HYPERGENIUS

-Chapter Two: School Day One-

"Morning, Uncle Murray," a small voice sang.

Murray yawned and turned his head as he woke from a light sleep.

Peering over the edge of the bed at him was a girl who was just five years old. She had reddish brown hair and deep turquoise eyes.

He remembered the day she had become his ward. That terrible day when Bryce Lynch had been killed in a car crash after taking a Network 23 company car and trying to flee with his pregnant counterpart who had worked for their rival Network 66.

After trying to locate the child's grandparents without success, the doctors had spoken with Cheviot and Grossberg. Both men had requested custody should no family be found. They and a social worker listened to each man carefully. In the end, they were firmly convinced that neither man had the child's best interest in mind. It seemed that the child would be placed in foster care when Murray had spoken up.

After listening to him, they had agreed that the baby girl would be best off with him. He'd known the child's father and would form a bond with the child. And he wasn't overly concerned about whether or not she would grow up to take her father's place.

That turned out to be a good thing. Because while she was already showing interest in and talent for technology, her true genius was in music. She picked up notes and phrases with great ease. And she sang them easily, even at her early age.

"Morning, Bryce," Murray said. The name still made him uneasy. But records had revealed that Jenny had decided to call her child Bryce Lynch Jr, and Theora had talked him into going ahead with it, even though the baby was a girl.

"Can we have eggs for breakfast? Please?"

Murray smiled. "Not today, I'm afraid." he told her. "You'd better hurry and get dressed, though. Today's your first day of school. We're both running a little late. I'll have to make you a toaster pastry this time. But I'll make it up to you tonight. We'll got out for supper."

"Yay!"

The girl dressed quickly, but not clumsily into her school uniform, a red shirt bearing the school logo and medium grey pants. In five minutes she was dressed, fed, and wincing slightly as Murray wiped a stray bit of pastry jam from the corner of her mouth.

She followed him out to the car and got in. He paused to help with her seatbelt. Then got in and drove to the school.

He wondered, as he drove, if one day her tech skills would but enough for her to attend ACS as her parents had. Or would she attend some prestigious music school instead?

They quickly made it to Tufnell Park. Murray found a spot to park the car, then let Bryce Jr out.

She quietly chewed her lower lip, looking for all the world like the nervous little five year old girl she was rather than the offspring of two teen geniuses.

Taking the hand of her 'Uncle' Murray, she let him lead her into the school.

Not long after, the Headteacher, Richard Davies, led her to her home room.

"Bryce Lynch Jr, this is your home room teacher Sydney Harding,"

The teacher looked at the small girl with surprise in his eyes. "When I was Head Sysop at the Academy of Computer Sciences, I taught a boy named Bryce Lynch. Is he your father?"

Bryce Jr shrugged. "I don't know. I guess. Maybe. I grew up with Uncle Murray."

"Oh," Harding said. "I'm sorry. Well, if he was then come and talk to me. I have all kinds of good stories for you about him."

"Okay," Bryce Jr grinned. It would be neat, she figured, to find out more about her father, especially since she was named after him.

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