Aaron stepped through the vast entrance hall of St. Ignatius Academy,
his acceptance letter clutched in his hand.
He was to meet the
guidance counselor for his orientation, and the school outfitter for
his uniform.
He walked briskly
through the granite halls, following the marked directions and
finally reached the guidance counselor's office.
The door opened
before he could knock and a tall young, Chinese-American priest,
dressed in a black cassock smiled down at him.
"Come in,"
he invited.
Aaron entered the
office. It was quite spacious and lined with shelves full of various
psychology books.
"I am Father
Abel Chang, the guidance counselor here," the priest introduced
himself.
"I'm Aaron
Zakhrov, Father," replied Aaron shaking Father Abel's offered
hand.
"I've heard you
are quite the gifted student," replied Father Abel sitting down
at his desk and gesturing for Aaron to do the same.
Aaron trained his
cold and calculating gaze on Father Abel. "I see my reputation
precedes me Father," he said.
"Not quite,"
chuckled Father Abel as he handed Aaron a booklet.
"I know you
might be tired of tests right now, but this one is quite simple. Just
a standardized personality assessment," he explained as Aaron
flipped through the questions.
"Very well,"
said Aaron in his clipped tone and began to write his answers in the
booklet.
Father Abel watched
intently as Aaron answered the test questions. Two things stood out
to him.
The first was
confirmation of Catherine's observations that Aaron was left-handed,
used a fountain pen and wrote his answers in cursive, curling his arm
around the booklet to avoid smudging the ink.
The second was that
his writing speed was not very fast, and his handwriting, while
readable, had a steep slant to the right with his lower case a's and
o's not fully closed due to him pushing rather than pulling the pen
across the paper as he wrote.
After a few minutes,
Aaron handed the booklet back to Father Abel.
"Alright, let's
go over the rules," said Father Abel handing Aaron another book.
"You can read
the rules in detail later, but I'll go over the essentials now.
First, the uniform code here is very strictly enforced. You are to be
presentable in the correct uniform at all times. That also means you
cannot wear your PE class uniform to regular class and vice versa. We
also have a zero-tolerance policy towards bullying of any kind. We
catch you, you're out," explained Father Abel, his eyes boring
into Aaron's cold stare to indicate the seriousness of these rules.
Aaron returned the
intense stare with a cold and calculating one of his own. "I
understand Father," he said.
Father Abel dropped
his serious demeanor and gave Aaron a friendly smile. "You know,
I've always admired stoicism, but I cannot practice it enough as it
is quite detrimental to my job as a priest and guidance counselor.
You, on the other hand seem to have a natural affinity for it,"
he chuckled.
Aaron raised an
eyebrow. "Stoicism?" he asked.
"A philosophy
that says you must always be the master of your emotions. Revealing
them too much can be seen as a sign of weakness, and they can be used
against you. Isn't that what you're doing?" asked Father Abel.
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Aaron gave a
nonchalant shrug. "I like being in control of my environment,"
he said.
"I see,"
said Father Abel. "And what do you think of the rules? Do they
make you feel like you are not in control?" he asked carefully
observing Aaron.
"No. I believe
they are there to protect students and the school. I have no problems
with following them," replied Aaron.
"Or do you not
have a problem following them because you're the one who designed the
parts of our new ID system that are meant to enforce them?"
probed Father Abel.
A smile flickered
across Aaron's face. "I merely designed the infraction recording
and penalizing software. The rules were already in place. Albeit, not
as efficiently enforced," he said.
"I see. Well
thank you for coming. You can get your uniform now," said Father
Abel standing up to show Aaron out of his office.
---
Aaron entered the
school uniform shop, the smell of fabric and leather wafting over
him.
Blazers and skirts
hung from faceless mannequins in one corner and the walls were lined
with bolts of black and white fabric.
Black leather Oxford
shoes and black leather pumps with 4-centimeter kitten heels lined
the bottom shelves of the walls.
A beautiful young
blonde woman greeted him. "Hello, are you here for a uniform?"
she asked him politely.
Aaron's analytical
gaze roved over her slender body.
She was wearing the
girl's uniform of a black blazer, tie, blouse, pleated skirt,
pantyhose and black leather pumps with 4-centimeter kitten heels.
Her long blonde hair
was done up in a high ponytail with delicate blonde tresses framing
her oval-shaped face.
She had a gold badge
pinned to her blazer lapel with the name Sophia in black letters.
"Are you a
student here, Ms Sophia?" he asked.
"U-um no, I'm
an alumnus. I'm actually in college, working here part-time. I just
really like the uniform," Sophia mumbled flustered by Aaron's
demeanor and gaze.
Unlike the
undressing stares she got from the store's usual male clientele,
Aaron's stare seemed to study how the uniform looked on her.
Aaron inclined his
head at her answer and stepped closer. "I'm here to be outfitted
in the uniform. Would you be able to help me with that, Ms Sophia?"
he asked her.
Sophia shook her
head slightly to regain her composure. "Of course, sir,"
she said leading him to a large mirror and a raised platform at the
back of the shop.
"If I may ask,
how old are you, sir?" she asked Aaron. She wondered why she had
slipped into a more formal and respectful tone with him despite her
being almost 21, but it felt very natural.
"I will turn 13
this September Ms. Sophia" answered Aaron.
"I see. Well
I'm done with your measurements, how would you like the uniform to
fit sir? If it is a little loose, then you can grow into it, and you
won't have to buy new ones too often." she asked.
Aaron gave her a
look, that made her squirm uncomfortably. "I believe the uniform
you are wearing fits you perfectly does it not Ms. Sophia?" he
asked her.
"Y-yes sir."
Sophia mumbled, suddenly feeling that she had asked a very insulting
question.
"And if it were
loose, would you have the same feelings on it?" probed Aaron.
Sophia went red with
embarrassment. "I apologize for my suggestion sir. I'll tailor
it to fit you perfectly" she said quietly, feeling very small
despite Aaron being at least 2 heads shorter than her.
Aaron inclined his
head in acknowledgement and stepped down from the platform. "When
will it be ready?" he asked.
"Two days from
now, sir," said Sophia. Aaron nodded his head again and left the
shop.
---
Father Abel sat
surrounded by various psychology books and research papers, rubbing
his temples in exhaustion.
Aaron's assessment
was proving to be extremely difficult.
While Aaron
exhibited exceptional intelligence and a strong desire for control
over his emotions and environment, he was well aware of his
limitations and didn't possess the inflated ego or supreme
self-confidence that came with Narcissistic Personality Disorder.
"It can't be,"
muttered Father Abel to himself, as he poured over a dissertation
written by one of his psychology professors, a Father Viktor Goering.
Seizing his phone,
Father Abel dialed a number, hoping that it was still valid.
"Hello, Father
Viktor Goering speaking" came the answer in German accented
English.
"Father Viktor,
it's me Abel Chang. Class of 2021. I need your expertise with a
particular case" replied Father Abel, relief washing over him.
"Abel Chang?
Oh! Yes I remember. Very well, I'm now based at St. Joseph's church
in Boston. When do you wish to meet?" answered Father Viktor.
"Is it possible
to meet now? I'm at St. Ignatius Academy, it's only 15 minutes away"
asked Father Abel eagerly.
"Well, yes I
suppose. There isn't much intellectual stimulation in this back-water
parish that has been my exile" chuckled Father Viktor.
"Thank you,
Father! I'll be there as soon as I can!" said Father Abel,
springing up to gather his jacket, gloves and helmet.
---
"I see why you
decided to reach out to me," chuckled Father Viktor as he looked
over Aaron's case file.
"I'm still
unsure on whether Aaron's case, or even the symptoms is legitimate,"
said Father Abel, nursing a cup of coffee.
"Skepticism is
indeed a much-needed quality in a scientist. However, you must not
let sociocultural norms color your skepticism. I believe you have
found a legitimate case. Young Aaron here exhibits a classic case of
natural dominance," said Father Viktor.
"I tried to
find concrete evidence of it, but research seems extremely scant, and
many in the scientific community feel that natural dominance is some
sort of Nazi pseudo-scientific hoax invented to justify sadism and
authoritarianism," grumbled Father Abel.
"It is the
reason for my exile. My dissertation delved into the uncovered
research of the war-crimes and attitudes prevalent in the early 20th
century. Natural dominance was considered a normal part of psychology
at the time, but quickly lost its legitimacy due to changing
political and cultural narratives. However, the symptomatic evidence
in your case is quite clear. Aaron displays a strong sense of
protectiveness, and possessiveness, a desire for control, and finds
validation in coercing or manipulating people to follow his views and
rules," said Father Viktor.
"How severe
would you say his symptoms are?" asked Father Abel, worry
evident in his face.
"I would say
that they range from mild to moderate. It appears that he is somewhat
self-aware about them, and is using Stoicism to keep himself in
check. Quite commendable for someone so young. Another person would
be engaging in typical juvenile delinquent behavior to satiate these
tendencies" said Father Viktor.
"Aaron Zakhrov
is proving to be quite the enigma," sighed Father Abel.
"Indeed.
However, I believe you are up for the task. Even during college, you
exhibited a very admirable sense of empathy and excellent
psychoanalytical skills," said Father Viktor gently, causing
Father Abel to flush.
"Thank you for
your insight Father Viktor. I shall take my leave now," he said
solemnly, standing up.
"It was a
pleasure Abel. And feel free to consult with me any time," said
Father Viktor as he bade the younger priest farewell.
