Everyone Has Their Daemons

Things aren’t always what they seem.

Hello, my name is Daemon Black and I’m a little different than your average high school student. For one I have an IQ measured in the range of the 220s, although I had to hold back a bit to not arouse too much attention. Also, I’ve got a few special, hmmm… I guess “abilities” would be the best way to describe them. For most people, even just having a fraction of my abilities or just my IQ would be a blessing, but I know there is something else behind it, something diabolical. My parents won't admit to it but I know there’s something more to my life and I won't stop until I’ve discovered what is going on.

Today started just as every day does, with a jog to the lake down the road, followed by swimming laps and meditation. Luckily for me, my day starts at 3 AM, so there’s usually not anyone around to bother me. On the walk home, I see a short brunette girl with hair in curls down to the middle of her back. It has to be Sammy, my best friend since elementary school. She doesn’t live on this side of town, but she rides her bike every morning so she can attend the STEM school on this side of town. It’s a great school, only accepting the best and brightest students from the surrounding counties. I attended there for a few years, but they simply couldn’t provide me with enough information to keep me busy, so I transferred to home schooling. Mostly I find topics I’m interested in and spend a few weeks learning all I can before moving on to a new subject. As I walk up to her, I notice she is in not in uniform and she is walking, not on her bike. “Hey S, Franklin finally abolish that archaic uniform they had?”

She looked at me with a puzzled look on her face “Didn’t your mom tell you? My parents said I could transfer to the Black Home University. They see how smart you are and figure that it couldn’t hurt for me to follow the same sort of study plan, to the point of me moving in to one of the spare bedrooms. I knew you would be down here so I came to get you before my parents leave.”

“Leave?” I asked, still trying to figure out when all this could have been set up without me noticing.

“Yeah, Gran is getting worse and needs constant attention, so Mom and Dad are moving in with her to help out. Did your parents seriously not mention any of this to you?”

“Oh wait! I remember them saying something about you staying over for a bit. I was busy in the shed tinkering so I kind of zoned them out. This is going to be great.” I’m super excited about seeing her more, but it's going to be hard to keep my secret from her if she is around all the time. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go say goodbye to your parents! How about a race?”

She takes off before I even finish my sentence. I disappear into the woods surrounding the street and run as fast as I can to the house. I easily beat her to the house, but I hide in the trees until I see her approaching the house, then hop out and jog to the door so it shouldn’t look too suspicious.

“Mr. and Mrs. Aegle! So nice to see you before your trip. Don’t you worry about S, I will keep an eye on her and ensure she is learning to the best of her abilities.” I give Sam's parents a hug, careful not to squeeze too hard. They had always been there for me when my parents were out of town on vacations, making sure I was well fed and looked after. They are some of the purest hearted people I’ve ever met. Thanks to my enhanced intelligence, I’ve managed to procure a sizeable fortune designing and inventing objects that sell well. I created a tent that fits inside an energy drink can, perfect for the outdoorsman that packs light, as well as an improved method for computer games to integrate VR and IR for tactile feedback to the user, so when you reach out and pet a cat you can feel the fur rubbing against your bare hand. I’ve tried to give them a cut of the profits. I feel like they earned it after S helped me optimize the strength and size of the tent poles, but they refuse to take anything. They are happy with what they have and don’t want any assistance.

“Daemon, are you alright, honey?” Mrs. Aegle looked concerned. “You seem worried about something.” She could always read me like an open book.

“I’m fine, ma’am. I’m just going to miss you and your husband. You will write to us, yeah?”

“Of course, dear. We do have to keep an eye on how our little Samantha is doing, right?”

“Without a doubt.”

I help Sam get all her stuff out of the back of the minivan while mom and dad talk to her parents. Just the normal stuff, some bags of clothes, a laptop I bought her for Christmas last year, some pictures of her parents and of us, and her guitar. She has a lot more in storage, but most of what is missing are just tools, and she already has her own set of tools in the shed, so no loss there. I spend the rest of the day helping her organize her room, explaining to her the basic study plan I use, and binging 90s sitcoms until we both are ready to pass out.