Yikes! I must have been daydreaming again. Nowadays that’s the only time I answer anything right.

“ Who is you, Mr. Klosmo. What is telling the class how many there are. And when is right this instant!”

How many what there are? Man, I hate galactic geography. Looks like it’s guess time again. Should I go high or low this time? Low, I think.

“Uh… three?”

“ Three? Am I to understand, Mr. Klosmo, that you believe there are only three planets in the entire Milky Way galaxy? Your own solar system has eight all by itself. Nine if you count Pluto. Would you like to take another stab at it?”

Of course I wouldn’t. Problem is, when Professor Plutz asks a question like that, it sounds like you have a choice, but you really don’t. At least I know what the question is now, even if I don’t have a clue about the answer. Who knows… maybe I’ll get lucky. Let’s see—I know the space station has families from over two hundred different planets living aboard it, so there must be at least that many. Add in a few more here and there and I should at least be pretty close.

“Three hundred?”

“Actually, Mr. Klosmo, there are over one hundred billion planets in our galaxy.”

Oops…

That’s Dorn. I have no idea why he hates me so much, but at least he hasn’t stuffed me into my helmet lately. Not since Grimnee wadded him up in that ball of desks a couple months ago. Grimnee hates bullies.

And there’s that word again. “Genius.” And like I said, they aren’t using it the way they did when I first got here, when everybody thought I really was one. And why wouldn’t they? My parents are the top two scientists on the entire planet Earth. It only makes sense that their son would bump that up a notch and be even smarter, right? It’s only natural to assume that he would be what I like to call a Mighty Mega Supergenius. And I sure wasn’t going to be the one to let on any differently, especially since it made me a pretty big deal around school. I mean, people expected it.

But a guy can only pretend to be smart for so long, and now the cat’s out of the bag and my reputation’s taken a real nosedive. I mean, talk about your crash landing. Everybody knows I’m pretty average and, after that last answer, maybe not even that. That’s why I’m getting the other “genius” treatment. I’m not giving up hope, though. I’m sure my brainpower is going to kick in at some point. Well… pretty sure. Actually, I guess desperate wishing is more where I am at this point.

For now, though, maybe I can still save face.…

“Uh, I actually thought you meant inhabited planets, Professor.”

“If I had meant inhabited planets, Mr. Klosmo, I would have let you know as much by including the term ‘inhabited’ in the question.”

“Well, then I’d like to change my answer to one hundred billion.”

“And I’d like to retire to the silicon beaches of Shnurlor, Mr. Klosmo. But that isn’t going to happen, either. I suggest you spend less time daydreaming and more time studying if you wish to pass this class. It’s not like you’re a genius, you know.”