A Born Genius
Author's Note: I would like to thank Funari for this story - once she brought up the fact nobody had ever looked into Chiyo's pre-high school life before, I could not stop thinking about it. So the result we have is a one-shot - detailing events up to Chiyo's transfer into high school and the start of her life in the Azumanga crew. I do hope you'll like it.
Since I basically wrote this up on a whim - I don't expect it to be all that good but it was still something I wanted to write after all.
"Wow…fifth grade already…" Chiyo sighed as she and her two friends walked down the street towards to their elementary school. They were accompanied by Chiyo's mother.
"Yeah!" Miru said. "Before we know it we'll soon be in junior high then high school!"
"Yep, that'd be exciting!" Yuka smiled in agreement.
"Now girls…" the mother giggled. "Let's not get too carried away…"
They soon stopped in front of their school where she saw them off. "There's your school - I'll see you later."
"Bye Mom," Chiyo waved back as she followed her friends in.
--
"I'm Miss Nozomi," spoke the teacher as she wrote on the chalkboard. "And I'll be your homeroom teacher for the year."
Miss Nozomi was a pretty young woman with wavy light-brown hair that reached to below her waist. She also wore a pair of glasses and was usually seen in jumpers of varying colors. Today was her favorite color - green.
The class made their greetings, Nozomi nodded in appreciation.
"Okay, we'll start off with mathematics," she added. "You may take out your math books."
She begin writing down some problems and notes on solving them as she lectured; "It's quite very simple…I'll be checking on you, just ask if you need any help."
She put the chalk down and started her walk around the room. As she did, she saw Chiyo whom was sitting in the front. She noticed how the child was already reading through her book, writing down the answers at a quicker rate than the other children.
"Hmm…"
--
Once lunch arrived, Chiyo joined her friends for a meal and chit-chat together.
"Those problems were kind of tricky, but I think I got them," Miru mumbled, sipping her apple juice.
"I couldn't figure one of them out," Yuka said, biting into her chicken sandwich. "But Miss Nozomi helped - that was nice of her."
"What about you Chiyo?" Miru asked, looking at her.
"Oh?" Chiyo glanced up then put down her chopsticks. "Well, I'm not sure…but I found them really easy…"
"Easy?" Miru blinked. "How so?"
"I can't really explain it," Chiyo shrugged. "They just were…"
It was true, once she'd looked into the first chapter, all was just…so simple and clear…like learning the alphabet…
It really was so that simple that she'd even looked past the first chapter and found the rest just as the same. She didn't mention this to Miru and Yuka though but it did make her wonder. Why didn't they understand it as well as she did?
Why though?
Just then their teacher walked up to them.
"That lunch looks great," Nozomi said, admiring Chiyo's meal. "Did one of your parents make it for you?"
"Ah, no, I did!" Chiyo giggled lightly.
"Huh?" she blinked. "You made it by yourself?"
"Yep!" Chiyo nodded.
That wasn't the end of her unusual endeavors.
--
"Miss Nozomi?"
The dismissal bell had rung, school was finished for today and the children gone home. The only remaining people in the classroom were Chiyo and the teacher.
"What is it Chiyo?" Nozomi looked up from her papers.
"Um…if it's okay with you…" Chiyo whispered. "I already finished my math book…"
"What?" Nozomi was now alert with interest. "You did? May I see?"
Chiyo handed over the book and she looked through, her eyes growing wider with every flip of the page.
"A-amazing…" she stuttered. "They're all correct!"
"…What should I do now?" Chiyo asked quietly.
"Uh…j-just…wait a moment…" Nozomi replied, still in mild shock. "Uh…I'll just look for a new book for you…"
She then looked through her shelf and found a book for the sixth-grade level. Could Chiyo handle it?
"Here," Nozomi handed it over. "If you have any problems, just let me know and I'll help, okay?"
"Okay!" Chiyo smiled, taking the book. "Wow…Sixth-grade…I'll do my best, Miss Nozomi!"
"Have a nice day," she smiled as the child took her bag and headed out.
"I wonder…"
--
The next day came and once again, after school, Chiyo walked up to the teacher's desk with another completed math book. Nozomi was speechless.
"Miss Nozomi?" Chiyo asked concernedly, waving a hand in front of the stunned woman. "What should I do next?"
"Uh…"Nozomi blinked, just coming out of her daze. "You may go home…I'll have to look into this…"
"Okay Miss Nozomi," Chiyo nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow!"
When the girl had left, Nozomi hurried over to the principal's office. She had to tell him the news there was a likely child prodigy at hand!
To her surprise; when she had entered inside, there were other teachers standing in the same room as well.
"Kasumi?" Nozomi asked a short-haired woman in a navy-blue suit. "What's happening here?"
"Oh, you must be here for Chiyo too," Kasumi replied. "We're all here for her."
"Yes," a woman with black hair and red dress with a matching jacket stepped in. "I've never seen a child more skilled in English!"
"You bet," Kasumi crossed her arms. "She had such talent in my music class - I would've never believed it!"
"Oh I wish you could've seen it," Nozomi added, hoping to join in the conversation. "Chiyo solved my math problems in no time at all - even on the sixth-grade level!"
"Wow…" both women awed.
"That girl isn't just fit to stay in school of this level," the English teacher spoke. "She needs to go to a higher level school where she can expand her abilities!"
"That's what we're seeing the principal for, isn't it?" Kasumi muttered.
Just then a man walked in - it was the principal. "Now, what's this 'Chiyo' business?"
Immediately the teachers ganged upon him, talking about her exceptional efforts in her classes and a demand to move her into a new school to help further her education.
"All right, all right," the principal said, raising his hands. "I'll see what I can do."
--
Chiyo was sitting in the living room, writing in her notebooks as the family's Great Pyrenees dog lay beside her. Suddenly, the phone rang in another room, she looked up in curiosity as her mother walked across the room to answer it.
"Yes?" she picked it up.
All Chiyo heard was some quiet mumbling so she returned to her notes.
Then her parent walked up to her, smiling gleefully. "Chiyo, I have exciting news!"
"What?" Chiyo stood up.
"The teacher called, she says you're going to take a special test tomorrow!"
"Test? What for?" Chiyo asked.
"Apparently, some teachers have noticed how bright you are," her mother sighed. "It'll be fine, Chiyo."
"Bright…?"
"You should get some rest," her mother waved her along to her room upstairs. "Good night!"
But Chiyo did not rest yet, she stayed awake in her bed for the majority of the evening, pondering about the test and her mother's words.
Bright…How can I be bright?
--
"A test?" Miru gasped.
"Why?" Yuka asked.
"I'm not too sure," Chiyo replied. "But I think it might have something to do with me being bright…"
The girls were in the school halls, headed towards the room where Chiyo would take her test.
"Well, anyway, I hope you have good luck on the test!" Miru said.
"Yes, go for it!" Yuka nodded.
"Thanks, I will…"
They soon separated and Chiyo went in the room to begin her test.
Hours passed…the test was over and Chiyo stepped out to be greeted by Nozomi.
"How did the test go?" Nozomi asked.
"It was fine," Chiyo smiled softly. "Some problems were bit tricky, but I believe I got them all."
"Is that so?" Nozomi nodded. "Well, you'd better head on home, your mother's waiting."
Chiyo bowed and walked off. Nozomi then went in the room where she met with a man looking over the test booklet.
"How soon can we know the results?" she inquired.
"Very soon," he assured. "At the least, tonight."
"That sounds great."
--
"Chiyo" her mother called out, running into the kitchen where Chiyo was eating her dinner. "I have the best news - Chiyo, you're a genius!"
For a moment Chiyo said nothing then she slowly whispered. "Genius…?"
"Yes!" her mother laughed happily. "It means you'll be going off to high school next week!"
"High school…?"
"Yes, just wait till your father hears this!" she clapped her hands. "My child…a prodigy…"
As her mother left, Chiyo just sat there in silence. She was not sure whether she should be happy or not. But then it made a lot of sense…
Ever since she was young, she had always noticed how different she was from her friends. She had started reading and even was speaking English at an early age with the help of her dad and it just led from there. Soon, she found she could solve any number of math problems on her own. Cooking and music were just as simple as ABC's to her, all she had to do was just follow the book. In school, she had always finished her work before the rest of her class and was the top student in each grade. All of it had been easy…far too easy…sometimes she even wished for more of a challenge.
And she'd earned it - she was going off to high school. High school!
The place filled with students older than her and where the schoolwork promised to be much more challenging than it was back in elementary - the idea of it was quite exhilarating. Soon, Chiyo found herself getting excited for it.
"Oh, high school!" she sighed then she looked at the dog. "It's going to be really fun, won't it?"
The dog simply barked in response.
But…what about her friends? Well, she would surely miss them but there always was the opportunity to make new ones while in high school.
"Oh, I can't wait!" Chiyo exclaimed. "High school…wow!"
--
After a long wait, the first day of high school finally arrived for Chiyo. First, she bid her farewells to her former classmates.
"Going to high school already…" Miru sighed. "You're so lucky!"
"Yep, you are!" Yuka agreed.
"Thanks guys," Chiyo waved. "I'll see you around…"
"Chiyo," Nozomi stepped in. "Here's hoping you'll have a great time at your new school."
"I will," Chiyo nodded. "Bye everyone!"
She gave her old school one final look before she entered the car with her mother.
"Since the high school's much closer to our home," her mother said as they drove down the street to the new school. "You'll be able to walk home and vice-versa from now on."
Chiyo just nodded, watching the scenery drift by in the car window. Soon, the building came into view and she was shocked by how big it was. And so many students!
She peered through the window where she saw a crowd of them making their way towards the school entrance. She then looked down at herself, checking her new school uniform. High school…
"Good luck, Chiyo," her mother sighed as she exited the car.
--
As she walked towards the building, looking at the sights around her, she soon felt nervous. Everything was bigger than her here…including the students…what if they didn't like her?
She found the office and met with the secretary inside.
"Um…Miss?" she asked timidly, reaching up to put her note on the counter. "I'm here for my new homeroom…"
"Hmm?" the woman blinked at her strangely then she read the paper. "Oh…right, you're the child prodigy they told me about…"
She then turned to a binder nearby, flipping through the pages. "Ah yes…you're in Yukari Tanizaki's homeroom, just through that hall over there…Room 1-3...I'll be calling ahead for you."
"Thank you," Chiyo bowed and she set off for Room 1-3.
Upon arrival, she saw her teacher, Yukari, waiting for her.
"It's okay, come in," she smiled reassuringly.
Chiyo peeked through the doorway and timidly walked inside, coming up beside Yukari.
"Let me introduce the new transfer student," Yukari said, facing the class. "Chiyo Mihama."
She stared at the class for a moment before making her introduction.
"Um…H-hi I'm Chiyo Mihama," Chiyo said, flustered. "Nice to meet you!"
"She's only ten," Yukari added. "But smart enough to be in high school!"
This caused the class to break into a chorus of 'ahs' and 'oohs' which only caused Chiyo to be even more nervous.
"Please don't pick on her just because she's a little runt!" Yukari smiled.
The class fell silent on this comment.
"Well, take your seat," Yukari looked down at Chiyo. "I hope you'll have a good time here."
"Ah…okay…" Chiyo nodded then she walked over to an empty desk where she took her seat. I really hope it will be fine…
By the end of the day, Chiyo had found the work to be a satisfying challenge - just as she'd expected. But what made it even better were the people in her class - they had been very friendly and she even made friends with some of them in the process.
She smiled as she walked home, enjoying her thoughts on how her first day had gone.
I do believe this is the beginning of great new experiences to come…
And indeed we have it. The start of her adventures in high school with her new familiar gang of friends…