As an ordinary genius

By the time Ethan started junior school, he had already earned a reputation as the "fix-it guy" in the orphanage. But outside its walls, he was just another kid trying to figure out where he fit in.

School wasn't exactly easy for him. Sure, he was clever—he could solve puzzles and fix things faster than most of his classmates—but he wasn't a genius in the way people imagined. He wasn't the kid who aced every test or dazzled teachers with profound answers. He was just… normal.

Ethan's first day at Fairview Junior School started with nerves. He walked into the classroom, his backpack slung over one shoulder and scanned the room for a seat.

"Hey, new kid!" a boy with messy brown hair called from the back. "What's your name?"

"Ethan," he said quietly, sitting down at an empty desk near the window.

"I'm Tim," the boy said, leaning over. "Don't worry, Mrs. Carter's pretty chill. Just don't fall asleep during math, or she'll call you out."

Ethan chuckled nervously. "Thanks for the tip."

Mrs. Carter, a middle-aged woman with glasses perched on her nose, clapped her hands to get the class's attention.

"All right, everyone, settle down," she said. "Let's make our new student feel welcome. Ethan, would you like to introduce yourself?"

Ethan stood awkwardly. "Uh, hi. I'm Ethan. I like… building stuff, I guess."

"Building stuff?" Tim whispered, grinning. "Like what, robots?"

Ethan shrugged. "Sometimes."

Mrs. Carter smiled warmly. "Welcome, Ethan. I hope you'll find Fairview to be a good place to grow."

Ethan quickly learned that junior school wasn't just about academics. There were cliques to navigate, sports teams to join (or avoid), and an unspoken hierarchy that determined who sat where at lunch.

At first, Ethan kept to himself, but over time, he found a small group of friends. Tim, the chatterbox from his first day, became his closest buddy. Then there was Mia, a quiet girl who loved to draw, and Jordan, a self-proclaimed "math wizard" who was always looking for someone to argue with.

One lunchtime, the four of them sat outside under a tree.

"Okay, serious question," Tim said, munching on a sandwich. "If you could have one superpower, what would it be?"

"Flying," Mia said without hesitation. "Imagine how cool it would be to just… take off and go wherever you want."

"Super strength," Jordan said, flexing his scrawny arms. "I'd be unstoppable."

"What about you, Ethan?" Mia asked, looking up from her sketchbook.

Ethan thought for a moment. "I don't know. Maybe… super intelligence? Like, being smart enough to fix any problem."

"Lame," Tim said, laughing. "You already fix stuff all the time. Aim higher, dude."

Ethan smiled. "Yeah, but I mean, what if I could fix, like… big problems? Like the world's energy crisis or something."

Mia gave him a curious look. "That's… actually pretty cool."

Academically, Ethan was solid but not extraordinary. He got Bs and Cs with the occasional A in science, but he had to work for it like everyone else.

"Hey, Ethan," Tim said one day after class. "You wanna come over and play some video games?"

"Can't," Ethan said, stuffing books into his bag. "Got a science project to finish."

"Science project? Dude, it's not even due for another week!"

"Yeah, but it's not gonna build itself," Ethan replied with a grin.

Ethan's projects were a mix of trial and error. For a science fair in eighth grade, he decided to build a solar-powered water purifier. It sounded simple enough in theory, but the execution was a disaster.

The night before the fair, he sat in his room, surrounded by wires and half-finished sketches.

"This… is not working," he muttered, rubbing his temples.

Clara, now a high schooler and still a big sister figure to him, peeked into the room.

"Still at it?" she asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"Yeah. I thought I had it all figured out, but the filter keeps clogging, and the solar panel isn't getting enough power."

Clara walked over and tapped the side of the purifier. "You'll figure it out. You always do."

Ethan sighed. "Yeah, maybe. But it's not like I'm some kind of prodigy. I just… keep trying until something works."

"And that's why you're gonna nail it," Clara said with a smirk.

The next day at the fair, Ethan's purifier didn't win first place, but it worked just well enough to earn him a few curious looks from the judges.

By the time Ethan was in high school, he had carved out a niche for himself. He wasn't the smartest kid in the room, but he was persistent. He wasn't the most popular, but he had friends who had his back.

One afternoon, he and Tim were sitting on the bleachers after gym class.

"You ever think about what you're gonna do after all this?" Tim asked, gesturing to the school.

Ethan shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe engineering? Or inventing stuff?"

"Sounds ambitious," Tim said. "Me? I'm just trying to pass geometry."

Ethan laughed. "Yeah, well, we can't all be math wizards like Jordan."

Tim grinned. "True. Hey, don't forget us when you're some big-shot inventor, okay?"

"Don't worry," Ethan said, smiling. "I'll probably still be figuring out how to make a solar panel work properly."

Ethan's school life was marked by small victories and minor setbacks, but through it all, he remained grounded. He wasn't the type of genius who dazzled the world with his brilliance, but he was the kind of person who worked hard, stayed curious, and never gave up on the things he cared about.

And that, more than anything, made him who he was.