Biosystem Awakening: From Bastard To Badass

Chapter 7

As the lecture continued, Tristian tried his best to pay attention but he couldn’t and no matter how hard he focused, he did not understand anything the lecturer was saying. It was as if her words were passing through his ears without meaning, floating away before he could grasp them. He didn’t even know where she had started from or how the topic had developed. Everything sounded confusing, scattered, and far too complex for him to follow.

And honestly,  that had always been his problem.

Even during his undergraduate days, Tristian had barely understood what lecturers were teaching. He always struggled silently, trying to catch up while others seemed to understand effortlessly. Most of the time, he had to rely on Caleb just to make sense of what was being taught. 

Even Caleb, at times, would struggle to explain things properly because Tristian’s level of understanding was always very low. It wasn’t that he didn’t try, it was just difficult for him to process academic concepts the same way others did. It was a big deal for him because he had to deal with his classmates making fun of him everytime their results were realeased. it was always a difficult time for him and the only reason he was able to shake off every taunt he got back then was because of Lyra. 

After a while, Tristian stopped pretending to listen and Instead, he reached over and collected Caleb’s notebook. He began going through it slowly, trying to piece together at least something from what the lecturer had already taught. His eyes scanned the notes carefully, line after line, hoping that maybe something would finally click inside his head.

But as he read, his expression slowly changed into confusion because nothing was making sense, not even a single part.

“Tristian,” Caleb whispered beside him, leaning slightly closer so the lecturer wouldn’t notice, “Are you sure you’re fine? You’ve never done this before. You never try to understand what is being taught like this during class, not until exam period. This is new.”

“I have to do better for myself, don’t you think?” Tristian replied quietly without looking away from the notes. “I’m trying to learn. I want to understand what exactly we are going to be doing in this master’s program. How am I even going to pass if I don’t put in extra effort? You know how strict it is here when it comes to good grades. I have to do my best to understand everything.”

Caleb looked at him for a moment, clearly surprised by his seriousness.

“Oh wow,” he muttered softly. “That’s actually surprising. I think the breakup really messed up your head more than I thought.”

“Shut up,” Tristian said with a laugh. 

Caleb chuckled and shook his head before reaching into his bag and handing him another textbook.

“Here,” he said. “This one might help you understand better.”

Even though Caleb knew very well that Tristian would still struggle and probably end up coming back to him for help, he still gave him the book anyway. 

“Just try your best,” Caleb added casually. “At least understand a part of it. Later, you can still come back to me.”

Tristian nodded slightly and took the book but then something strange happened. While Tristian was flipping through Caleb’s notebook and then opening the textbook that had been handed to him, something unusual began to occur.

As he read, it felt different. It was as if everything in the book was being engraved directly into his mind, replaying itself inside his head. It was almost like he could still see every single word Caleb had written, word for word, without missing a single detail or making even the smallest mistake.

Tristan brows furrowed in confusion. “How is this happening?” he asked himself silently.

He slowly closed his eyes and immediately, everything he had just read appeared clearly inside his mind. It was as though the pages were still open in front of him, floating in his thoughts and every word, every line and every sentence was sharp, clear, and perfectly stored.

Tristian quickly shook his head slightly.

“What is happening to me?” he thought, his heartbeat starting to increase.

“Could this be because of the accident I had the other day? Am I not fully okay yet? Is my head still injured somehow? Is something wrong with my brain?”

He was confused but even with that confusion, he did not stop.

When the next class started, the same thing happened again and this time, it shocked him even more. He needed confirmation and needed to know if he was imagining things or if something real was actually happening to him so he took out all the books in his bag and one after the other, he selected a textbook he had never read before and read a few pages slowly and attentively. 

Then, after reading, he closed the book and placed it aside and did not look at it again. After a few minutes, he closed his eyes and then, slowly, he began to recite everything he had just read, word for word, without missing anything. He was shocked but at the same time, it made him excited.

Even the most complex explanations, the words he normally would have struggled with or forgotten instantly, were now locked perfectly inside his mind. After repeating the process again and again and testing himself over and over, he finally realized that he was not hallucinating and that something was happening to him.

He stared at the book in his hand, his heart beating faster. “Does this mean… I can never forget anything I read?” he thought.

“How is this even possible?” he whispered to himself again. It was as if his brain had been upgraded. This ability was massive to him and he could already see the possibilities unfolding in his mind.

Meanwhile, Caleb had been watching all this while, looking confused, 

“Why are you acting so strange today?” He asked, as he was actually concerned. “Are you sure you are fine?”

“Please, I’m fine,” Tristian replied immediately, rolling his eyes slightly. “Stop thinking I’m crazy. If I’m crazy, then you will be crazy too, because I will not go down alone.”

Caleb sighed and leaned back.

“I would like to believe you are fine,” he said slowly. “But I’m being serious. You’ve been acting really weird and honestly, it won’t be strange if it has something to do with Lyra. I know how  heartbreak can affect people more than they admit.”

“Lyra is not worth stressing over or going crazy for,” he said absent mindedly. “Trust me, I wasn’t even thinking about her.”

And he meant it.

For the past two weeks, he had avoided thinking about Lyra completely. He had not reached out to her and even if her name came up in his head, he treated it like she was someone irrelevant. Since he entered the class, he had also made sure not to look toward the front row because that was where Lyra was seated and he just didn’t care enough to look. The fact that he almost killed himself because of her replayed in his mind and it made him feel stupid. Also, the image of his mum crying at his bedside hadn't left his head. 

Thinking about everything now, he was actually glad he had proposed to her in the first place because if he hadn’t, he would never have known she was cheating on him and had already moved on with someone else.

He had made up his mind that Lyra would regret what she did to him. He lowered his eyes back to the textbook in his hand and focused on it completely.

Unknowingly, Lyra had been watching him. She had expected him to be looking at her but all this while, he didn’t and was completely focused on a book.

Lyra frowned slightly at the sight of Tristian reading, then let out a soft scoff.

She knew Tristian very well and knew that no matter how much he tried, he can never be good academically. If not because of her, he wouldn’t have even graduated so seeing him act like he was suddenly serious was nothing more than a joke.

She shook her head and turned back to face the lecturer, not knowing that something inside him had already begun to change.