An Idiotic Genius

"Yay! Level 2673 done! I think I'll reward myself with a can of cold coffee!" Cherry cheered.

And there it was, the caffeinated cherry on top of the chaos sundae! Cherry's gaming prowess was legendary, and I couldn't help but stare in disbelief. It was like finding out that the school janitor was secretly a ninja master. Unable to contain my excitement, I couldn't resist the temptation to investigate further. I marched over to Cherry and peered into her phone like a detective on the trail.

"You play Crime Quest too?" I asked, trying to wrap my mind around this bizarre twist.

Cherry looked at me, puzzled by my sudden curiosity. "Yeah, why? You interested in joining my caffeine-fueled marathon?"

But before she could say more, Tatsuya popped up. "Count me in for the Smuggling Ring quest tonight!"

“Wait. What level are you at? Say again?” I asked, expecting that what I heard earlier was just my imagination.

“2673”

“No way. What is your gamer ID?”

“SatanSoul”

I couldn't help but stare in disbelief. The girl I deemed the Queen of Chaos was also the elusive gaming goddess known as SatanSoul?

"Wait a minute, hold up! Pause the game! Rewind the universe!" I exclaimed, my mind performing mental gymnastics. "Are you telling me that you, Cherry Sinclair, are the mastermind behind SatanSoul?"

Cherry gave me the "what's-going-on-in-that-head-of-yours" look, shaking off my bewildering antics. "Uh, yeah, duh! But hey, you can stop shaking me now, you nutcase!"

I realised I had already grabbed onto her shoulders and was shaking her furiously. I removed my hands out of embarrassment.

My mind was a chaotic kaleidoscope of thoughts, swirling like a stormy sea. The girl I thought was the captain of the SS Nonsense was actually the queen of virtual realms, defeating challenges like a boss on steroids!

"Seriously, Karma, you need a GPS for your brain or something!" Tatsuya chuckled, witnessing my mental meltdown.

"But...but... I can't even... comprehend... I mean..." I sputtered, my words tangled like headphone wires.

"Hey, Karma, welcome back to planet Earth!" Cherry teased, her grin widening like the Cheshire Cat's.

"You were the one... the LEGENDARY one... in Crime Quest? The one who tackled the Mysterious Vanishing in two days?" I gasped, my mind still in a whirlwind of shock.

Cherry shrugged nonchalantly. "Yeah, that's me. But what's the big deal? I just love a good challenge!"

"Sweet mother of virtual realms! This is like discovering Atlantis in my own backyard!" I exclaimed, my mind blown to smithereens.

"You're not the first to be surprised, trust me," Tatsuya chimed in. "Everyone in the gaming community knows SatanSoul, the one who weaves magic through the screen."

I felt like I had stepped into a parallel universe, where the laws of gaming and caffeine were rewritten. Cherry, the caffeine queen, was also the conqueror of quests, a gaming guru in disguise! It was like finding out that Bigfoot moonlighted as a salsa dancer!

"You know, it's not that surprising," Cherry said nonchalantly. "I mean, I do have a reputation for turning virtual realms into my playground!"

"And here I thought I was the gamer extraordinaire!" I sighed, feeling like a mere pixel in a vast gaming universe.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Karma. You're no slouch either," Tatsuya reassured me.

"Alright, alright, I'll get back to reality now," I said, taking a deep breath. "But from now on, I shall refer to you as 'Cherry, the Gaming Goddess'!"

Cherry chuckled, shaking her head in amusement. "You do that, Sherlock. Now let's get back to our project. Who knows, maybe we'll weave some gaming magic into it!"

The bell rang, signaling the much-anticipated lunchtime. The classroom erupted into a lively commotion as hungry students hurriedly packed their belongings to make way for the cafeteria.

"I'm off for lunch. Catch you guys later,"Cherry waved.

Finally, I slumped back into my chair, releasing a sigh I'd been holding captive for far too long.

"Man, you look like you've been through a battlefield already. How are you going to survive these two weeks working with her?" Tatsuya teased.

"I'll be fine, Tatsuya. I know how to handle these types of girls," I replied confidently, trying to dismiss the challenge.

"Oh really? So why did you turn into a gawking statue during the entire class?" Tatsuya teased, wagging his eyebrows like a mischievous fox.

"That was just a... momentary lapse in concentration!" I stammered, trying to defend my actions, which were admittedly a bit embarrassing.

Tatsuya chuckled. "Sounds like you're totally smitten!"

"Smitten my foot! I bet she's just a gaming-obsessed loner who knows nothing but how to press buttons on her console and play games on her phone," I declared, trying to convince myself more than Tatsuya.

Tatsuya rolled his eyes with a grin. "You really are clueless, Karma. She may be a bit of an introvert, but she's anything but a slacker when it comes to studies."

I grumbled, "Whatever, I don't care anyways. Let's go get lunch."

I took another bite of my cream bun as I thought about my plans for the evening. My parents were going out for a date, leaving me in charge of my little sister, Alyssa. And since I had to cook dinner, I decided to cook a fancy apple risotto I saw on TV, eager to impress her.

Satoshi, another good friend of mine, interrupted my daydreaming with a pat on my shoulder, "Hey, the midterm results are out. And you did great as always Karma!"

I rushed to the notice board, my competitive spirit ignited. However, the stars had decided to play a prank on me that day.

"Cherry Sinclair - Rank 1"
"Karma Nakamura - Rank 2"

This couldn't be real! I felt like my soul had left my body.

"Come back to Earth, Karma," Satoshi whispered, trying to bring me back to reality.

"I can't believe this! That crazy girl beat me? How is that even possible?" I exclaimed in disbelief.

Satoshi tried to comfort me, "You know, Cherry has always been the genius of our grade. She ranked first even in her old class."

Tatsuya chimed in, "Guess they swapped students around randomly to balance the numbers. Kobayashi got moved to Class C too."

As my friends discussed the reshuffling, I felt my soul slowly drifting away from my body, like an out-of-body experience witnessing my own defeat.

"She's like an idiotic genius!" I blurted out, trying to wrap my head around the paradox of Cherry Sinclair.

Tatsuya chuckled, "An idiotic genius? That's a new one!"

But what baffled me even more was Cherry's indifference to her accomplishments. I wondered why she never sought the spotlight despite her brilliance. Did she want to stay incognito, like a secret gaming agent? Was she hiding a secret identity like a real-life superhero?

High school just got a lot more interesting out of a sudden.