room, Andrew and Mary were sitting on a twin sofa with an orange juice and two half-filled tall glass placed on the table in front of them. They looked at sheets of papers of paper with an astonished look on their faces.

"So, you are telling me that these were the questions that were given to James to solve in under 30 minutes? That's preposterous!" Andrew hollered angrily. Mary too was shocked by the kind of questions that was set for a ten-year-old boy. "I knew that that woman was crazy, but I never knew that she would take it to another level. At least he passed them all" Mary said, thoughtful.

"Mary, I don't care if he passed this nonsense! I mean if this is how they would treat James, maybe we should withdraw him from the school. I mean I get that James is a weird person with this unique mind of his, but if James begins to have problems with his teachers, I'm not sure he would be able to cope with the pressure", Andrew said, still agitated.

Mary looked at her husband, "Look, I'm sorry I wanted James to go to that private school. But trust me, I did not do it to increase my reputation at all. They offer the best education there so I thought maybe, James would love it there", she slowly said.

James calmed down and look at his wife, "I'm not mad at you at all. I'm just worried about James. I mean raising an Einstein in this house comes with its perks, I would see that I contact that school and give them a piece of my mind", Andrew concluded.

As if on a cue, James came downstairs to answer his mum. "Mum, you called me". But then he became very excited and ran to his dad. "Woah! Young man does not fall me down", Andrew chuckled as he hugged his son back. "How are you doing fella?" Andrew added.

After James finished hugging his father, he began to speak, "I am a great dad. You see, I aced all my exams and got straight A's, again, I took that art class you've always wanted me to take, and oh, had my braces removed!" James rambled as he took his seat next to his father. "Wow, I'm proud of you my lucky boy! Oh, I almost forgot, I brought a gift for you." James father then ruffled through his bags.

James was baffled when his father handed him a toy robot. He held the toy in his hand and stared at his father, then instantly smiled, albeit weakly "Dad, this is a great gift. Thank you so much!", he said.

"I'm glad you love them. But I want to ask you something James", his father said as he readjusted his posture. James put down the toy robot and rewrapped it, then place it into the box.

"James, do you like the new school you're about to go to? Because if you don't, we can take you back to your old school" his father asked solemnly. James had already known his father would ask this. Honestly, he does not like it. But since the bursar's incident, he had gotten curious about what kind of school ChrisValle's was.

That was happy news for James. Finally, they were speaking the same language once again! James could not wait to say 'Yeah dad, I want to go back, I never liked to change schools anyway'. But James held his thought.

James knew that going back to his old school would mean giving up the finest education ever. Although he does not like that his parent made him go to that school to register him, he was drawn to that school.

Those crazy questions that were given to him gave him these satisfying feelings he had not felt for a long time since he attended his former school. James liked solving questions that engage his mind and focus. These were the things he had thought time getting because of his unusually high intelligence. With that, he had made up his mind.

"No dad, I think it would be better if I start going to that private school." James finally said, looking at his father with his deep blue eyes. His parents were surprised because just a few weeks ago he had cried in their arms begging them to let him continue his former school. But James had reasons, something his parents might not understand.

Andrew then looked at Mary and then smiled. Just as he was about to speak, Mary interjected, "Are you sure about this honey, I mean I get that you want to try new things, but you too saw the attitude of that bursar, I have a feeling that things and kinds of stuff, might not be easy for you", she said slowly, "Besides, you are going to attend this school for five years, I hope you know that honey?" she added.

James sighed. He had already known his parents would not understand him, again. He had been treated like this ever since he was little, but it still hurts every time they misunderstood him. But again, he could not blame them.

"Yes, I know. Please understand that I had my reasons for doing this mom." James could not say a word more than that. He was already feeling sleepy. His father nodded and let him leave. "We'll call you when your results are ready okay?" his mother said.

James mumbled as he climbed upstairs to his bedroom. He could barely hear his father arguing about something. 'I pray it's not about me', he pleaded in his heart.

"James is ten for heaven sake. If these are how they are going to treat him, maybe we should withdraw him before school starts. I don't like it if James is having a hard time just because he is learning to become something. Even sometimes I hate myself for not being there for him", James father said solemnly.

Mary moves closer to James to assure him, "No my darling, you are not doing anything wrong. I mean the fact that you had to constantly give up your beauty sleep to fly back home, and making life better for us financially, buying gifts for James- you have done more than enough for him, don't hit yourself hard okay", she replied lovingly as she drew closer and kissed Andrew on his lips. Andrew smiled in response, "You have ways that make me feel better. But seriously, I hope we are making the right choice." James said, stroking Mary's hair. "So that's for James, tell me about your day.