The Cheat Code, Part III

My next class was Chemistry, a class where I usually paid attention, but my thoughts were anywhere but on the lecture.  Instead, I was playing back the events of the last half hour or so, trying to figure out what had been so different.  For twenty to thirty minutes, my life had just felt, well, different.  It was like someone had turned up the brightness and contrast on my vision, and while I was distracted, had given me a shot of adrenaline and serotonin in the ass.  What had happened?

I had been sitting at my desk in math, drumming my fingers.  I put my fingers on the side of my current seat and began tapping, trying to remember what the rhythm had been.  It had been the first couple measures of Metallica, and then that weird syncopated beat, and then back to...

My fingers keyed in the sequence, and as soon as I hit the last beat, it happened again.  This time, I was paying more attention, and I felt the world brighten around me.  It was a powerful sensation, making my whole body jerk.  I was left tingling and just feeling different.

I grabbed my chemistry book and flipped it open, picking a random problem set.  I knew every answer before I had finished reading the questions.  I scooped up my pencil and flicked it; it spun three times around my fingers, a blur of motion, before landing perfectly back in the cradle of my grip.

Awash in power, I grabbed my phone out of my pocket and quickly typed in the number written on the back of my hand.  "Hey Vanessa," I texted.  "It's Davis - how about I tell you a few more jokes over drinks tonight, maybe around eight?"  I didn't even think as I typed.

My phone lit up with a reply less than a minute later.  "Sounds good :)" I saw displayed on the screen.

I quit out of the message application, and then ran a finger over the touch screen surface.  The "Stocks" app popped out at me.  Now that would be a fun experiment, I thought to myself.

Leaning back in the desk, I put my hands behind my head and briefly closed my eyes.  I still wasn't sure what I had stumbled upon, but I couldn't feel down or depressed while everything was glowing in my eyes.

All of my normal worries were washed away, replaced by easy confidence.  It didn't matter what the world was going to throw at me next; I'd be able to handle it.  And so instead of concerns, I could think only of what I could try to attempt next.