As an ordinary genius

Ethan settled into his new Computer Science classes, and for the first time in years, he felt like he could breathe. Gone were the overwhelming robotics equations and complex machine-learning theories. Now, he was working on logical puzzles, coding challenges, and practical projects—things he could wrap his head around.

But it wasn't all smooth sailing. Ethan realized something early on: even in Computer Science, he wasn't the smartest in the room. He was average—just like most of the students around him.

And that was okay.

Ethan's first group project in his new major was a small program to manage basic inventory for a fictional company.

"Okay, so we need to divide the work," said Nathan, a tall guy with glasses who had a knack for explaining things clearly.

"I can handle the UI," said Aria, who seemed to have a natural flair for design.

"Ethan, you good with backend logic?" Nathan asked.

"Uh, yeah," Ethan said, nodding. He wasn't entirely confident, but he was willing to put in the effort.

"Cool," Nathan said. "Let's meet in the library tomorrow to go over our progress."

The library became Ethan's second home. Nights were spent debugging code, flipping through textbooks, and occasionally sharing jokes with his groupmates.

"This loop is killing me," Ethan muttered one night, staring at his screen.

"Let me guess," Aria said, glancing over. "Infinite loop?"

"Yeah, and I can't figure out why," Ethan groaned.

"Check your condition," Nathan chimed in from across the table. "Bet it's a logic error."

Ethan fixed the issue after a few minutes and leaned back in his chair. "Thanks. I don't know what I'd do without you guys."

"Crash and burn," Aria teased, making the group laugh.

One sunny afternoon, Ethan was sitting under a tree on campus, scribbling notes for an assignment, when a familiar voice called out.

"Ethan Grayson."

He froze. That voice—he hadn't heard it in almost a year. Slowly, he turned around to see Felicity Smoak standing there, arms crossed, her signature glasses glinting in the sunlight.

"Felicity," he said, standing up awkwardly. "Hi."

"Hi?" she echoed, raising an eyebrow. "That's all you've got after ghosting me for months?"

Ethan scratched the back of his neck, feeling heat rise to his cheeks. "I, uh, was busy. Internship, classes, you know..."

"Busy avoiding me, you mean," she said, her tone sharp but not unkind.

Ethan sighed. "Yeah, that too."

She softened. "I heard you switched majors. Computer Science, huh?"

"Yeah," he admitted. "Robotics wasn't working out. I felt like I was drowning. This feels... better."

"Good," Felicity said, smiling slightly. "You should do what works for you. But for the record, you didn't have to avoid me. I'm not that scary."

"I wasn't avoiding you because you're scary," Ethan said quickly. "It's... complicated."

"Everything with you is complicated," Felicity teased, her smile widening.

They ended up walking together across campus, talking about old times.

"Remember that time in Robotics 101 when you accidentally crashed the simulation?" Felicity said, laughing.

"Don't remind me," Ethan groaned. "That was the day I realized I wasn't cut out for robotics."

"You're too hard on yourself," she said. "You've got a good head on your shoulders. And hey, Computer Science isn't exactly a walk in the park."

"No, but it's manageable," Ethan said. "And I like it. Feels like I can actually contribute, you know?"

Felicity nodded. "Good. Because I've always thought you had potential—you just needed to figure out where to put it."

After Felicity left, Ethan sat alone in the library, reflecting on their conversation.

"Potential," he muttered to himself. "Yeah, right."

But as he looked at his notes and the code he was working on, he realized she was right. He wasn't a genius, but he wasn't hopeless either. He was just a guy who worked hard.

And maybe that was enough.