Adam's eyes snapped open at 5:59 AM sharp. With a yawn and a stretch, he sat up in bed. Just a second before his alarm could blare its 6:00 AM wake-up call, his hand shot out and silenced it.
Adam let out another deep breath and got up to get ready. He also had to call Pepper to get his interview time. He walked inside the bathroom to attend to his morning needs and get refreshed.
After twenty minutes, Adam walked out of the bathroom with his hair wet and a towel around his shoulders, drying his wet hair. Seeing that it was still a bit early to do anything, Adam decided to go on a morning walk to freshen his mind.
Adam threw on a gray hoodie with dark jeans and white sneakers, got his keys, and headed downstairs. Stepping outside, Adam inhaled the fresh morning air of winter. 'Ah, the morning air is the best.'
This time, Adam decided to walk out of his neighborhood. After around fifteen minutes, he came across a twenty-four-seven open public library. 'Maybe I should read some books on the topics that will come in the interview. I can handle the interview questions, but it would be a plus if I had the knowledge of the field I will be working in.' With that thought, Adam walked inside the library.
The first thing Adam noticed upon entering the library was that it smelled of old pages; the second thing he noticed was that there were no people here other than the librarian.
The librarian was a middle-aged woman in her late forties, her face carrying the deep lines of a severe lack of sleep.
"Hello, ma'am, can you please tell me where the psychology and business books are?" Adam asked the woman politely with a warm smile.
"Oh, dear! Someone is here early to read. Well, no matter, let me take a look." After taking some time, the old librarian pointed out the sections in which the books were stored. "The psychology books are in section 150-158, as for business books, they are in section 650-659," the old librarian replied in a soft tone.
"Thank you, ma'am." With that, Adam went to the place pointed out by the woman.
"What a polite child," muttered the librarian.
Adam took a seat on the chair and put books on many topics, such as psychology analysis, negotiating tactics, and business analysis, on the desk in front of him. With the books in hand, Adam started his reading marathon, with psychology analysis being the first topic that he explored. Adam didn't need to read books like these because of his powers, but still decided to read them, so if someone in the future asked the source of his knowledge, at least he would have a legit answer.
Adam didn't just read the books; he consumed them, like a hungry child who had found luxurious food. Adam's eyes darted across the pages, absorbing the knowledge that for a normal human would have taken about a week to digest. He memorized them in minutes thanks to his enhanced mind and eidetic memory, all the information being saved in his mind.
After psychological analysis, Adam continued reading with negotiating tactics, and then he read business analysis books. He finished the stack of books in a record time of two and a half hours, a task that would have taken a normal human being several days to complete.
He remembered every word of what he read. If someone were to ask a question from these books, he could finish their sentence before they even finished asking the question, provide the exact answer, and even point out which page and paragraph it came from; that was how scary his memory had become.
After putting the books back in the spots he took them from, Adam walked back toward the front exit. "Thank you again for your help, ma'am," Adam said to the librarian.
"It's no trouble, dear, you have a good day."
"Same to you, ma'am." With that, he walked out of the library and checked the time on his flip phone to find out that it was 8:49 AM. With that confirmation, he walked back to his home.
After getting back, Adam decided to call Pepper. He took out the business card he had gotten from her and dialed the number on the card. After the third ring, the call was picked up, and a tired but focused voice answered, "Virginia Potts speaking." Adam could hear the keyboard clicking rapidly in the background, signaling the busy morning she was having.
"Hi, Miss Potts, this is Adam speaking. We met in the cafe the previous day," Adam replied in a warm and confident voice.
"Yes, I remember, I forgot to give you the time of the interview. If you have called regarding this, then you can come to Stark Industries today at 11:00 AM."
"Very well, Miss Potts, I will be there at 11:00 AM sharp. Thank you, and have a good day." With that, the call disconnected.
'Well, I still have some time to kill, but first breakfast, I am really hungry after reading for two and a half hours straight.' Adam walked into the kitchen and decided to make himself a pancake with honey on top for breakfast.
After having a fulfilling breakfast, he set up an alarm for 10:00 AM and went into the living room to continue his reading session, but this time, instead of books related to business or psychology, he chose a fiction novel to read and pass the time.
As he was reading the novel, he could not keep track of time, and the early morning became late morning in a few seconds for him. Just as he was about to turn a page in his novel, his alarm at 10:00 rang, signaling that it was time for his interview.
Adam got up from the sofa and went into the bathroom to take a quick shower before changing into a formal white button-down shirt with black pants and polished shoes. After getting changed, Adam looked at himself in the mirror, and he liked what he saw.