Luke Ellis took the SAT with the essay, enduring a four-hour session with a midtest break. In the lobby, he ate the lunch his mother packed and missed having a book after a proctor confiscated his copy of Naked Lunch along with his phone, promising to return them later.

Older test-takers, juniors and seniors, gathered around Luke, curious about the presence of a twelve-year-old. When asked if he was a genius, Luke deflected with a joke, easing the tension and earning friendly reactions, including a high-five.

Asked where he planned to go, Luke said MIT, though he already had provisional admission contingent on a strong SAT, which he found easy. He reflected on concerns about fitting in among much older peers and recalled Jim Greer’s advice to focus on how he felt and to seek counseling if needed, with permission to text Greer anytime.

A redheaded girl asked Luke about a specific math problem involving a hotel room rate, taxes, and a one-time fee. Luke identified the correct answer as an equation, 1.08(99.95x) + 5, and explained why her alternative, (99.95 + 0.08x) + 5, only represented a single night and failed to account properly for tax.

The girl accepted the correction, frustrated with herself, and left with a comforting classmate. Another student asked Luke if being himself felt strange; Luke admitted it sometimes did, but mostly it was just life.

When the proctor rang a bell to resume testing, Luke threw away his lunch bag and glanced once more at the redheaded girl. As he entered the gym, the trash barrel shifted three inches to the left, quietly signaling Luke’s telekinetic ability.