Chapter 1: 0% System Error

Today was my first day of high school.
There were groups of students on the road — laughter, jokes, gossip, selfies, reels.And for me?Numbers floating in the air.
Two friends laughing — 70%A boy walking with a girl — 15%Someone alone with earphones — 3%A teacher yelling at students — 92% Danger Mode
I don’t know what these percentages measure.Friendship?Interest?Future?Or my overthinking level?
But they appear.Always.
My friend was standing near the gate.“Mahir! You’re in this school too?”“Yeah. The system hasn’t updated yet.”“What system?”“My brain. It’s still in beta version.”“Don’t start scanning everyone’s faces again.”“I don’t scan.”“Then what are you looking for up there?”“Cloud backup.”“At the school gate?!”
I didn’t answer.
Because a boy was running with 48% above his head and I couldn’t understand the algorithm behind it.
We sat in class.Out of habit, I started scanning faces.
15%…18%…22%…
My friend whispered,“Are people humans to you or Excel sheets?”“Pivot table.”“Your marriage will happen through a graph.”“Only after checking the compatibility chart.”
Just then, the door opened.
A girl walked in.
Out of habit, I looked up.
0%
Not my heart —my system froze.
I looked again.
0%
I blinked.Tilted my head slightly.Changed the angle.
0%
“Server down?” I muttered in my mind.
She came and sat on the bench next to me.
I froze at 0%.
Two minutes.Three minutes.Five minutes.
My eyes up, then down, then up again.
Finally, she spoke.“Is something written above my head?”
I panicked.“No! I mean… yes… I mean… no… I mean… it’s loading.”“Loading?”“Yeah… brain buffering.”
I was pressing my forehead like I was searching for a WiFi tower.
“Are you okay?” she asked calmly.“Yeah. Just a small bug.”“In which system?”“My life.”
She laughed.
A kind of laugh that made me feel for one second —that I was funny.
Then I realized —I was the situation.
“What’s your name?” I asked bravely.“Mishra.”
I looked up again.
0%
Impossible.
Meanwhile, her friend came.They talked.They laughed.
I kept staring at 0% like the answer in an exam might change.
No difference.
“Dangerous case…” I said in my mind.
After a while, I suddenly asked,“Which subject do you like?”“Math. But sometimes it gets difficult.”
Fireworks inside me.
Confidently, I said,“I only know percentages in math.”
And then I realized —I had just ruined my own PR department.
One second of silence.
Then she burst out laughing.“Only percentages?”“Yeah. Everything else in life is just an approximation.”
She laughed again.“That’s nice. If I ever need help in percentages, I’ll ask.”
At that moment, I felt like my LinkedIn profile was ready.
But above?
0%
Class ended.Everyone stood up.
I stood up too… but in Mission Mode.
Target:0% → 1%
Mishra adjusted her bag.I stood in a heroic pose.
“You… walk home?”
Wow. Nobel Prize conversation.
“Yeah.”
0%
We walked together.
In my head, options were loading:• Crack a joke?• Talk about math?• Make a percentage meme?• Or stay silent and save dignity?
I chose the obviously wrong option.
A boy came and said,“Hi, you’re new, right?”
I instantly looked up.
Him — 0%Mishra — 0%
“This system is roasting me,” I thought.
The boy left.
Now my chance.
“Which chapter in math do you like?”“Statistics.”
Inside, my legs played the Windows shutdown sound.
“It has percentages too,” she said softly.
Was that a hint?Or was the universe trolling me?
“If you don’t understand it, I can teach you,” I said.“But you only know percentages, right?”
Direct hit.
Silent mode.
She laughed.
0%
Suddenly, there was water near the stairs.
Hero music started in my head.
“Careful!” I shouted and tried to grab her hand.
But…
My own foot slipped.
Straight to the ground.
Hero entry → Meme template.
Mishra stood above me.“Were you telling me to be careful or yourself?”
Students around us laughed.
I looked up.
0%
One second.Two seconds.
Suddenly…
1%
I immediately stood up.“I was… testing gravity.”“What test?”“Earth still working.”
She laughed again.
1% stayed.
But it existed.
It changed because of my stupidity.
That day I understood:Being serious won’t work.
MaybeI don’t need to impress her.
Maybe I justneed to slip.