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The game ended. Delta lost the chess match with Omega last night, but her mind didn't care anymore. She was too sleepy. After the game, they were called in the dining table. Delta followed the others in a line, reaching the dining room. She could smell the hot porridge. The smell filled the room rapidly.
Instructors came with wheel trays of food plates like before. After that, they started serving the plates one by one on the table. She looked at the cold metal plates lined up on the table. It was the same food again. Porridge with tiny veggies, a bit of chicken broth, and a small spoon of rice. It wasn't bad. Just… always the same.
Delta picked up her chopsticks slowly, trying not to drop them. She looked left. Then right.
"Hold like this… not fall… not fall…" she whispered to herself.
She managed to grip a piece of rice and put it in her mouth. For a moment, she smiled.
"I did it…" she thought.
She looked around to see who else managed. Omega had already finished half the portion of his rice with his chopsticks. A boy named Gamma sat beside Omega. He saw Omega and tried to imitate him. Not fully halve but he managed to finish one quarter of the rice using his chopstick.
After dinner came the last class.
They were taught more mind games such as Shogi and Rubik's cubes.
Zeta already had a cube. He seemed to like it. His tiny fingers moved fast. After a while, he solved one layer of the cube. Delta stared at his hands.
"Zeta smart. His head... more fast," she thought.
Delta tried her own cube, but it just spun weird. Colors mixed. Nothing made sense to her.
Her cube stayed messy. She stared at it till class ended.
Later that night, they were sent to their rooms.
Delta didn't think. She just dropped into her small bed and let sleep conquer her body.
The Next Morning
*BEEP *BEEP *BEEP.
The alarm screamed, waking them all.
Mentors walked in room by room. "Wake up."
Delta rubbed her eyes. Her mouth tasted funny. She wanted more sleep.
But she stood up.
They went to the washroom. Brushed teeth. Washed faces. All in lines. Some of them were talking to each other but the mentors told to keep quiet and the students did as told. Then came breakfast.
She sat at the table and picked up her tray.
Something felt… off.
"Toast? No toast…"
She looked again.
Yesterday, she had a small toast. Today, there was none on the plate.
But… there it was—Omega's tray. Two toast. She blinked in surprise.
Then turned her head around slowly. Pi got one and a half boiled eggs. Alpha didn't get the milk glass. Row got only half a banana. For some reason, the trays weren't equal.
Delta frowned, her small hands pressing the tray tight.
She stared at the table.
"Why… this not same? Is...it a mistake? Why no one saying? Not fair… but… what if they shout if I say…"
She stayed quiet.
"I will not say. Not now," she decided.
Class Time came. In the classroom, the teacher pointed at her.
"Delta, say the numbers. One digit numbers."
Delta blinked as she got surprised that she got called. She stood up. Her mouth opened a little. Her brain ticked.
"Z… ze… zero! Zero… One… Two…"
She paused, then forced out the rest. Her words slurred but correct.
"Three… Four… Five… um six… Seven… eight… and Nine."
The teacher nodded.
Next came simple adding and taking away. She copied what was written on the board. She didn't know if it was right. But she tried. She looked across the class. Some were talking to themselves. Some copying. Some just drawing circles.
After breakfast, she noticed it again.
Her rice bowl was smaller than yesterday.
"Why this much? Not same."
Pi had more salad. Still, no one asked anything. So neither did Delta.
Later, it got time for the history class. The teacher stood tall.
"In the 7th century, our country was called—anyone?"
He pointed to Beta. Beta stood up.
"Sir, what is… cen... tree?" she asked tried to pronounce century.
The class exploded into laughter. Soft little giggles and claps. Except for Delta. She didn't laugh.
Her mind sparked. She remembered…
"Nippon… Japan was called Nippon…"
"Teacher said before…"
Her hand slowly rose. Then dropped.
"Scared. If I stand, say… all see me. Maybe wrong…"
She stayed silent. She didn't like the idea on getting attention in the class because she was shy to do so.
In lunch, they got rice, soup and tofu.
Again, Delta compared her portion with others. She said nothing. Just watched.
She counted in her head.
"Maybe... they do test. Maybe… see who say. Or who eat less. I will watch."
Afternoon came with a surprise for her. Nap time came. But not for all. Delta was pulled aside.
"You—come," said a mentor.
Pi, Alpha, Beta, Row—all in the same group. Omega and Zeta were not there.
They were led to a new room with small tables and needles. It was their time to learn sewing. A big rectangle of cloth sat in front of her. A thread and a needle was placed on the tables. She didn't understand.
The mentor showed once. "Poke. Pull. Poke. Pull."
Delta copied. It hurt at first. She almost poked her finger. But she didn't. She made a crooked rectangle. Not perfect but enough to done the job. Only Pi finished before her.
The mentor nodded. "Hmm. Good," they said.
At night, dinner came.
This time… Delta's food was the same as yesterday.
That made her freeze.
"So… they do change. But not always. Trick… tricking us?"
She chewed slow. No one said a word about the food.
That night, she played Shogi with Alpha.
From the beginning, he was the quiet type of boy. Not talking much. His hands were shaking while placing the pieces on the board. They moved the pieces wrong sometimes like beginners. Delta played bad too. But her moves were all legal.
Alpha made wrong moves. One after another. The mentor stopped him. "Illegal move. You lost."
Delta won. Not from skill but for the rules.
Alpha looked down. "No win… I am dumb," he whispered.
Delta didn't say anything. She didn't know what to say. It was the end of day. In bed, Delta stared at the ceiling.
"Food not same. Rules not same. They test us. Want to see who talk. Who stay quiet."
"Tomorrow… I watch more. Then... maybe I will ask."
Her eyes slowly closed. The hassle of the entire day made her fall asleep almost instantly.
Dead Logic © 2025 by Muntasib_Ihshan789 is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International