Teacher? No, I am the teacher!

The sound of the school bell reverberated through the hallways, signalling the end of the lunch break and the start of the next class.

Raven and Jacob hurriedly scurried to their classrooms, their hearts pounding in their chests.

As Raven entered his room, he scuttled to the back of the class, trying to make himself as small as possible.

Ms Thompson, a middle-aged woman with glasses, began the lesson with a gentle voice and a warm smile.

She began talking about vectors, but Raven found it difficult to keep his focus amidst the chatter of the other students.

He already knew all the information they were teaching.

As the teacher's words droned on, his eyes grew increasingly heavy until they eventually shut of their own accord.

Ms Thompson's eyes narrowed in irritation when she noticed Raven's head drooping as he dozed off again.

Every day, she watched this student in her class drift off to sleep, and it made her skin crawl.

"You at the back there!" Ms Thompson pointed directly at Raven, catching his attention.

Raven's eyes flew open as soon as he heard her voice, and he saw her finger pointing at him.

"Me?" Raven asked, his voice muffled by the yawn he was trying to hold back.

Ms Thompson's exasperation intensified as she saw his lackadaisical attitude.

"Since you sleep through every class, I assume you know everything, do you?" She asked with a hint of irritation.

Raven nodded, acknowledging that he indeed knew everything, perhaps even more than his teacher.

Ms Thompson sneered at Raven's nod. "Alright, then. Answer this question."

She swiftly began writing on the chalkboard, the sound of chalk on the board echoing in the room.

After a few minutes of intense scribbling, she finally revealed the question.

The students looked at the question, their eyes wide in bewilderment. They were confused by this topic that hadn't been discussed yet, their eyes darting around the room in search of answers.

"Come up here and answer the question," Ms Thompson gestured for Raven to come forward, her voice sharp as she instructed him to answer the question.

Raven sidled up to the teacher, craning his neck to get a better look at the question written on the board.

"Consider a triangle ABC in a three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system. The coordinates of points A, B, and C are given:

A(1, 2, 3)

B(4, -1, 5)

C(-2, 3, 6)

(a) Find the vector equation of the line passing through point A and perpendicular to the plane containing triangle ABC.

(b) Determine the point of intersection between this line and the plane containing triangle ABC."

As Raven picked up the chalk and started writing, his eyes twinkled with assurance.

With graceful movements, the chalk glided across the board, revealing the answer.

"Vector AB = B - A = (4, -1, 5) - (1, 2, 3) = (3, -3, 2)

Vector AC = C - A = (-2, 3, 6) - (1, 2, 3) = (-3, 1, 3)

Next, we calculate the cross product of AB and AC to get a vector perpendicular to the plane:

N = AB x AC

To perform the cross product, we take the determinants…"

Raven heard the hushed murmurs of his classmates as he wrote.

"Do you really think he's going to get the question right?" a boy asked the girl sitting next to him.

The girl tossed her head back, her hair brushing her shoulders. "Impossible," she thought.

"The teacher hasn't even taught this subject yet, and nobody studies at home anymore. The chances of him knowing the answer are slim to none."

Despite the background noise of students chatting, Raven kept his focus and kept writing the solution on the board.

"We can simplify it to (12, -15, 6) · (4t, -15t, 12t) = 0

Expanding the dot product…

Therefore, the point of intersection between the line passing through point A and perpendicular to the plane containing triangle ABC is (1,2, 3)."

Raven dropped the chalk, and he could feel the sweat on his palms as he glanced towards Ms Thompson.

Her face showed a combination of wide-eyed surprise and intrigue.

She was taken aback by what she saw, although she didn't want to show it.

The classroom was filled with an eerie quiet until Ms Thompson broke it with her gentle throat clearing.

"Well, Raven," she began, her voice tinged with surprise. "It appears you know your vectors."

Raven met her gaze, and the warmth of his smile radiated from his lips. "Yes, Ms Thompson. I've studied this topic extensively."

The rest of the students exchanged glances, their previous disbelief now replaced with a spark of interest.

The girl who had been sceptical of Raven's knowledge whispered to the boy beside her, her breath tickling his ear, "Maybe he really studies at home."

Ms Thompson, amazed by Raven's aptitude, jumped at the chance to provide a valuable teaching moment.

She walked towards him, motioning for him to sit down with a wave of her arm.

"Please, Raven, have a seat," she said, her tone softened. "Since you're familiar with this material, would you mind explaining your approach to the class?"

Raven gave a respectful nod, his heart warming at the teacher's recognition.

He returned to his desk, his tall stature and strong posture making the surrounding classmates look up to him in admiration.

"Vanessa! Help! What should I say to teach them?" Raven shouted in his head. On the outside, he appears to be at peace, yet internally, he's in turmoil.

[Don't worry Raven, repeat after me.]

Raven broke down the information given by Vanessa as he walked back to the chalk board.

The class was spellbound by his logical explanations and comprehensive understanding of the subject, hanging onto every word he said.

Even those who were unconvinced at first were entranced by his knowledge, each of them leaning in to catch every detail.

As Raven continued to explain the intricacies of vectors, his passion for the subject shone through.

He shared both the mathematical concepts and the practical applications, making the topic more accessible with relatable examples from everyday life.

Raven let out a heavy sigh of exhaustion before replacing the chalk he was using and returning to his seat.

The classroom filled with thunderous applause, and Ms Thompson clapped along with delight.

She clapped her hands enthusiastically, happy that she didn't have to teach the class today, and sipped on her Starbucks coffee.

The sound of the bell ringing filled the room shortly after.

Raven stood up from his seat, the chair creaking as he rose, and said his farewells to his teacher before heading to his fourth class.

In this class, nothing broke the monotony of the ticking clock.

Raven drifted off to sleep, his head resting comfortably on the desk.

After a few hours, Raven returned home with Mia and headed straight to his room while Mia talked with their mother.

"Hey mom, why don't I see dad around?"

Mia's mother gazed at her daughter. "You know that he's working at his father's company."

Mia pursed her lips in a pout. "So? He can at least come home."

This time, a voice that wasn't her mother's reverberated in the room.

She heard his deep voice and knew it was her older brother, Will.

"You know our father needs to work to pay for everything. Such as your future education path."

Mia shook her head and rolled her eyes at this. "I'm not going down any educational path. I'm going to be a famous soccer player in the women's league!" She shouted at her brother.

Will stared stupidly at her, his eyes wide and unblinking. "That still costs money." And put on his shoes and opened the door.

He shut the door; the click reverberated through the room. He assured he'd be back by 6.

Mia lay on the couch, feeling helpless as she recalled Nora's burning gaze on her brother. Her heart couldn't help but clench as she looked at her mother.

"Hey mom. When are you going to tell Raven that?" She begged her mother to tell the truth, her voice quivering with anticipation.

Her mother set down her phone and met her daughter's gaze with a warm smile. "If you tell me why, I might."

Mia's cheeks grew hot with embarrassment as she struggled to find the words to respond. "Th-that i.. I, Mom!"

Mia's mother let out a hearty laugh at her daughter's reaction.

"What? Still can't admit you like him?"

Mia was overcome with embarrassment and buried her face in the soft fabric of the couch, unable to utter a word.

Her mother let out a heavy sigh in response to her reaction. "Look, if you don't confess, I won't tell," her mother paused and looked at her daughter. "You know Raven has got quite handsome over the summer holidays. It won't be long till some girls come after him."

Mia's heart stopped when she heard her mom's stern voice.

She thought of Nora and her brother, their faces blurring together in her subconscious.

"No!" she yelled out in excitement, tightly gripping her mother's arm.

"You can help me, right?" Mia said, her words carrying the emotion of her plea.

Her mother gave her a warm, comforting smile and said. "Sure"

Mia glanced up the stairs, then met her mother's gaze. She set her jaw with determination, her eyes blazing.