All Chapters of They Don't Know I'm a Genius: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

I was trending across the entire internet, buried under a wave of hate, at the exact moment I was curled up on the couch catching up on sleep.My sister Ruby O'Brien's boyfriend, the top-tier celebrity Josh Dawkins, was working out in the living room in a full set of athletic gear.He stretched, offering a gentle explanation to whichever camera was closest, walking viewers through his secrets for staying in shape, and mentioning, almost as an afterthought, the research papers he'd stayed up late reading the night before.The live chat scrolled by in a blur.[Josh is way too disciplined! Up at the crack of dawn to work out and read. No wonder he made it into Layne's grad program!][I'm crying, Josh really is the best. Handsome AND hardworking!][Where's Blake, by the way? Saw him sprawled on the couch yesterday. Where'd he go today?][Where do you think? Still asleep, probably. I genuinely don't know how the O'Briens raised a son like that. Total trust-fund parasite.]A second l

In the chat, his fans immediately started spamming the screen.[Wow, Josh really is a Layne genius. Even the stuff he reads is next level!][Tutoring his future brother-in-law? Josh is way too good for this family!][What's Blake even going to understand? Don't waste Josh's time.]I was drifting somewhere between asleep and awake when I felt someone nudging me gently.It was my sister."Blake, wake up. Josh's calling for you." Her voice was low.I let out an irritated grunt and buried my face deeper into the cushion. Sleep was the single greatest invention humanity had ever come up with, and whoever interrupted it was my enemy."Blake, just take one look. Just one."Josh's voice picked back up. "This problem is a real challenge. The standard method for solving it is incredibly complicated. Apparently, fewer than ten people ever solved it completely."Annoyed, I pushed myself halfway up, hair sticking out in every direction like a bird's nest, and squinted a bleary glance at t

Ruby didn't say anything. She just waited for me to keep going."Mom and Dad would turn me into their trophy, something to show off wherever they went. The press would dig up every detail of my whole life. Then there'd be endless interviews, meetings, obligations..."I spread my hands. "I already think it's too far to walk downstairs and take out the trash. Do you really think I could handle all that?"I just wanted somewhere quiet to exist, somewhere my brain could actually rest. The O'Briens seemed like a decent enough option for that."I said it calmly, but Ruby's eyes were slowly going red as she listened.The next second, she stood up.She didn't say a word. She just turned and walked toward the main camera, the most prominent one in the whole living room, and reached out, blocking the lens in front of billions of viewers across the country.The screen went dark instantly.My father was the first to react. He lunged forward, trying to pull Ruby's hand off the camera."Wha

He dug a chocolate bar out of his own pocket, tore the wrapper open, and handed it to me. "Here, get something in your stomach. You've got a real battle ahead of you later."I took the chocolate and bit into it, talking through a full mouth. "Thanks, Carl."Watching the easy, unspoken understanding between me and Carl, Ruby's expression dimmed a little further. She stood there, clearly unsure what to do with her hands.Carl seemed not to notice her discomfort and offered warmly, "Since you're finally here, want a tour of where your brother works? You might not realize it, but he's the backbone of this whole place."Ruby blinked in surprise, then nodded, glancing at me as if checking for my approval.I shrugged, indifferent.I took Ruby on a walk through the outer sections of the institute.Everyone who saw me stopped and nodded, calling out "Director." Then they'd either hand me whatever report they were holding or point straight at an equation on the wall with a question."Dir

Anyone who didn't know better might have actually believed they were a pair of doting, devoted parents.Ruby stepped in front of me, her voice cold. "Dad, Mom, stop pressuring him. This is his workplace.""You be quiet!"My mother shot Ruby a glare. "Since when do you get a say in this? If it weren't for you, Blake never would have suffered like this! We're taking him home right now!"She reached out to grab my arm as she spoke.I leaned back, out of her reach.Through the whole scene, I hadn't said a single word. I just watched their performance in silence.It wasn't until they'd talked themselves dry and the drama had built to about as much tension as it could hold that I finally, slowly, got up from the beanbag chair.The movement seemed to give them hope. Both their eyes lit up.I ignored them completely and walked straight to my one and only desk. I pulled open the drawer, dug a document out from under a pile of messy scratch paper, and walked back to stand in front of th