Confused

Although Alex was immensely relieved that Ziad's introduction had made Isaura let go of him, he was immediately horrified when she went and took his hand in hers.

Like, it was the most natural thing to do.

He didn't move, and just stared at that small hand in his, wondering how on Earth that happened.

Wasn't he skilled?

Couldn't he have avoided it?

And now, how he the heck is he going to get his hand free without sending the little one into tears?

"Come on, Alex," Isaura said to him excitedly, "Let's go and eat!"

Alex still didn't move, despite the fact that Isaura had taken a step forward and was now basically pulling at his hand.

When she realised that he was still standing still, she turned to look at him and asked, "What's wrong? Aren't you hungry?"

He managed to keep his face as expressionless as ever as he asked back, "Why are you holding my hand?"

Isaura seemed surprised at that question, and answered in a rather questioning manner, "Because we're going to the canteen?"

Alex continued staring at her, not comprehending, so he asked again, albeit in a different manner, "Yes, we are going to the canteen. But why are you holding my hand?"

Now it was Isaura's turn to not understand Alex but unlike Alex, her puzzlement showed on her face.

"Because we're going to the canteen," she repeated, as if that explained everything.

Alex was stumped, and for the life of him, couldn't seem to understand at all.

Her lips moved and it sounded like she was speaking English, and he knew the words she spoke, but why was it when it was put together, he still couldn't understand what she was saying?

Is this how it felt when facing a puzzle that seemed incomprehensible?

Never before in Alex's life had he ever faced a situation that completely stumped him.

The way she said the sentence with utter confidence, and the pure puzzlement on her face made Alex feel like he was really stupid for not understanding her meaning.

That it was something so obvious yet he, Alex, could not understand.

How was this possible?

Aurora, knowing just how much confusion Alex was feeling right now, felt like laughing out loud.

But doing so would only make the situation worse, so she decided to help out her poor brother this time.

While doing so, Aurora couldn't help but think that Daddy was right in putting them here and making them attend 'normal' school. It was a good place to hone Alex's social skills - Aurora knew better than anyone else just how her brother was like.

With his temperament and low EQ, he'd probably grow up to be one of those weird social recluse geniuses that would not be able to fit well into society if left to his own devices.

"What my brother is trying to ask is, Isaura," Aurora said with a smile, "Why do you have to hold his hand when we're going to the canteen?"

Isaura looked at Aurora and said, "Oh. That's because Mum always tells me to hold an adult's hand when going out."

Alex gritted his teeth and said as patiently as he could, "Isaura, I'm not an adult and we're not going out."

The moment he said that, he felt the sentence was weird but he couldn't quite put his finger on why it was so.

Shrugging inwardly, he continued, "We're still in school and you just need to follow us to the canteen. It's not like you would get lost and there are no strangers here to take you away."

Isaura looked at their hands that were joined and she couldn't help but pout a bit with a soft, "Oh."

How could Alex say that there are no strangers when, other than those from Accelerated Class, there *were* strangers to her?

Well, even amongst her classmates, she only really knew Alex, Annabell, and Teacher Krauss. Though now she just got to know Ziad, Fleur, and Aurora.

The two people beside her at the table weren't that talkative either, so she had basically been alone until she went up to Teacher Krauss to ask questions.

Now she had to let go of Alex's hand?

She wasn't stupid.

She could tell that Alex wasn't really keen on holding her hand as the one who was really doing it was her. His hand just lay there, limply, while she was the one holding on tightly.

But that small point didn't matter to her.

Even if he wasn't holding her hand, he wasn't rejecting her either.

And she liked holding his hand.

She could feel it is a little bit rough and it wasn't soft like how it would be when she held her mother's hand, but she still liked the feeling.

It made her feel safe.

Truth be told, she was rather scared in this new school.

The whole thing was new. The people, the school. Just, everything!

And her classmates were all older than her. Alex was the first person she got to know and thus, she was the most comfortable with him.

And he wasn't that much older.

She also liked his face.

Sure, he hardly smiled but that didn't diminish the beautiful features.

In fact, it only made him even more fascinating to look at.

She was such a face-slave.

I mean, who wouldn't like to watch beautiful people, right?

She was no exception.

And Alex was the best-looking boy she had ever seen.

Aurora, seeing the helpless look on Isaura's face, smacked her brother on the back and said, "Oh come on, Alex. It's not going to kill you. She's just 7 years old!"

Alex rolled his eyes when he turned to look at his sister.

Before he could protest, Aurora said, "We'll take turns, okay? You take her today, I'll do it tomorrow, then Ziad, and then Fleur. So no one would think weirdly about it, okay? We're just helping a fellow classmate assimilate into the school."

Alex gave a resigned sigh and replied, "Fine. Just this once."

He turned to look at Isaura and said, "You may be seven, but you're not a normal seven-year-old."

Isaura's eyes went wide at that.

"You're from the Accelerated Class after all," Alex said as they started walking, "So people expect a lot from you."

"They do?"

"They do," Alex confirmed.

"What do they expect? My food?" Isaura asked in horror.

Alex almost stumbled upon hearing those words.

What the-?

She did it again.

Just what goes on in that mind of hers?

And how the heck did she get into the Accelerated Class?

She must have a talent in something that made her qualify and now, Alex was suddenly curious as to what it was.

Her mind worked in such a weird way that … well, while he found it utterly confusing, it was strangely fascinating at the same time.

She was such an anomaly that it seemed to question everything he had ever taken for granted.

"No, Isaura," Alex finally responded after getting over the shock, "The people in our class are seen as geniuses, and so, everyone - and this includes the teachers - would be expecting us to be more logical, focused, and mature in our behaviour and thinking."

"Oh," Isaura said, nodded, then snapped her fingers (with the hand that was not holding his).

"I get it! They think we're like you?" Isaura asked, looking at Alex.

At this, Aurora finally couldn't hold it back and laughed out loud. By then, they had reached the canteen and despite the noisy atmosphere there, everyone heard Aurora's laughter.

So they actually stopped and stared at them, causing Isaura to shrink back a little to have so many eyes on them suddenly.

Aurora stepped in front a bit so that her body hid the most obvious stares as she faced Isaura and said, "Oh Isaura, you're such a treasure."

Aurora couldn't help but pat her on the head.

Isaura smiled and nodded, "Yes, my parents always tell me that."

Distracted by Aurora who had her full attention now, Isaura relaxed visibly.

"You can let go of my hand now," Alex said, "We've arrived."

"Oh yeah," Isaura replied and did as she was told.

However, the moment Isaura let go of Alex's hand, Aurora took Isaura's hand in hers and led her to the line. Alex didn't follow them immediately and turned to Ziad instead and let Fleur go ahead.

By doing so, the stares that had initially been rather intense earlier also appeared to soften a bit.

Alex had noticed the moment Aurora's laughter had brought unnecessary attention upon them, those eyes had actually been more focused on the fact that he had been holding Isaura's hand.

Curiosity was there.

Which was natural.

But what made him unhappy was that he could even detect some hostility.

Having been trained by his father since young, Alex was rather sensitive to such emotions. His senses may not be as sharp as his father's, but it was more than enough to feel it.

After all, these kids were not that adept at hiding their emotions.

However, as unhappy as he was about the situation, Alex knew that this was the best opportunity to pinpoint the source[s].

Was it hostility borne out of jealousy, or malice?

Unfortunately, he couldn't quite tell.

Yet, that is.

He just had to train more. So Alex focused more on his surroundings while talking to Ziad as they lined up to take their food.