Ten years from now…

The bell rang. Fourth period, right before lunch. It was the class that everyone, including the teacher, wished would fly by so they could finally get a break.

“Today we’re going to read our essays on where you see yourself in ten years,” Mr. Hurley said. It was his first year teaching the Career Choices, an elective class about finding jobs, writing resumes, and other rarely-taught skills. “Remember to be specific about how you are going to get there. And no winning the lottery.”

A second-period class might have tittered at that, but the only sound now was the silence of aggressive apathy and Jonas Grant’s stomach growling from the first row.

“The first student to read will be—” he checked his schedule “—Esther Noy. Esther, come on up.”

It was not immediately obvious when Esther Noy stood up and walked to the front of the class. She might have broken five foot in stiletto heels, but today she was wearing her usual pink Nikes and came up to Mr. Hurley’s elbow. She faced the class and cleared her throat. She had no notes.

“Ten years from now—” she began.

“Speak up a little,” Mr. Hurley said. He looked at the class. “Remember, pay attention. You get extra credit for asking intelligent questions after each presentation.” He motioned to Esther to continue.

“Ten years from now, I will be the richest person in the world,” Esther said, a little louder. Mr. Hurley sighed mentally. Another one of these essays.

“It will start in three months when I undergo nanite treatment to enhance my muscles,” Esther said. “My uncle has developed this procedure and perfected it in secret. These are undetectable by modern medicine but will allow me to run faster and become stronger than anyone currently living. With these, I will win 23 gold medals at the next Olympics. This will provide me with worldwide fame and multi-million-dollar endorsement deals.”

The class was sitting up straighter, staring at the small girl standing at the front, twisting her hands together nervously. Was this a joke? No one knew her well enough to be sure. Was she just insane?

The stunned fascination only grew as Esther laid out step by step how she would invest her millions in an unknown cryptocurrency known as TahiniCoin, get it to go viral with the help of the Cypriot mafia, then sell it off and put the money into three key industries through a shell company based in Luxembourg.

“At this point, I will be 22,” Esther said. “I will build a headquarters for myself in Zurich, Switzerland near Manegg Castle. After this, the plan gets a little complicated.”

Speaking more quickly, Esther laid out the next steps that involved the Chinese real estate market, Sri Lankan separatists and augmented reality. She walked over to the map on the wall and pointed to show how she would influence elections in Australia and work with German bankers to buy, then dismantle, several Russian gas companies.

“In conclusion, in ten years I will be the head of a global conglomerate known as the Noy Group and will be worth about 483 billion dollars, in today’s money. I will be 26. At that point, Part Two of my life plan will begin. Thank you.”

A lobotomized silence hung over the class.

Mr. Hurley took a deep breath. “Okay… Any questions? Any at all. I will give an A in this class to anyone who can ask an intelligent question.” There was only silence.

“Okay, thank you, Esther. You can sit down. Next is Kayla Young.” Kayla walked to the front of the class, clutching a sheet of paper.

“Ten years from now, I plan to be a hairdresser,” she began.