Author's Note:
Writing a genius feels challenging. Nobody can really claim they fully understand how a prodigy would think or feel, right? Do they think five steps ahead? Or do they keep everything within their thoughts? I have to find some way to make the character believable, yet still manage to portray and invoke the appropriate emotions I want the character to.
Chapter 79: Insane =/= Genius
The blank screen suddenly flickered on, clearing away the noise and the grains. I don't know exactly what happened, but somehow Zoe and I ended up in the security office, with three of the burly security guards at our side as well as two police officers. Then there were the more imposing people of the group, led by a girl in a french maid uniform. Kiera had arrived, bringing with her a contingent of the Famiglia. Getting back to the recording, we began watching what really caused the fire that all but burned down the kitchen area of the Doge's Palace.
At first there were a whole lot of nothing, just security footage of the kitchen area. Scratch that, a kitchen converted exhibition space. Then, about thirty minutes before the first spark of flame, Zoe wandered into the room. You see, there were these furniture laid out across the different corners, memorabilia from another time, perhaps? The stoves were among one of them. When Zoe tinkered with it for a while with no success, she brought out a box of matches, lighting up each stick one by one before bringing out the same doll from before with a triumphant smile.
It looks like...she was trying to set the thing on fire, pushing the doll ever closer to the flame. Uh, this isn't looking good. No matter how eccentric she can be, Zoe wouldn't try to set the whole museum on fire...right?
After a good ten minutes of soft-grilling her toy, she had moved on from matchsticks to burning up chunks of crumpled paper. All the while though, she had her eyes zipping across the room, from looking to the entrance of the particular exhibition space to the many corners of the walls and ceiling. However, she wasn't vigilant enough to catch the guard sneaking up on her, the same uncle who had her in a bind just minutes ago outside. The guard panicked at the sight of the fire, kicking and thrashing away at the burning pile with a broom.
That didn't help. One thing led to the other after that. The broom caught on fire, and with a wild swing the flames transferred to the curtains at the side of the grand windows. Within seconds the kitchen became engulfed in what looked like a fireball, forcing the uncle to push his way out of the smoke and flames coughing and wheezing. He stared back into the room in despair; Zoe wasn't with him. Scratching down hard on his scalp, he made the decision to run towards the reception area for help, all while screaming into his walkie-talkie!
Before the video blacked out, though, we saw Zoe sneaking out of the old kitchen area, making a run towards the exit with a worried look on her face...
"Ahem, as you can see, the fire could have been contained. It was the buffoonery of your own security staff that led to the spread of flames beyond the old kitchen area!" Kiera reprimanded, scaring away both myself and the rest of the security guards with a sudden glare! The uncle caught in video in particular, was so startled he nearly ran out of the room from the look on his face.
"Stop right there! How dare you accuse this man in spite of him performing his duty!" A rather animated man in bob cut and striking purple outfit retorted, being the only one in the room unfazed by Kiera's imposing presence. I didn't notice him before. He must have arrived while we were focused on the playback of the captured security footage. At his words, the guards seemed to perk up and rally. "I, Garofalo Luigi, Grand Curator of Palazzo Ducale, will not stand such slander!"
Somehow I don't think the word 'Grand' was needed in his title. Don't all museums usually have but one curator?
"The girl lit the first match, that much alone should suffice for a charge for arson!" He roared out furiously as his fingers twitched and pointed at the kid still clinging to my side. Taken aback by the sheer tenacity of the man even in the presence of the Zanna Famiglia, Kiera only grew increasingly annoyed. It wasn't apparent, but there were signs only someone who had been living with her for six years could tell.
"You dare raise your voice at me?! That fire was unintentional, and don't get me started on the faulty water sprinkler systems and how they never went off!" Kiera objected, stomping into the ground hard enough I could have sworn I felt the tremor surging across the floor!
"E-Enough! Whether it was an accident or not, her actions brought great risk to the personnel working here as well as the visitors to this palace this morning! I'm afraid we're going to have to take her in!" Injecting themselves before Kiera and Mister Luigi came to a clash, the policemen made the declaration as they turned towards us, eyes pinned on Zoe. As the girl started to look distraught, I somehow ended up deciding to try and get her off the hook.
I mean, she's supposed to be under my care for the day, right? I can't just stand there watching as they took her away in cuffs, can I? "There's no need for anything that drastic, right officers? I mean, the fire was put out rather quickly, and nobody got injured. That Mister is even cordoning off the old kitchen area and reopening the palazzo to the public for the rest of the day!"
"Are you insane?! Do you know how much it'll cost me if I close the museum for the day?! Of course it'll stay open!" He declared, shooting me a look with squinted eyes that said I knew nothing about business. "Not to mention, with what happened I'll have the tourists coming in in droves! Now arrest that little troll, officers!"
Hey, there's no need for any names! I'm starting to dislike this man...
"Damn opportunistic scoundrel..." Kiera muttered under her breath, nearly popping a vein. I half-expected Kiera to whip out a weapon right there and then, if not for one of the officers cutting in with what seemed like a message from his superior.
"...yeah? What?!...got it. Understood, sir." He complied through his cell phone after a few expressions of surprise and obvious confusion.
The next few words he told us would have been too good to be true. I wouldn't have believed it if I weren't hearing it for myself.
"The two of them are free to go. All charges are dropped. Chief's orders."
"Well, that went way better than I thought." The kid with the golden hair gave out as she paced her steps in front of me, casually talking about what happened as if it was little more than a joke. The girl named Zoe pushed herself away from me as soon as we got away from both the museum's security and the Zanna Famiglia, with a cry of 'pervert' or two. Apparently my hand had found its way onto her wrist in my attempt to keep her away from the police.
But that's not important right now.
"Why...did you start that fire, Zoe? What were you planning to do to that doll?" I asked out to the back of her head, recalling what I saw from the security footage. Yes, that had been gnawing at the back of my mind for a while now. Despite the fire largely being accidental, her actions did make it possible for the accident to happen.
"I was doing some testing, trying to see if the stove in the old kitchen area could work or not. The doll was just a side project." She tossed her answer my way as we passed the many exhibits of the Musell dell'Opera. Was she being serious? Was it all just some experiment for her?
"You did know that the fire could have spread beyond the old kitchen area, right? People could have gotten hurt!" I somehow found myself reprimanding Zoe for her actions.
"Well, I was gonna put it out as soon as I was done! That fat uncle was the one who made things complicated, flailing around like that! Anyway, nobody got hurt in the end, so everything turned out fine!" She screamed back at me, obviously annoyed at my poking. By now our conversation had drawn the eyes of the other students frequenting the area, but Zoe didn't mind one bit, only quickening her steps. "What's it to you anyway?" She questioned, as if baffled by why I was so concerned, which only made me more upset.
"How can you be so callous? That idea was obviously insane!" By now I realized I'm also yelling back at her at the top of my voice.
"Don't call me insane! The path of a true genius isn't easy, okay?! You have to seize every chance you get! You can't possibly understand why I wanted to do what I did!" She hissed back without a hint of uncertainty. It was as if she felt completely justified at what she did, and was more angry and annoyed at me than anything else. A glance to the front showed me the doors of the entrance of the Doge's Palace. She would have slipped through and out of the place if I didn't clamped down on her left hand, holding her in place.
"So what, it was just you working your 'genius'? Insanity does not equal genius, Zoe! And where do you think you're going?" I lectured, sounding more and more like a parent for some reason. Was she making her way towards the exit all this time?
"Shut up! I've already been here before, seen all the exhibits they have on display! I don't need to waste the rest of the day doing those childish activities they planned for us!" Zoe shouted, tugging away trying to free herself as she did. The glare she had for me when turned around towards me wasn't something I expected from a nine year old. Her eyes were starting to turn red...
"Hm, so these challenges set for us are beneath you, huh Zoe?" Out of nowhere a mocking tone spoke out to us, the voice low but unmistakably a kid's.
"N-No, I...I mean, yeah! That's right, Ezio! They're trivial and nothing more than a waste of time for a genius like me!" When Zoe caught sight of the boy, who had his arms crossed standing a few feet away from us in the center of the main hall, the light in her eyes changed, though only for a split second. The next moment she had the sly grin on her face once more, strengthening her back and crossing her own arms in a haughty display.
From behind the kid, Sergio appeared, though as he approached, the tension in the air robbed him of any words. We decided to speak only when Zoe and the boy was done.
I take it they know each other? Maybe they're friends? At the very least, they seem to be acquaintances...
"Tch, whatever..." The boy named Ezio muttered calmly before turning away from us, shaking his head in disappointment. "...why don't you just leave without a commotion? You're making us Venice Elementary students look bad." He ended their little talk with those cold words, which only served to wipe the smile off of Zoe's face.
Tearing herself free from my grip, she vanished into the streets without a second thought. Although I was still upset at her myself, I couldn't help but feel sympathetic. There seems to be a story behind what just happened...
"Whoa, sorry about that, Amato. Ezio seemed so aloof and laid back when I met him an hour ago, this is the first time I saw him furrow his brow..." Sergio chipped in, snapping me out of my chain of thought as he stopped beside me, eyes searching for the kid he's paired with.
"It's all right, Sergio. I'm more worried about Zoe. I can't seem to get her to listen to me..." From my thoughts the words slipped out, before I'm met with Sergio with a look on his face that said he expected all of that.
"Well, no surprise there. Maybe you could try changing perspective? Maybe turn your thinking around?" Sergio casually tossed out some wise words, before homing in towards his paired kid, Ezio. "Uh...aren't you going after her, Amato?" He continued. I only responded with a blank look on my face. "You guys still need to finish up on the activity, yeah? The grade for today's final report makes up a percentage of your end-of-year grades, ya know?"
"I'm sorry...WHAT?!" I threw out jumping back startled in the process. Is he for real? What made the school decide that a single-day field trip report carries that much weight?! Who's the smart-guy who came up with that idea?!
"Hm, maybe now's a bad time to say this, but..." Sergio darted around with his words as he rolled his brown eyes to the side, looking really uncertain. "...the marks will come from her report, Amato. It's gonna come from her evaluation of you for the day.." He finishes with an awkward laugh and a cough. Glancing to my side, he must have said something, but I couldn't make out the words. After all, I'm already making a mad dash towards the doors!
...now I really wished I didn't sleep through that briefing we had the other day!
"Zoe! Zoe, w-where did you go?!" As sunlight hits the eyes, I ended up shading them with my hands as I stumbled into the open streets a few steps away from the Porta Del Frumento. Within seconds I was assaulted by the faint smell of water from the canals and the many eyes of the public now staring my way. A single guy running through the streets, screaming at the top of his voice is probably the most weirdest thing they've ever seen.
I would have been bothered to the point where I would start to hide, but the panic was starting to grow. Noon was coming, and if I don't find her anytime soon I'm afraid it'll be too late! I can't afford to have today's grade pulling me down in the finals!
"Zoe! Please, come back to the palace and finish the activities! I know this is selfish of me, but I really need a good report from you at the end of all this! Come back and I'll...I'll do whatever you want!" I cried out, my eyes desperately searching for any sign of her golden hair amongst the many faces popping up in the streets.
No dice. As more than a few beads of sweat were met with a cold breath of wind, the few seconds I waited for a response trailed into minutes. Frustrated at my predicament, I realized things would have been better if I didn't tried to lecture her the first time we spoke. As the despair was somewhat starting to sink in, my lumbering steps brought me to a bench by the museum, which I practically threw myself into.
"Who am I kidding? She probably boarded the first bus she saw the moment she stepped out of the Palace...I'm so gonna fail today..." I whined to myself, throwing my head back and eyes staring up the cloudless blue sky. I was pretty much resigned to an F for the day if Zoe's golden hair hadn't popped into sight.
"No, you're not." She declared as I blinked more twice, thinking I was hallucinating, before breaking into one of my biggest smiles ever. "...assuming you keep true to what you said." She continued, to which I replied with fervent nods. "...fine, let's go...and wipe that creepy smile of your face, jeez!" It took her only a second before her mood seemingly soured and she started barking commands as we headed back into the Palace. Still, I'm glad she stuck around instead of leaving outright.
Getting back into the grand halls, I took out the slip that came with Zoe's data sheet, and there it was, just like Sergio said. Today's activities and final report will make up a portion of our finals, and the primary activity we have to complete is...
"Sketching for likeness?" I mumbled out the words, before turning towards Zoe hoping for some sort of explanation. Instead, she shot me an annoyed look on her face, acting as if she's baffled by my reaction.
"It means we have to draw, duh! Are you sure you're a high schooler from Venice High? Isn't it a renowned for its genius graduates?" Zoe questioned, a skeptic look in the light of her eyes, before reaching out for a pencil from the side of the table.
"Well technically I'm still in middle school, but Venice has this direct admission program, you see? So all we have to do is enroll in Venice High for middle school and we're set for high school as well." I answered, trying my best to recall what happened when I started middle school. Kiera and a few men in suits were there, but I don't think they had anything to do with my enrollment besides being my acting guardians. "Still, drawing is definitely something I can get behind!" I cried out in excitement, yanking a pencil off the stationery holder and scribbling down hard on the blank piece of paper.
So we basically went about hunting down the three exhibits we were supposed to sketch from. I guess the school had the notion that even the most basic of artistes can draw, and with Venice High being a somewhat creativity-focused school it was perhaps the most obvious task to give.
The first was this weird, abstract painting that looked like a bunch of cubes overlapping each other, giving me a headache after staring at it for too long. Zoe wasn't kidding when she said she'd seen all of it before. The exhibits hasn't been changed in the last month, and she knew exactly where to go to find them.
"Wow, it almost feels as though you were the one who designed the place, and set up the exhibits..." I commented, breaking the silence that had been going on between us for a while now. Did I do something wrong that got her upset again? I hope not.
"That's not it. I have an eidetic memory; the things I experienced before plays back in my mind like a dream, except everything's ultra-clear..." She mumbled her reply without looking, before we stopped our steps by the second exhibit.
The second piece of work we're supposed to draw is an impressionistic painting; that's what's written on the slate in the corner. Everything looks as though it's little more than a fleeting dream, but I think it's supposed to be a lake with trees all around it.
"Wait, does that mean you never forget?" The words slipped out in surprise, as I drew in yet another curve for the tree and its leaves.
"No, it's just means it's a lot harder to..." She mumbled again, almost as if she wanted to avoid speaking about the subject. Just as the silence seemed to creep its way back between us, the familiar voices of a couple of guys from my class echoed in the hall as they got closer.
"Man, Sienna really knows how to bum me out of a field trip. She expects me to hand these out to everyone that's present today? Does she even realize just how big the Doge's Palace is?" One of them whined at the top of their voice, disregarding the rule that we should be keeping our voices down when viewing the exhibits.
"Don't worry, at least your kid didn't turn up, yeah? Imagine having to do this while babysitting some snot-nosed brat!" The other joked, slapping down on his friends back. It didn't seemed to assuage his friend of his predicament one bit.
"Tch, idiots..." To my surprise, Zoe responded to their remarks almost instantly.
"You really shouldn't say things like that, Zoe. Best if you just... keep it in mind." I advised, which didn't seemed to have much effect. If anything, Zoe only got more riled up by my words.
"What? What's wrong with speaking my mind? If you don't speak up, your voice will just drown in noise of the masses, and that's the last thing a genius wants! Besides, if no one spoke up, these idiots would just grow up to become unwanted stains of society!" Zoe burst out with her rebuttal, all of which do make sense, so much that I didn't know exactly how I should refute. "Look, even the kid who's partnered to one of them looked miserable, whose fault do you think that is?" She ended, showing sympathy for her fellow classmate.
In the end though, I was glad the guys didn't catch wind of what Zoe said. It was a surprise however, that their face brightened up when they caught sight of me and started making their way towards us.
"Hey, it's the brownie! You wouldn't mind doing a little errand for us, right? Since you like to help out so much..." One of my classmates asked out with a grin.
"Yeah, Zanna! Here's where you can put that spirit to good use!" The other added on, trying his best to follow up. It's embarrassing but I can't exactly remember his name nor his friend's, so I was watching my words to make sure I never have to use them. Obviously they're acting this way to get me to agree, which is a nice change from the usual names.
Still, they didn't have to do that.
"Sure, I'll help! I'll get on to it as soon as the day's activities are done." I gave them the word as I retrieved the huge stack of paper from the guys when all of a sudden Zoe's voice shot into my ears from the side!
"What?!" Instantly upset, Zoe pulled me to the side. "You're not serious, are you?! They're obviously looking down on you, calling you names and trying to take advantage of you!" She cried out her warning, having picked up the gist of the situation.
"Look, Zoe. It's all right. I don't mind helping. And there's no point getting back at them with the names and the attitude. If I acted that way I would have been dead a long time ago." Out of nowhere, the thought slipped out after a sudden memory of working with the Zanna Famiglia popped into mind. Zoe's disposition only soured further after that.
"Zanna, you will want to get these distributed as soon as possible." One of the guys suggested, a glint in his eyes.
"Oh. B-But we still need to finish up on the last sketch, we're kinda behind time as it is..." I argued on reflex. My eyes trailed towards Zoe only to have her look away as if denying me any support.
"Well, Adele made it clear that she wanted everyone to have it, even the kids from Venice Elementary, so you better hightail it as soon as possible!" The guys closed off the conversation with those instructions before disappearing into the corridors, laughing up a storm.
That made things a bit more complicated than I thought.
"No choice then, we'll just have to get this done first, then rush back to the last exhibit..." Quickly finishing the one I'm working on with a few more details here and there, I gave Zoe my conclusion before pulling myself up from the chair.
"You mean you'll have to get it done. You're such a tool! You let others step all over you without a single complaint! You're worthless in the eyes of others, in the eyes of yourself, and now in my eyes as well!" Zoe ranted, the arms crossed around her chest crushing down harder with every word, shivering at the very end. She may be a genius, but she's just as emotional as any other kid, it seems. I better find some reason to calm her down before she runs off again...
Too late! Before I could even react and do my best to assuage her, Zoe dodged into another corner of the corridor and disappeared!
"Not good..." I muttered with worry, eyes staring down the now empty corridor before trailing back to the stack of paper in my hands. Torn between two objectives, I hastily made my decision before the sound of my own footsteps rang through the hall of the Palazzo Ducale.
Running from room to room didn't get me anywhere, Zoe seemed to have vanished into thin air. First I started off with the ground floor of the palace, before branching out to the other, more specialized areas of the museum, but she was nowhere to be seen. Asking Sergio and the others got me only blanks looks and their heads shaking from side to side in reply. Before I knew it I had distributed the papers to every single student present for the field trip, with but one area left to search: the final exhibit we were required to sketch.
A dagger enclosed in a glass display case; it looked ancient and out of place amidst the paintings and sculptures littered within the Palace. But enough of that, Zoe doesn't seem to be around here either. Oh man, don't tell me she went out of the palace like before...
"Gah, what to do...what to do?" Unwittingly pacing around the exhibit, I couldn't help crying out to myself in a panic.
"Um...mister? Are you okay? You look kinda mad..." Out of nowhere, this brunette with short, neat hair and a pair of dark eyes appeared before me, asking me the question as she rocked to and fro on the heel of her feet. With an adorable yellow dress, she looked to be about ten years old or so. She must be one of the Venice Elementary students.
"Hm, seems like you're having a difficult day, Boyfriend~!" All of a sudden, Gina popped out of nowhere with a hug and a smile as she threw her arms around me, pressing her weight on my back. The surprising act was enough to make the brunette blush red all over.
"Y-Yeah, Gina. Zoe's disappeared, and we haven't finished our sketches yet!" I exclaimed, resigning myself to Gina's embrace, hugging her back.
"S-So you like-like this mister, Miss Regina?" Still flustered, the adorable little girl whose most probably Gina's partner asked out, fidgeting with her fingers as her eyes darted between us and the ground.
"Yes, Alessia, I like-like Amato. And how many times do I have to say it? Just calling me Regina will do! Or big sis! Ooh, I like the sound of that!" Gina answered with a big smile and a wink excitedly as she petted the girl named Alessia on her head. Her words made my heart skip a beat from pure joy itself.
"Um...Oh, there she is! Heeey, Zoooeeee!" Alessia cried out, prancing her way towards the girl strolling into the room with a juice box in hand. As Gina and I followed after her, I noticed a rather large group of students flooding into the room, with Adele amongst them.
"All right people, it's time to hand in those works you've been doing for the entirety of the day! Remember, they'll factor in to the grade you're getting for the day which in turn means they'll factor in to your end-of-year grade as well! The report carries the bulk of it, but these activities still matter, but I'm sure you all already know that!" Adele exclaimed with her usual conviction and charisma in the corner. It wasn't long before the students flew towards her with accomplished looks on their faces. Everyone must be done with their activities already!
"Gah! Zoe, are you done with your three sketches?!" Driven into slight panic, I quickly pulled out another piece of paper before starting my own drawing of the dagger!
"Sllluuuuurrrppp!" Unfazed by my words and the situation as a whole, Zoe only walked to my side as she sucked up the straw from the juice box, the loudest I had ever heard. "Yeah, I'm done. I only took a break and got me some juice in order to...cool down after what happened." She muttered under her breath, before pulling out her three sketches, each one of them perfectly drawn. So much so that they look like photos in black and white!
"Great!" The pleasant surprise of her in agreement aside, I quickly went with the flow of things and finished up on my own work. After a few more strokes to add on to the dagger's details I grabbed Zoe's hand and rushed towards Adele behind Gina and Alessia.
"H-Hey, what you doing...?!"
"Here we are, here's our sketches!" I cried out as soon as I got to Adele, being the last few pairs to hand in the work. The Class President only took but one look at my three drawings before pushing them back into my hands.
"Your name, Amato. You've forgotten to write them down!" She explained, looking slightly surprised while shaking her head from side to side.
"Oh right, my name...right!" I gave out as I got flustered, laying out the three pieces of work before me as I brought out my pen. A stray look to the side brought the girls into notice. Gina, Alessia and Zoe were staring at the three drawings I did with similar looks on their faces.
"Amato, that's a nice...face you've drawn. I can't quite tell who it's supposed to be, though..." Gina commented with extra care in choosing her words, though those few words were enough to drive me into shock!
"That's not a face, that's a dagger!" I exclaimed, pulling the drawing close and studying it again. No matter how I look at it, it looks just the dagger showcased in the exhibit! When my eyes turned back to Gina, she only laughed it off, patting me on the back.
"T-These are some pretty buildings, though..." Alessia added with a smile, trying to cheer me up. Sadly, they did the exact opposite.
"Those are supposed to be trees!" Again, I argued, driving the poor kid cowering behind Zoe's shoulders. As if she was tired of being upset, Zoe only took a second to glance through all three of my sketches before snatching them off my hands.
"I should have paid attention to what your were drawing. These are all horrible!" She yelled, before doing something unthinkable.
She tore them up into tiny, little bits and slips of paper!
"N-No! Why?! Zoe, why did you do that?!" In a fit of anger or maybe reflex I lose my composure and screamed at the girl at the top of my voice.
"Y-You really didn't need to do that, Zoe..." Alessia muttered, but nevertheless she sounded as though it was something expected of Zoe. Gina only looked on towards us and the situation with confusion and disbelief.
When my tired gaze lingered up to Zoe, she was already busy with something else. Drawing out a pen, she did a few strong strokes on the pieces of empty paper before shoving them into my hands.
They're awesome! They look just like the exhibits, the quality just as crisp as the ones she did before! Of course, it was all just shading done with a pen!
...now I'm just sad. What can I say, those were some of the better drawings I've made!
"There! These will do a lot more than your old cave drawings ever did." She declared with a relieved look in her eyes, before pointing me towards Prez. Did Zoe did all that just so I could have better works to hand up? Was she thinking about my grade when she tore up those drawings?
"Zoe! That wasn't very nice!" Alessia cried out her disapproval as she clung on to Zoe's arm, giving me the impression that the two of them are rather close.
"Hey, I was doing him a favor!" Zoe replied haughtily without reason.
Yeah, it didn't really seem like she was doing it for my sake. The golden-haired girl who's emotional, headstrong, confident, judgmental and most of all, brave. From the looks of these drawing she did in but a few seconds, maybe she really is a genius. In the end though, I could do little but look to the ground in defeat as Gina accompanied me to submit the six pieces of work we, I mean, Zoe completed.
Finally, this chapter is completed! Man, this ended up way longer than I ever expected. I had a friend gloss over the chapter and he said Zoe's vocabulary was too diverse for an elementary school kid. What do you guys think? Keep in mind she's a genius, so I figured her dialogue had to reflect that. As usual, give me your thoughts in your reviews below, and keep an eye out for the next chapter update to find out what's gonna happen next!