September 21st, 2019

Images filled my mind, lists, and messages in various colors,

Congratulations! You have reached level 2! You have been awarded 4 attribute points which may be distributed however you wish.

Congratulations! You have reached level 3! You have been awarded 4 attribute points which may be distributed however you wish.

WARNING you reached a new level without allocating your attribute points from a previous level. You now have 8 unspent attribute points. If you do not allocate your unspent attribute points within seven days, they will be randomly allocated for you.

Congratulations! You have reached level 4! You have been awarded 4 attribute points which may be distributed however you wish.

The prompts shattered as I heard my father’s voice calling to me. “Johnathan. Jonathan, wake up. Johnathan?”

Feeling that I was on the ground, I realized I must have passed out for a minute or two after his mom and dad showed me the car, my car!. I opened his eyes to see my father’s face hovering over mine, mom’s face peering over his shoulder. Smiling sheepishly, I said, “Yeah dad, I’m here. How long was I out?”

“About two minutes, give or take. How are you feeling?” his Dad asked

Putting a quirky smile on my face, I answered, “I feel fine, a little bit of a headache, but fine. Guess the surprise was a little too much for me?”

Standing up, Johnathan’s father reached down and helped me to my feet. As I grabbed my dad's hand and was hauled to my feet, my dad said, “I doubt it, probably too much sun out there at the park. Get a big glass of water, head off to your room, and watch some cable or something, but definitely get some rest tonight.”

“Are you sure you’re, okay?” my mom asked as she stepped forward and brushed me off.

“Yes mom, I’m fine. Dad’s probably right, we woke up early, I was outside all day, and I probably just need to take it easy.” Looking into my mom’s eyes, then my dad’s, I gave them both a hug as I said, “Thank you for the car, it means so much, and I will come home and visit as often as I can.” Holding them both for about a minute, I released them and was released. As I turned away, I saw a tear in my mom’s eye which made me realize I had tears in my eyes too. Wiping my eyes, I turned and headed out of the garage into the kitchen. I grabbed a big glass of water and headed to my room. I intended to watch some TV or play a video game or maybe even read a book, but none of that happened. As soon as I took my shoes, sat down on my bed, and leaned back, letting my head hit the pillow, I fell asleep and slept the rest of the night.

The next week I played with my new car, packed, and went to see his friends a couple more times, as their schedules would allow. Nothing eventful happened and everyone was both excited and bummed out, especially my tabletop role-playing game friends. I was their Game Master (GM), after all. My online gamer friends were also a little bummed, but not much. They’d see me again online as soon as I set up my consoles and PC in my dorm room. I was staying in my own room in the dorms on campus on a full scholarship which included internet access. Maintaining a 4.0 Grade Point Average (G.P.A.). was easy with a mind like mine.

I had been born with what the doctors called a “photographic memory.” If I saw or read something, I could always remember it. Also, if I needed the information my mind would automatically bring that knowledge to the forefront of my thoughts, so I didn’t have to think hard about anything I needed to remember. This made school incredibly easy. Teachers had thought I was cheating a couple of times. My parents had paid to have me clinically evaluated to fight those claims. The doctors’ findings had answered the question unequivocally that I didn’t need the help of any kind answering questions about the information I’d ever heard, read, touched, tasted, or smelled. Additionally, the test showed that anything I studied then focused my attention on was done with little or no effort. Tasks that required muscle memory took a little more exertion, but I could learn any skill in almost no time.

I had also asked for and received special permission not to take notes. I didn’t need them, ever. My brain was an information sponge; I remembered everything. That ability had helped me learn every computer language I had access to by the time I was 14. I had also taken the time to learn to read and speak Spanish, French, Japanese, Chinese, and Russian. I could probably learn every other language as well and probably would. My father had realized that I was special by the time I was 4. Knowing that the martial arts were a good method for relieving stress as well as learning self-defense he enrolled me in Judo classes at the age of 6.

By the time I was 16, I had black belts in the seven most popular martial arts: Karate, Kung Fu, Judo, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Krav Maga, and Aikido. Additionally, I’d picked up how to use just about every single martial arts weapon that existed. I wasn’t great with any of them, but I understood their form and function and could use all of them. I also knew the techniques to defend against them. As for modern weapons, I had tried to stay away from guns, but my father had taken me to a range and I’d learned the correct way to dress down, clean, and reassemble most handguns, rifles, and shotguns. Dad didn’t own any guns, but he’d thought the information might come in handy so had taken me to the local shooting range. I was a good shot, but not in any way a marksman. I just knew my way around firearms.

The Doctors that had assessed me weren’t sure if there would ever be an upper limit to the amount of information I could absorb or skills I could learn. They had defined me as a genius-level prodigy in anything I put my mind to.

September 28th came much too quickly. Mom teared up as we hugged, which made me too. We both knew I’d be back for the Holidays, but it didn’t seem to matter. Dad also hugged me and seemed to hold it together a little better. As I backed out of the driveway I waved and drove off. The drive wasn’t too bad. I just followed highway 70 southwest through Portales and Roswell then west through the mountains. The only weird thing about Saturday happened after I’d arrived on campus and checked into my dorm room for a split second, I’d felt a little queasy. I’d taken a break and gone to the bathroom, splashed some water on my face, and then froze. I felt the shadow of pain ripple through my body, then it was gone. I looked at my reflection in the mirror. The queasiness went away, and I realized I felt great. I moved into the bedroom, laid back on the bed for a minute to close my eyes. An hour later I woke up and finished unpacking as I prepared everything for school tomorrow.