absolute necessity that she did this. She had to do something to keep her mind active with things that she found interesting. So she would go on a computer and simply do research about whatever she felt like. This kept her mind busy and away from the boredom of the day, and this was what she most looked forward to during the long hours at kindergarten. She read about science, history, literature, and all sorts of things that she never would have found particularly interesting in her past life.
It wasn’t like there was much else for her to do anyway. Being a toddler who was of far greater intelligence than all the other toddlers , she didn’t really have any friends. It would have been str ange to have friends who were 5— year olds when at this point she was a 20— year old. And since she couldn’t do very many interesting things physically, she stuck to research for entertainment, determi ned not to fall behind other 20— year olds, even though there wasn’t really any danger if that happened.
In a year kindergarten was over and Karena went into first grade, where she began to actually get grades from small quizzes on simple math and reading exercises. Keeping her grades at an average level was difficult for her, as she was afraid that if she did too well and aced everything, then people would begin to suspect that she was some sort of a genius and would eventually find out everything. But if her grades were too low then, well, she wouldn’t have good grades, and failing 1 st grade as a 21-year old wouldn’t look very good on her personal resume. So she strived hard to be as much like everyone else as possible and not to stick out like a sore thumb.
She grew weary of her situation, though. Every day she went to school and learned nothing, and was constantly nervous because of the great secret she was hiding from everyone at all times. It was like carrying an enormous burden that didn’t allow her to have any real friends and didn’t let her have fun at school like a normal 1 st grader might. It seemed like its pressure grew greater each day.
However, she soon realized that it couldn’t go on like this. She couldn’t just endure school, she had to actually be a part of it in order to fit in. That meant she had to make friends, and be actively speaking up, and participating in everything, something that until this point she’d never really considered doing. If she was always separated from anyone else, then people would begin to suspect that something was wrong with her, and then she’d be forced to tell about her situation.
And s o she merged with her class. She became exactly like a 1 st grade student. She made friends and participated in class and was akin to everyone else in almost every way. The scary thing was that at times she almost forgot who she really was. Sh e forgot that she was 21-years old, that this was the second time she’d lived through her life, and that everything she was going through she’d been through before.
In some ways this was scary, but in other ways it helped her to stay happy at times in a situation where it practica lly impossible to do so.
9
It was a while before anything significant which was directly connected to Karena’s problem happened. I t didn’t happen until she was in third grade, as a matter of fact, and by that point she had grown used to everything. She’d grown used to knowing all the material being taught, and was now an expert at getting average grades on quizzes. But she was also used to being friendly and playing like a child and growing up at the same rate as everyone else. In this sense it was as if her past life had never existed.
But it had, and she was reminded of this very strongly on the first day of third grade. She was 8 years old at this point, though really she was 23. She and everyone else walked into the classroom, looking for a seat that they liked, trying to sit with friends even though they knew the teacher already had a seating
It wasn’t like there was much else for her to do anyway. Being a toddler who was of far greater intelligence than all the other toddlers , she didn’t really have any friends. It would have been str ange to have friends who were 5— year olds when at this point she was a 20— year old. And since she couldn’t do very many interesting things physically, she stuck to research for entertainment, determi ned not to fall behind other 20— year olds, even though there wasn’t really any danger if that happened.
In a year kindergarten was over and Karena went into first grade, where she began to actually get grades from small quizzes on simple math and reading exercises. Keeping her grades at an average level was difficult for her, as she was afraid that if she did too well and aced everything, then people would begin to suspect that she was some sort of a genius and would eventually find out everything. But if her grades were too low then, well, she wouldn’t have good grades, and failing 1 st grade as a 21-year old wouldn’t look very good on her personal resume. So she strived hard to be as much like everyone else as possible and not to stick out like a sore thumb.
She grew weary of her situation, though. Every day she went to school and learned nothing, and was constantly nervous because of the great secret she was hiding from everyone at all times. It was like carrying an enormous burden that didn’t allow her to have any real friends and didn’t let her have fun at school like a normal 1 st grader might. It seemed like its pressure grew greater each day.
However, she soon realized that it couldn’t go on like this. She couldn’t just endure school, she had to actually be a part of it in order to fit in. That meant she had to make friends, and be actively speaking up, and participating in everything, something that until this point she’d never really considered doing. If she was always separated from anyone else, then people would begin to suspect that something was wrong with her, and then she’d be forced to tell about her situation.
And s o she merged with her class. She became exactly like a 1 st grade student. She made friends and participated in class and was akin to everyone else in almost every way. The scary thing was that at times she almost forgot who she really was. Sh e forgot that she was 21-years old, that this was the second time she’d lived through her life, and that everything she was going through she’d been through before.
In some ways this was scary, but in other ways it helped her to stay happy at times in a situation where it practica lly impossible to do so.
9
It was a while before anything significant which was directly connected to Karena’s problem happened. I t didn’t happen until she was in third grade, as a matter of fact, and by that point she had grown used to everything. She’d grown used to knowing all the material being taught, and was now an expert at getting average grades on quizzes. But she was also used to being friendly and playing like a child and growing up at the same rate as everyone else. In this sense it was as if her past life had never existed.
But it had, and she was reminded of this very strongly on the first day of third grade. She was 8 years old at this point, though really she was 23. She and everyone else walked into the classroom, looking for a seat that they liked, trying to sit with friends even though they knew the teacher already had a seating
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