Aaron stepped through the vast entrance hall of St. Ignatius Academy again, 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 coldly.
"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.
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.
"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 blond 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, black tie, white blouse, black pleated skirt, black pantyhose and black leather pumps with 4-centimeter kitten heels. Her long blond hair was done up in a high ponytail with delicate blond 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 coldly.
"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 cold demeanor and intense 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 still in his cold and clipped tone.
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.
Aaron stepped onto the raised platform and looked at himself in the mirror. His long sleeved and round necked black T-shirt and jeans gave him a simple yet clean look. Sophia pulled out a measuring tape and started to measure him.
"What do you like about the uniform Ms. Sophia?" asked Aaron as she measured his shoulders.
"W-well I like the way it looks on me. It makes me feel pretty, elegant and sophisticated sir" said Sophia blushing as she took down his measurements.
"This is the first time anybody's asked me why I like this uniform, rather than just say I look good in it! Who is this kid?" She wondered to herself, as she took down Aaron's shoulder measurements.
"I see you are using SI instead of imperial units, does this establishment prefer SI to imperial?" asked Aaron as she measured his chest.
"Well yes, I think the SI system is a lot easier to follow." said Sophia.
"I agree. The SI system is superior." said Aaron. Sophia chuckled a little. Aaron's cold demeanor and clipped, precise questions while intimidating, was also refreshing compared to the clumsy attempts at flirting the other male students usually tried with her.
"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 coldly.
"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."
Aaron regarded her coldly, making her squirm uncomfortably. "I believe the uniform you are wearing fits you perfectly does it not Ms. Sophia?" he asked her, his voice like ice.
"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 social and cultural 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 sociopolitical and cultural attitudes. 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.