The Plan 2

So that summer, Derek really began to study. He had a good mind. Actually, he had an excellent mind. He quickly absorbed the lessons of his mother who supervised his training with minute attention. If he would snooze off, she would force him to take a cold shower. If he got a question wrong, she would slap his open hand. Sometimes he felt like he was in "Kung Fu Theatre" in which a sadistic Kung-Fu Master would use all means to teach the student the best Kung-Fu.

His father had been a professor at Seoul National University. They had shamed him and forced him out because his ideas were too revolutionary. His mother could not get a college education because her male siblings were first in line and considered more important. Wasn't Derek lucky to have such chances in America?

"I hardly ever see you anymore," John stated.
"I have to study."
"You're doing the Plan."
"Yes. One day, I am going to marry an American woman."
"What's wrong with a Korean woman?"
"I want to be different."
"Really. And how many Koreans go through the Plan?"
"I don't know. I just want to be the best."
"Derek, are we friends anymore?"
"Of course."
"I don't know."

When the school year began, Derek excelled in all the subjects. His teachers were amazed at his abilities. They talked about him being gifted. They wrote glowing reviews on his report card. There was something that was bothering Derek though. One or 2 Jews were on equal footing or smarter than he was. He wondered if they pre-studied all their subjects during the summer. They just seemed to do their own thing most of the time, sometimes even reading comic books or throwing the baseball around. One girl was going to skip a few grades. The other guy was kind of a misfit.

Derek would look at his straight A's and feel proud but not proud enough. Why couldn't he finish his tests as fast as those Jews? Why could he not throw off this creeping feeling of inferiority?

"You've changed," John commented.
"I thought I was the smartest one."
"You're not. I could have told you that. It's OK not to be too smart. Smart people do some horrible things."
"I can do better."