Indifference is the Difference

A week later.

Friday morning arrived, and the first period was Professor Gerardo's class. After entering and taking attendance, they finally proceeded to discuss where they had left off in the last class.

"Since we didn't have enough time yesterday, I didn't get a chance to explain the other purpose of the dynamic game we just had," said Gerardo, who was teaching humanities.

As soon as he said that, murmurs arose from the class.

"Calm down. Based on your statements and performance in the game, I'll be telling you who will be partners for future assignments." Professor Gerardo then announced seven pairs of names.

Alicia and Mike high-fived each other, while a girl named Lisa was paired with a girl she had just met because her seatmate, Nick, was still absent.

"And finally, the top-performing pair, Jonathan and Yina, For the rest who haven't been called yet, I'll choose partners at random, and we'll play a new and different game in the next class."

At that moment, Alicia raised her hand.

"Yes?"

"Professor Gerardo, what exactly will we be doing?"

"Are you getting ahead of your teacher now, Lisa? Sit down; I was just about to explain so you can be prepared for the next class."

The class laughed while Lisa sat down with an embarrassed look. However, she wasn't offended; she just wanted to speed things up, but clearly, this professor knew how to respond.

"Many of you don't know each other. The dynamic of changing students every year means you don't settle into a group of friends and learn to fend for yourselves in every situation you face."

Gerardo paused and said, "I'll ensure that everyone can fend for themselves and not depend on others. This will help prepare you for adulthood. Many of you rely on your classmates to copy homework, do assignments, and depend on the trust of others. The world doesn't work like that; you must learn to be self-sufficient, and that's what you'll learn in the following activities."

"If anyone in this class thinks my teaching isn't correct and requires attention from the school committee, you should know I have permission and am backed by the principal. Many of you will understand that these activities are more important than any theory you could learn."

Professor Gerardo smiled urgently before the pairs he had selected stood up.

The students were excited because they wouldn't have to study things they considered useless.

'Looks like I've found my favorite class.'

'I love Professor Gerardo for this!'

'I'm so glad he's our teacher; no more boring classes.'

These thoughts occurred all around. However, Yina couldn't hear them. Among them, she was the most excited, her heart racing more and more.

No, to correct that, she wasn't the only one excited.

'Looks like we'll have interactive activities; I hope I don't mess up.' Jonathan, in these past two weeks, hadn't reduced his expected visits, but he wasn't just waiting; he had been searching for useful information that could serve him in case he needed to flee.

Then, Professor Gerardo moved on to another series of games.

Meanwhile, Yina kept reminding herself to listen to the professor's thoughts. But in the end, her mind was too worried about making mistakes.

Even so, this didn't go as she expected; with each passing day, she socialized more with other people, giving Jonathan a lot of free time to dedicate to other things.

While Yina was busy with her own affairs, Jonathan simply took care of his own life, fulfilling his duties. Sometimes he studied and finished the damn weekend homework.

In his free time, he just roamed the city or played video games.

But this weekend, more important things were happening elsewhere.

Detective Anderson finally contacted his boss.

"Hello, boss. I think I found the zero target in the gang case. You can't imagine how young he is."

"The charges against him were dropped by Nick; it seems he doesn't want anything more to do with it. So out of curiosity, I investigated more about the case and found these connections with the young man we're looking for."

"Yes, his name is Jonathan Hansen."

The voice on his phone exclaimed in shock: "Huh? Have you found him?"

"He may seem like a normal person, but he only does what he pleases."

"Moreover, I think his strength is more than we can handle. I don't know if I can trust this information just by mentioning it; it would be a massacre if we go after him now."

"That's why we're not getting involved."

"But I'm not lying; I can't be wrong with such valuable information."

"Yes, I know. But even if we've found him, eliminating him would be extremely dangerous. Haven't you seen the video where he kills dozens of people? This mission is extremely brutal, and we're not prepared."

"So, what do I do?" Anderson was intrigued.

"Make sure it's him. I'll request help through other means."

"Sure, I'll try to find an excuse to see him in public. The way he behaves and acts is very suspicious; it would be good to infiltrate someone into the school."

"Understood."