“Hey, are you listening?”

The whole classroom turns to look at the boy in the corner, empty faces all glaring at him. He has been staring out of the window for quite some time now. 

A void jungle of concrete and stone. The monotonous sounds of wind and lies of freedom.

“Ah. Ah yeah.”

“Alright then, I’d like you to answer this question. What is the derivative of √ex² + b?

“Uhh.” The boy momentarily pauses.

“E to the power of x divided by two times the square root of e to the power of x plus b.” 

The students start to silently chatter among themselves.

“That fast?”

“That guy really is a try-hard.”

“That…”

“That…”

It all melds together. It has no meaning. The meaning is none. The meaning matters? 

“Hey, are you listening?”

The boy sits with his father. A lecture told, and a lecture learned, yet learned it is not. 

“How’s study? Gotta prepare for university next year. It’s coming up soon.”

“Yes.”

A stone castle, maw wide open, consuming the unchanging leaves of green. The bell rings once, the bell rings twice, and the bells ring one hundred times, then a thousand times. 

Consume the green. Love the green. The green is life. The green is all. The green is love. 

Aim for the green. It is yours to take.

Then it repeats.

“Alright then, I’d like you to answer this question. Find an equation of the line tangent to the graph of at x=-1. Now.”

“Uhh.” The boy momentarily pauses.

“I can’t just do that immediately. I need some time.”

The class is held up.

“Look at this guy!”

“He’s so stupid!”

“It’s so obvious!”

He faces his family.

“Better prepare for university!”

“Are you ready for university yet?”

“Are you a doctor yet?”

“Do you have a wife and kids yet?”

“Are you rich yet?”

“Are you old yet?”

“Have you died yet?”

The boy walks through the dark empty street, the grey empty void on each side. The faces of none walk by, none he knows, none he cares about. 

“You are a disappointment. You’re supposed to be successful by now.”

“Hey, are you listening?”

“Success is happiness.”

“Success is happiness.”

“Alright then, I’d like you to answer this question. What are the equations needed to calculate a safe landing on Mars?”

“He’s so dumb…”

He looks down at the void. Is that where this success is?

He stands and stares, unbeknownst to him, a grey metal beast has already crashed into his side.

His bones shattered, his brain fractured, himself separated. Who is he when he is not whole?

“Come down child. You need not worry. I am here. Your new life is here.”

“Please... Don’t leave me… You promised me… Please...”