Isaac Cooper's POV

Mr. Lawrence gave the math test to me about fifteen minutes ago. Now, my sister and I have completed ours. As always, we were the first to get ours done. The others had to take more time on theirs. Athena and I gave our tests onto the teacher's desk. Mr. Lawrence wasn't surprised at all when we were the first ones finished. He used to be, but now we don't receive the same shock factor from him or others anymore and I believe it takes the fun out of it. Some of the other students looked at us with jealousy and hatred and there are few who were impressed at how we got done so quickly.

I took out a comic book I have in my book bag. It was one I got with my father when he took me with him. My father and I loves comic books. I'm starting my own collection like his and I don't have the equal amount as him. However, he did give me some of his own that I can even keep. I was to treat it with respect and care and to never doggy ear the corner of the pages as a bookmark.

After class was over, I had accidentally bumped into Jessica Gilbert in the hallway. She may be referred to as what the juvenile term to call when you like someone, my 'crush'. I find her brilliant despite what my father thinks of her mother. Supposedly, Jessica's mother is named, Leslie. Her and I both believe in different theories. Jessica believes in loop quantum gravity and I believe in string theory like my father. That's where we both clash.

But she still is an amazing creature...

"You can finish a test within seconds, Cooper, but you can't watch where you're going?" Jessica teased me and her friends laugh including the ones who passed by.

"My apologies, Jessica."

"How many times do I have to tell you it's Jess?" She asked with annoyance as so many do when I call them by their actual name.

I quickly calculated the answer in my head. "Approximately three hundred and eighty times. Including today at this moment, three hundred and eighty one."

"I was being rhetorical, dumbass." She muttered the crude name for me.

"Oh. I have an eidetic memory like my father. I cannot forget."

"Lucky you." She commented dryly.

"I guess so. It's nice to always remember everything," I said. "For example, a month ago you didn't like the sandwich your mother made, and recently, you hated that it was raining because we couldn't go outside for gym class."

"You remember that?" She asked.

"Of course I do. I have an eidetic memory." I repeated myself.

"Well, it's been a blast talking to you as usual, Cooper." Jessica walked away from me in the hallway and to her friends.

This conversation must have gone good. She said our conversation was a blast. First time ever she said it like that. I don't think I sense any sarcasm from her. But I don't know much about sarcasm. Like my father, I don't understand it and it's frustrating.

There's a difference between my sister and I. She's more introverted while myself on the hand is more outgoing. I wouldn't call myself a party animal or anything outrageous. Athena does have only one friend who she's perfectly content with.

While I was walking and minding my own business, I can't help to let my mind wander drift off to another world. Where I am the overlord, ruling this world, and making the future a brighter tomorrow. As much as I enjoy my daydreaming, I felt my body getting slammed against the lockers.

It wasn't a surprise to me when I see my arch nemesis. Nicholas Lambert. He was angrily glaring at me as his hands had me pinned by my shoulders.

"You think you're just smarter than the rest of us, don't you?" He sneered.

I thought about it for a while and how the behaviors of my class acted. Also, how they give out answers when the teachers would randomly give out pop quizzes. Sure, there's a very small percentage of bright students in this school, but I believe my sister and I have the highest IQ out of them all.

"Yes, I do. Including my sister as well," He slammed me again into the locker. Truth be told, it was painful. "Are you releasing your uncontrolled anger to me because you're threatened by my vast intellect?"

Nicholas looked like he was about to say something, but instead, he said. "How about this for uncontrolled anger?"

He had punched me in the face. I fell to the ground. Judging how my nose feels, it is bleeding and my glasses are broken. Perfect.

"Nick!" I heard a female's voice shouting his name and it sounded too young to be a teacher. "What did you do?!"

"You saw that?" For once, I think I hear a bit of fear in his voice because of her. Whoever she is to him, she has a very strong effect on him.

"I did and I don't know why you've punched him!"

"Because he deserved it for being a nerd." I heard his stupid friends laughing in the background.

They are the people what my father calls, 'degenerate'. No wonder.

"You're childish! We're done! C'mon, Isaac. I'll take you to the nurse." The girl helped me up and I cover my bloodied nose with my hands. I notice that other kids were watching the scene and I didn't realize we had an audience.

"What? Maddie, are you serious?" Nicholas sound like he was shock. "You're breaking up with me because of him?"

"I'm breaking up with you because you're a bully and I hate bullies!" The girl...Madison exclaimed to him.

She walked away with me as the other kids cleared a path for us to go to the nurse's room.

"Thank you for taking me to the nurse, Madison." I said gratefully.

"You're welcome, sweetie. You can just call me Maddie. Maddie Hofstadter."

"I prefer to call people by their full names. It's what we're given to by birth." I replied.

"People do use nicknames." She pointed out the obvious fact.

"I'm aware, but since you would use the nickname, you should call them by that all the time. Their full name would be pointless unless you're going to use their full name to scold or for a warning."

"You're very passionate about that, are you?" She asked me.

"I am."

"I'm sorry about my jerk of a boyfriend. I mean my..."

"Ex boyfriend?" I corrected.

I lift my head as we walk to the nurse. Only one of my hand covers my nose because the other has a lot of blood on it.

"I think so."

"Do you regret breaking up with him?"

"I don't know. I was just so angry what he did to you and I couldn't believe he...snapped."

"I can." I muttered.

"Again, Isaac, I'm sorry-"

"You don't have to apologize. It wasn't your fist that collided to my nose. It was Nicholas. How do you know my name?"

Madison smiled with amusement. "We're in the same classes together. You just don't notice me."

"Oh..." I said.

At the nurse, she helped me to heal my nose. Thankfully, it wasn't broken. It took a lot of time for it to stop bleeding. The nurse gave me a slip for the teacher of my next class because the bell rang and I missed it. I hate being tardy!

I went to Mrs. Stark's class for study hall and gave her the white slip. Then I sat in my usual seat. My friend, Patrick, came and sat next to me while I resumed to read my comic book. This time, I just paid attention to the detailed artwork out of boredom.

"I heard you got punched in the face by Nick." Patrick reported.

"School gossip tends to spread fast like wildfire so I'm not surprised you've heard it so quickly."

"Are you okay?" He asked with concern.

I set my comic book down and turned my face to him. "I'm fine. I just had a bloody nose and my glasses broke. My eyesight is now blurry."

"That sucks. You don't have a spare?"

"I'm afraid not," I shook my head. "Hopefully, my parents will be more understanding to by me a new one."

"I also heard that Maddie took you to the nurse," He grinned. "She's such a babe."

I barely knew the girl existed until now that she guided me to the nurse. I can't say that I agree. "If you say so..."

"Oh, c'mon, don't you think so?"

"My eyes are only set for Jessica Gilbert." Unfortunately, she's not in my study hall period.

"Really? I think she hates you." He had the audacity to chuckle.

"That's what you think, but it isn't a fact." I shook my head.

"Whatever you say." He said carelessly. His tone suddenly changed to a brighter one when he mentioned. "Mrs. Anderson gave Nick a detention when she saw what he did to you. It was after you went to the nurse with Maddie."

"That's good. At least he got what he deserved."

"Yeah." Patrick nodded.

When school ended, I avoid to go anywhere near within the proximity of Nicholas and avoid any eye contact. I just met up with Athena and Samantha.

"Oh my god, are you okay? I heard that you got punched in the face!" Samantha asked with concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine. My nose isn't broken. However, my glasses are."

"It was Nick who did it, didn't he?" Athena frowned.

"Yes."

"Ugh! He's such an asshole! I don't know what Maddie sees in him." Samantha said angrily.

"You know Madison Hofstadter?" I asked curiously.

"Yes, but it's not like we're friends or anything. She is very nice though. She's too good for Nick, I'll tell you that."

"She is nice," I agreed thoughtfully. "She was the one who took me to the nurse. I think she broke up with Nicholas."

"Yeah, and they'll get back together again. The classic on and off cycle." Samantha sighed.

"Speaking of a cycle, I call shot gun," I declared. "You've had your turn way too much and now it's mine."

"Ugh, fine! Whatever," She grumbled and I smirked because I win. "Since you got injured I'll let that slide."

At home in the living room, my father noticed the blood stained on my t-shirt that I hadn't realize before.

"Why is there a blood stain on your shirt?"

"I got punched in the nose and my glasses broke as a result of it." I pulled out my broken glasses that was inside my book bag. "I'm afraid I would have to get new ones."

"That won't be a problem."

Clearly, he didn't see my broken glasses as an issue and I'm thankful. He was more concerned about who punched me.

"Who was it that punched you? Your mother and I must report it to the principal to have him suspended."

"Sheldon, I don't think the school will report whoever punched Isaac to be suspended." My mother said.

"Well, whoever injured my son is not going to get away with it!" He said with determination.

"Father, it's already taken care of. Mrs. Anderson already gave Nicholas a detention," I told him. "A nice girl named, Madison Hofstadter, took me to the nurse."

"Madison Hofstadter?" Mother asked as if she had heard that name before.

"Yes. She was very friendly, too. She even broke up with her boyfriend. He's the same one who punched me."

"Sheldon, I can still remember when her brother, Wyatt, was the cutest little boy..." My mother said fondly to him.

I looked at Athena and Samantha who were just as confused as I am. How did my parents know the girl and her family?

"Did you know her?" Samantha asked.

"Yes." My father answered.

"How?"

"We were friends with her parents. Her father and I were roommates until I met your mother and we lived in Maddie's mother's apartment together," He didn't look too happy to say the next part of the story. "A few years later after our wedding, your mother found out she's pregnant with our first child."

"With us?" Athena assumed.

"I said our first child." He put emphasis on the last word.

"What happened?" Samantha asked the same question Athena and I were wondering.

"I was so excited to be carrying our first child, but then I..." My mother grew sad and my father held her hand for comfort. "Miscarried. We were so devastated. We kept the name we wanted our first daughter anyway."

"What was her name?" Athena wondered about our sister.

It's strange to think that I could've had an older sister.

"Cassidy Penelope Cooper." She answered sounding forlorn.

"I thought it'd be the best year of my life, too. I won my Nobel Prize that I've always dreamed of, but none of that mattered when I learned we had lost our first child."

The three of us never knew this about them. I can understand why because of how this was such a heavy and emotional subject. It's a horrible pain to go through and I hated how my parents suffered it.

"What happened with your friendship with the Hofstadters?" I asked.

"We got a little jealous how Leonard and Penny had their firstborn child with them and we lost ours," My mother explained. "I know it wasn't fair to be angry and envious of them, but we were still grieving. Your father and I did move to a new house we planned to get because of the first baby's arrival. And then we just...lost contact with them. Another reason we left was because of all the constant pressure for us to have another baby. It was definitely hard to see Leonard and Penny with their child and our other friends, Howard and Bernadette, being with their children while we had none of our own. Our other friend, Rajesh could relate being single at the time, but not to the same level where he had lost his child during pregnancy. It took me a while to try and get pregnant again because I didn't want to miscarry for the second time."

"So you've stopped being friends with them?" Samantha asked.

My parents exchanged glances at each other before looking back to us.

"We didn't really mean to cut our friendship off so abruptly, but we did because two years later to be exact, we became pregnant with the two of you," My father answered. "And it was like everything was right again. We finally have a family of our own and I can focus more on science and getting breakthroughs. We just didn't spend time with the Hofstadters that much anymore because the two of you were quite a handful."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that, Mother." Athena hugged her.

"It's okay. I was never really a huge believer with this saying, but things do happen for a reason. Those events in our lives made us who we are today."

"Can't you still be friends with them now?" Samantha asked.

"I don't know, but I suppose we could restore an old friendship." My father said thoughtfully.

"We would have to apologize to them because we had been unfairly rude and mean." My mother told him.

He thought about it for a minute and complied. "I suppose you're right."

My mother looked at us. "I want you all be nice to the Hofstadters, okay?" Then she smiled. "Maddie is our goddaughter."