Bridge Of Solitude

Mrs. Abernathy secretly blew a sigh of relief that she didn't go easy on the little smartass. She had to admit that this girl was an outstanding genius but unfortunately she doesn't know when to bow down and take a step back. That unbending personality of hers will be the reason for her downfall today.

"Ten seconds!" Mrs. Abernathy's lips twitched into c.o.c.ky smirk as she looked at the girl who was frantically moving her arm up and down on the white board. She raised her watch to her eye level and started the final countdown.

"Nine… Eight… Seven"

As the girl was busily resolving the final equation while practically racing against time, the students nearby grew more and more excited and the room became noisy with every second.

At that moment something unexpected happened, which could very well decide the victor of this showdown.

Inside the large and rowdy classroom, under the watch of countless gazes, the girl was hurriedly scribbling down the solution when the marker in her hand slipped through her grip and tumbled down.

The loud room quieted down in an instant as the marker landed on the floor before bouncing once and rolling away.

A few anxious gasps could be heard clearly from the crowd in the silent room.

"Six…" Mrs. Abernathy's voice pierced through the calm like a sharp sword and jolted everyone awake.

The girl who was momentarily stunned, quickly came to her senses and immediately dived towards the marker. But in her hurried and awkward attempt, she ended up pushing it farther away instead. A few students who witnessed it sighed in disappointment and gave her sympathetic looks while the others laughed at her clumsy antics.

"Five…" Mrs. Abernathy continued the countdown as she sneered, watching the girl make a fool out of herself.

Pathetic! To think this girl dared to challenge her.

But that girl did not stop nor slow down, she quickly got back to her feet, ran towards the marker and firmly grabbed it without any delay. She immediately rushed back to the white board and started scribbling away as if nothing happened.

"Four…"

The room remained extremely quiet and only the low squeaks of the marker on the board could be heard, along with Mrs. Abernathy's sharp voice, counting down to the end of the challenge that could most probably be the one and only instance in the history of the university.

"Three…"

"Two…"

"One and-"

"I'M DONE!" The girl's spirited voice interrupted, as she raised her arms up in the air. Her shout wasn't loud but it echoed throughout the entire classroom, crisp and clear.

Mrs. Abernathy whipped her head to the white board and her eyes visibly widened as her jaw dropped open slightly.

"Phew, that was close! Too close." The girl mumbled audibly as she capped the marker and stretched her fingers with a satisfied groan.

"This… impossible. H-How?" The usually arrogant and high-strung Mrs. Abernathy's voice was weak and full of disbelief as she stood behind the girl, staring at the white board filled with molecular terms and equations. She was so utterly shocked and dumbfounded that she couldn't even maintain her straight face anymore.

The girl took two steps back and crossed her arms as she looked at the three boards in front of her with a proud expression on her face.

"Aye, that was indeed impossible. But not for me." She grinned, glancing at the utterly shocked expression on her professor's face. "It was almost impossible to solve the three equations in ten minutes. The first equation wasn't much of a problem and neither was the second, but when it came to the third equation… It changed everything."

She had a frown on her face as she continued explaining. "Even if I spent all my time on it, I still might not finish it in time. And I have two other equations to solve too. So it was almost impossible."

The frown between her eyebrows slowly disappeared as a sharp glint flashed in her eyes. Her lips curved into a brilliant smile as her face glowed with confidence. "Almost. But not absolute."

Mrs. Abernathy walked around her with heavy steps and stood in front the third board.

Yes, it should've been impossible. No matter how much of a genius she might be, she should've stopped at the third equation, because it's not about knowledge but time. There was simply not enough time to deduce all equations and it should've been Mrs. Abernathy's victory. But this outcome was something she never expected.

"So I thought, why not try something new?" The girl continued to speak. "But I was not entirely confident about the end result, so I decided to test it on the second equation. Although I wasted a bit of time there, it helped me figure out the quickest way to get to the solution."

She slowly turned to the dazed Mrs. Abernathy and spoke calmly. "But the process is extremely complicated and is not for the beginners. I skipped many intermediate steps and had to condense them into single long steps to save time."

"If I had more time I-" She paused her explanation as she heard the commotion growing behind her. A faint smirk formed on her face as she knew the demonstration of her scientific prowess shocked more than just her professor. She hid her smile, stayed silent and perked up her ears to listen to the reactions of her peers.

"She did it! She really did it."

"I can't believe it! She actually solved those crazy equations."

"She is a genius! I can't even understand half of what she wrote there. But judging by Abernathy's expression, they must be completely solved."

"Does that mean she won? Then would Mrs. Abernathy…"

Most of those were just whispers and mumblings but they were still discernible. Listening to those shocked and surprised reactions filled the girl's heart with pride, and she felt like a royalty among the commoners. She was brimming with confidence as she turned around and spoke in a lofty tone.

"Calm down folks! It's not a big deal-"

The scene in front of her stunned her speechless and dragged her down from her high pedestal. The marker in her hand slowly slipped through her fingers and fell to the floor. But this time, she didn't even notice it.

'What is happening here?!'

The classroom was packed full with students. Apart from the small space around her, there wasn't even an inch of empty ground anywhere. Even the two entrances to the classroom were blocked with crowd of students.

Then she noticed the mobile phones in the air and felt as if a thunderbolt struck her head. Her body visibly trembled as she immediately pulled on her hood and adjusted her hair to cover her face as much as it could.

'Bad idea. This was totally a bad idea.'

She put one arm up to further hide her face as she quickly grabbed her bag lying on the floor and turned towards the nearest doorway.

She ignored the stunned Mrs. Abernathy, she ignored the excited students who were surrounding her with their mobiles. She ignored everything and everyone as she squeezed herself into the crowd and her small figure soon disappeared in the sea of students.