June 2008

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The fat-boy-with-braces was sure the adults here were stupid. It was the children who were the ones who felt like they were in charge. The adults who were at the testing facility never felt like they were in control of anything. They never had any idea what the hell was going on around them. Most of them were just baby-sitters with side-arms. They were not teachers or educators – mostly just test monitors. There were no verbal questions or clarifications that would be asked during these tests – by anyone. And the layers of secrecy surrounding the program made sure nobody on the staff talked among themselves. The only consistent factor became the kids. Certain kids stuck around. Most of the others did not. Kids who stuck around got to be known. They kept coming back for more and more tests. And this particular testing facility was one of the few that had The Legend show up at it. And he did it on a pretty regular basis. At least that’s what the fat-boy-with-braces had heard. And that’s all that anybody really did when it came to The Legend – hear things.
The Legend only came in by himself. And rarely did anyone else get to see him. He always tested alone – always. Nobody else was ever even allowed in the room with him. The fat-boy-with-braces had spoken to a girl at lunch on the last testing day a week ago, who said she had seen him after a test session. She said he looked like he’d been at the beach. This caused the small group of kids at the lunch table to gasp quietly while everyone eaves-dropped on the girl’s story. The gasps were because the tests that all of the students had been taking over the months they had been coming here – were very hard tests. Even the kids in this cafeteria, who have all passed the tests, did not fly through them. They took effort, and studying – if you were trying to do well on them.
But not The Legend…
It was only stories – but the stories were amazing. He’d never missed a question. Nobody had ever scored a perfect score on so many exams. Nobody has ever gotten close to his scores. He finishes in half the time. He takes the test in pen. He never checks his answers. And he never talks – to anyone – ever.
The rumors were all true. This is why the CIA does not employ children.
…

Marisse grows up and starts college in Miami…