Cogito, Ergo Sum: Continued (Ch4)
Chapter 4: Friendly Competition
Hannah cleared her throat awkwardly. “Uh... Nikola?”
Nikola merely adjusted his glasses, giving no indication that he’d heard the INTP approach or speak.
“Nikola,” Hannah repeated. “Are you done with your lunch? It’s filling up space on the table.”
“Your loss if you wanted to eat more, then,” Hannah said with a sigh as she scooped up Nikola’s half-empty lunch tray and tossed it into the nearest garbage bin.
Of course, Nikola said nothing.
Hannah shrugged and glanced down at his book. It certainly looked interesting. Hannah fully understood the captivation that could take over a reader’s mind, so she didn’t begrudge Nikola for ignoring her.
Hannah whipped around. The librarian (ESTJ) was barreling towards her, a murderous look on his face.
Hannah blinked, confused. “What did I do--”
Her gaze fell on an empty juice box lying on the ground. It was from Nikola’s lunch; she must’ve missed it when she’d thrown his trash away.
“No eating in the library!” the librarian practically shouted, his face livid with fury.
“No yelling, either,” Hannah pointed out, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Shh. Can’t you see he’s trying to read?”
The librarian looked ready to explode. “Don’t talk to me with that attitude, young lady!”
Hannah held her palms up in the universal gesture of surrender. “Okay, okay, I take it back. I’m sorry.”
“Whose food was that?” the ESTJ snapped.
Hannah glanced over at Nikola, who had finally realized something was going on. He stared at her, wide-eyed.
“Well?” demanded the librarian.
Nikola opened his mouth. “It’s--”
“--mine, actually,” Hannah interrupted, shooting her friend a silencing look. “I’m really sorry, sir. I’ll throw it away.”
The librarian scowled. “You go do that. And I’m giving you detention, both of you. Come here tomorrow in the morning at seven o’clock.”
“That’s not fair,” Hannah protested, “Nikola didn’t do anything--”
“I’m not stupid,” spat the ESTJ. “I can smell a lie from miles away. That was his food, wasn’t it?”
Hannah crossed her arms, fuming internally.
“So I’m giving him detention for eating in the library, and you for talking back and trying to lie to me,” the librarian continued. “If you do it again, I’ll ban you from this place.”
Nikola looked horrified at the thought.
“Okay, all right, we’ll be here tomorrow,” Hannah muttered.
“You had better be.” With those parting words, the librarian turned on his heel and stalked off.
Hannah turned back to Nikola, glaring. “You owe me one, you idiot.”
“That was stupid of me.” Nikola dropped his gaze. “I-- I’m sorry.”
“You should be. Come on, let’s get out of here before Mr. Hawk Eyes finds another excuse to give us detention.” Without waiting for a response, she grabbed Nikola’s hand and pulled him out of the library.
“Your name is Augustus, right?” Julius strode up to the young INTJ, his hand extended.
The boy turned around, his gaze analytical and piercing. “Yes. How did you know me?”
Julius laughed. “Oh, come on. Everyone around here knows about you. You’re the kid who snuck into CJHS a year ahead of time and actually got approved to stay.”
Augustus shrugged, offering no insight. Julius withdrew his hand awkwardly.
“Anyways, I’m Julius Matsuoka, and I’m the big guy around here,” he continued. “You ever need a friend, I’ll be right here.”
Augustus gave a snort of derision. “Funny thing for an ENTJ to say, huh?”
Julius shook his head. “I’m not sure what you’ve heard about ENTJs, but the stereotypes are all inaccurate.”
“Well, the stereotypes of INTJs are pretty much true for me,” Augustus retorted. “So you should probably leave me alone.”
Julius struggled to maintain his outwardly amiable demeanor. This insolent INTJ was trying his patience.
“I don’t know what game you’re playing,” Augustus added. “But I want no part of it.”
Julius faked a disappointed sigh. “Oh, Augustus, we would’ve made the perfect partners-in-crime.”
“I have no need of a pretentious ENTJ who just wants to boss me around,” Augustus said. “I’m fine on my own, thanks.”
Julius dropped his friendly facade. “Then I’ll have you know that if you won’t be my friend, I’ll consider you an enemy.”
“So be it.” Augustus didn’t look intimidated in the least.
“When you start regretting your decision, I’ll be waiting,” Julius said. “If you’re sincere enough with your apology, perhaps I’ll forgive you.”
Augustus rolled his eyes. “Not going to happen.”
With that, the two Rationals -- newly minted enemies -- parted ways.
Theodore loved loud, exciting places, but the Artisan lounge was a bit overwhelming even for his Se-dominant personality. Streamers and bits of confetti were strewn haphazardly across the floor; a disco ball spun from the ceiling, and punk-rock music blared from all directions. The sounds of people laughing and hollering drowned out almost everything else. Theodore had to shout to be heard over the pandemonium.
Sure, he’d enjoyed the first five hours and had gladly thrown himself into the partying crowd, but after a while it got boring. It was too loud to have an actual conversation, and Theodore couldn’t survive without conversations. He decided to leave the lounge in favor of wandering around the school.
The cool air in the hallway outside the Artisan lounge felt refreshing on Theodore’s face. He leaned against the wall for a moment, catching his breath; he hadn’t even realized how badly the excessive partying had exhausted him.
“Hey, Theo, you up for a quick game of kickball up at the stadium?”
Theodore turned around. It was his ESFP friend, Marilyn.
“Sorry, buddy,” Theodore said, rubbing his forehead. “I think I’ll take a nap. But have fun with the others.”
“You’ve never turned down an opportunity to have fun,” Marilyn said. “What, are you afraid of getting beaten?”
Theodore smirked. “Actually, I was afraid I’d beat you guys too badly, and you’d all start crying.”
“Oh, it’s on,” Marilyn responded. “You’re not getting out of this one. Come on, Theo.”
Theodore felt adrenaline rush through him in response to the prospect of competition. As Marilyn raced down the hallway, he followed, his earlier tiredness forgotten.
“Get back here, you little--!” Paul shouted, color rising to his face.
Michael (ISTP) grinned, waved sarcastically, and took off, weaving through the crowd of Ti-dominants like an expert. Paul gave chase without a second thought. That kid had humiliated him in front of half the House. He’d never live it down.
As the two boys tore across the common room of the House of Contemplation, everyone turned around to gawk at them. Paul felt his face heat up even further. He was well aware of the huge yellow blotch of paint splattered across his new uniform. Oh, once he caught up with that little ISTP maggot...
A hand closed around Paul’s arm, causing him to stop abruptly. “What are you doing, Paul?”
Paul whipped around, breathing heavily.
“Julius,” he said, recognizing his ENTJ friend. “I’m trying to catch the moron who threw yellow paint all over me--”
Julius shook his head. “Save it for later. You’re ruining our reputation.”
“Ugh. I can’t just let him get away. He’ll do it again and again if I don’t put a stop to it.”
“Oh, Paul,” Julius said, chuckling slightly. “You misunderstand me. I’m not going to let him get away, either. I’ve gotten my own fair share of trouble from that troll.”
“Then what do you propose?” Paul asked, curious. “And why did you stop me?”
“One of the first things you’ll learn from me is that you can’t face every problem head-on,” Julius answered. “We’re going to set a trap for him and make him wish he’d never been born.”
Despite his anger, Paul suddenly felt a bit hesitant. “Um... aren’t you taking it a bit too far?”
Julius shook his head. “That’s the thing. You have to start disciplining people right from the start, no matter how minor the offense. Always overreact. That way, you’ll show people what you’re capable of -- before they even have the chance to do anything serious.”
Paul smiled. “I like that idea. How will we trap him?”
Julius paused for a moment, thinking. “We’re going to need a spy.”
“I don’t think we can trust any Artisans to carry out our plans,” Paul mused. “And besides, I’d rather die than work with one of them.”
Julius frowned. “I’m not talking about an Artisan. I’m talking about the other Ti-dominant type. An INTP.”
“Yes, and I know just the person. But we’ll need to hatch another plot to get her on our side. I think she hates me.”
Paul arched an eyebrow. “This is getting way too complicated. All we’re trying to do is get back at an ISTP, anyways.”
“Don’t worry,” Julius replied. “I was already planning to get Hannah to work for me. This can be her first test.”
“But... didn’t you say that she hates you?”
“I’ll find a way,” said Julius. “I always do. And besides, I don’t necessarily need her to like or respect me as a person. All I need is something to hold against her.”
“Blackmail,” Paul muttered.
Paul bit his lip. “I’m not sure I want to work against the rules.”
“There’s nothing in the school rules about blackmail,” Julius assured him. “And besides, we’ll never get caught.
“I don’t know, Julius,” Paul said, still uncertain. “It’s unethical and morally wrong.”
“Pfft,” went Julius. “Careful, you’re starting to sound like an Fi-dominant.”
“Come on,” Julius insisted. “Te-dominance is all about efficiency and logic. This is the best way to deal with our situation.”
The ESTJ finally relented. “Oh, all right. But you’re dealing with the whole blackmail thing. I want nothing to do with it.”
Julius smiled. “That’s more like it.”
“So, what’s the plan after we get Hannah to do our dirty work?” Paul asked.
Julius leaned forward and steepled his fingers, the very image of a criminal mastermind. “You’re going to love it...”
Major characters in Chapter 4:
Other characters in Chapter 4:
[unnamed librarian] (ESTJ)