-1 The Fall of a Genius

The long hallway was rumbling with the sounds of numerous footsteps rushing towards a certain direction. The eager murmurs and excited chatter followed, reverberating all around and pulling everyone's attention from the surroundings.

"What's happening? Where are you all going?" A guy's voice rang out loudly, trying to be heard over the commotion.

"To the science wing." Came an answer, equally loud.

"Science wing? Why?"

"It seems some kid from first year challenged Mrs. Abernathy in front of everyone."

"What?! Are you serious?"

"That's not all. I heard they both made a huge bet too."

"Damn! Someone is brave enough to stand against that despot? Let's go, I wanna see who this crazy dude is. Or I may not get a chance later."

- -

Science Wing, Classroom No. 07.

Subject: Bio-Chemistry.

Professor: Mrs. Brenda Abernathy.

A large number of students were gathered at the two doorways of the classroom as more and more continued to assemble there. The air was filled with gossip and speculations as each tried to figure out what was actually happening inside.

Even though they couldn't get a good view inside, nobody tried to take a single step into the classroom, as if an invisible barrier was preventing them from doing so. It was because this was Science wing, classroom No.7, the domain of the Tyrant Professor – Mrs. Brenda Abernathy.

She was known to be extremely strict and arrogant with a overbearing attitude. She was one of the highly experienced and senior faculty of the university. Even her fellow professors find her hard to approach and keep their distance with her. And the additional title of being the wife of Mr. Benjamin Abernathy – The Vice Dean and the Administrator for the Department of Law, granted her a superior status and an unquestionable authority throughout the university.

As such, although the outside was noisy and crowded, the inside was calm and orderly. The students in the classroom were all out of their desks and grouped together at the front, surrounding everything from outside view.

- - - - - - -

Two guys squeezed themselves into the crowd and shoved their way to the forefront, as they began to scan the classroom to get a glimpse of the situation. But their vision was severely obstructed by the students gathered inside the classroom.

Then, one guy immediately pulled out his phone and tapped the screen multiple times. A few seconds later, inside the classroom, a guy with Buzz cut broke apart from the group and turned to the crowd at the doorway. He waved his hand and slowly sneaked his way out of the room.

"Hey, Cousin." The guy with Buzz cut smiled at one of the guy, who gave him a curt nod.

"Hey, this is my friend-" The 'Cousin' prepared to introduce but was cut off by his eager and excited friend.

"Who cares? Tell me, what's going on here?" He asked, trying to look past the wall of students standing in the classroom. "Where is the guy who challenged Mrs. Abernathy?"

"That would be a girl." The 'Buzz cut' answered, surprising both his Cousin and the Friend.

"A girl?" The 'Friend' shouted, eyes wide in surprise. The 'Cousin' who stood beside him was equally surprised. They subconsciously assumed the person to be a guy and were shocked to find the 'crazy dude' to be a crazy chick instead. "Is she crazy? Why is she doing this?"

"I don't know." The 'Buzz cut' answered with a shake of his head. "But she seems to be really smart – like a science genius. She directly criticized Abernathy's teaching methods, and said they were all conventional and outdated techniques. And with the advanced methods – as long as we have a good foundation and understand the core principles, any level of molecular equation can be solved easily. But I don't know how much of what she said is true."

"She's right." A new voice spoke up from beside them. The three guys turned to the voice, before the 'Cousin' and the 'Friend' suddenly straightened up, muttering a low 'Hello Senior'.

The 'Senior' didn't even give them a glance. He crossed his arms, looking ahead as he continued speaking. "Mrs. Abernathy's teaching methods are indeed rigid and rather roundabout. But unfortunately, most of the students don't care and the few who do, are smart enough or rather – too afraid to say it out loud."

"Yeah, but that girl though – she argued with Abernathy twice last week itself." The 'Buzz cut' sighed, remembering the events of last week and feeling sorry for the girl. "She said there were much better methods with simple steps to get the results quickly. But Mrs. Abernathy shut her up ruthlessly and told her not to act smart in her class."

He then took a deep breath and continued. "And today was the same, except that girl didn't give in this time and stood her ground. Mrs. Abernathy obviously became furious and they both argued back and forth for a long time. Then that girl directly challenged that she could prove it right here, and right now."

"Oh… So, what about the bet?" The 'Friend' asked, cutting right to the chase, unable to contain his curiosity. He really wanted to tear through the students in the classroom to see how that crazy girl looked like. If anything, he respected her for standing up against Mrs. Abernathy.

"Ah, yes! Mrs. Abernathy said that she had to deduce three molecular equations of her choosing, and that too under ten minutes. If not there is no need to show her face in the Bio-chem class anymore."

"That's pretty harsh." The 'Cousin' commented. "But that is to be expected from Mrs. Abernathy."

"Yeah, but that's not the end." The 'Buzz cut' spoke again. "That girl simply smiled and asked – 'what if I win?' I guess her confidence rubbed Mrs. Abernathy in the wrong way because she then angrily announced that if that girl could deduce the three equations within ten minutes, that would mean her teaching methods were truly outdated. And so, she would immediately resign and leave the university."

"What?!" The 'Cousin' and the 'Friend' shouted in sync. Even the calm 'Senior' was wide eyed in shock. They couldn't believe what they just heard.

The stakes are truly too high. Too high for common average students like them to even think about.

"Yeah, that's what happened." The Buzz cut' revealed a small smile, satisfied with their reactions. Then the smile slowly faded away as his brows knit into a frown. "But Mrs. Abernathy is really ruthless and despicable."

"What do you mean? We know that already." The 'Cousin' said, raising a brow.

"I mean, the equations she gave that girl are not simple at all. They looked way more advanced for our level. Most of us couldn't make heads or tails of them." The 'Buzz cut' answered as he raised his phone to show a picture.

The 'Cousin' and his 'Friend' hastily grabbed the phone into their hands and looked at it, wondering what the three equations with such high stakes would be like.

"They are from third and fourth year Bio-chem." The 'Senior' declared with a frown on his face, looking at the phone from the side. "And they are some of the most complex ones."

"What?" The 'Buzz cut' was shocked. Although he realized they weren't from first year, he never thought they would be from third and fourth years. The fear he had towards Mrs. Abernathy turned two shades darker. She didn't even want to give that girl any chance at all.

"The first equation is from third year while the second and third are from final year." The 'Senior' explained with a grim expression. "But the last equation, even I – a Senior year Bio chem student, am not sure I can solve it. And definitely not in ten minutes."

"So, that girl never had any chance to win from the beginning." The 'Cousin' asked. But the question came out like a statement instead.

The 'Friend' beside him sighed and replied. "Isn't that a given? As if Mrs. Abernathy would let some fresher mock her and go on without any repercussions. No matter how much of a genius that girl was, her science dreams ended the moment she decided to stand against Mrs. Abernathy."

Nobody said anything else. There was no way that girl could continue to attend that class after she picked a fight with Mrs. Abernathy. And as a send-off, she would be humiliated and shamed in front of everyone. In the end, the only reward she will receive be mockery.

But considering Mrs. Abernathy's personality, things won't just end there.

The three of them let out a mournful sigh at the realization and turned their attention to the front, trying to look past the wall of students blocking their view.

Past the densely gathered students and past the desks and chairs lying around, inside the circle, at the very front of the classroom – stood the girl who was the topic of everyone's interest.

At a glance, she looked like a spunky middle-schooler, with her petite build and the average height of 5 feet 5 inches. She was standing there leisurely, with her back facing the crowd – wearing a denim jacket over a grey shirt with denim short skirt and black tights.

She had chin-length brown hair which was roughly parted to left, partially hiding that side of her face. Her honey brown eyes were gazing ahead through the black thick rimmed glasses that rested on the bridge of her nose.

She assumed a thinking pose with her chin resting on one hand while her dark pink Chuck-Taylor converse sneakers tapped the floor in regular intervals. The sleeves of her jacket were pulled up to her elbows which revealed a white digital watch on her left wrist and a pair of leather bracelets wrapped around her right.

There were three large whiteboards hung on the wall, arranged side by side. The first board was completely covered with the combination of alphabets, numbers, and small hexagons – forming molecular equations.

The second board was half filled with similar terms while the girl stood in front of it, scratching her head with the back of the marker in her hand.

To her right, there was a middle aged woman seated in a chair. She was in a formal, half sleeved knee length black dress with a pencil skirt. Her fair complexion and the perfectly trimmed shoulder length blonde hair made her appear younger than her actual age. She wore a thin white pearl necklace around her neck as the only accessory and carried an elegant demeanor.

She leaned back into the chair with her legs crossed and arms folded in front. Her dark red lips were arced into an arrogant smirk as she watched the girl standing in front of her with contempt filled in her eyes.

She was the infamous Mrs. Brenda Abernathy, the professor for Bio- chemistry, and the Administrator of the entire Science department.

"Five minutes." Mrs. Abernathy announced loudly, as she looked at the watch on the back of her wrist.

The time limit for the challenge was halfway through and she was only waiting for the remainder of the time to pass so she could throw the arrogant smartass out of her class, forever. And then she would make it so that girl could not get into any other science class either.

How dare she claim her teaching methods to be outdated and challenge her in front of everyone. A mere fresher and she dare act wise in front of her? She has been teaching even before that girl could crawl and yet she wanted to teach her? Now, she would make an example out of this insolent punk, and let everyone realize the consequences of questioning her authority.

So what if she was a genius? She will only be a blabber mouth if she cannot prove herself. But Mrs. Abernathy would never give her that chance. She wanted to destroy her confidence and crush her spirit completely.

Mrs. Abernathy observed the brown haired girl standing a few feet away from her, ridicule and mockery dancing in her eyes. The girl was staring at the two white boards in front of her as the earlier confident expression was now replaced with a frown.

Mrs. Abernathy once again glanced at her watch and the curve of her smile went up a notch.

Four minutes. This farce will come to an end in four minutes. She could not wait to savor the look of dejection and defeat on her pretty little face.

No matter how much of a genius that girl might be, this was the end of the road for her. Not even a fourth year student could say they could deduce those complex equations within ten minutes. That girl's fate was sealed the moment she objected her methods. This so called challenge was just a stage to warn and remind others of the consequences for defying her.

The clock continued to tick away and the surrounding students were watching on with various expectations. Some were anxious, some were hopeful, some were cheering for her, some were ridiculing her. But most of them were just enjoying the show – they couldn't care less whatever the result might be.

After another long, boring minute, the girl suddenly raised her head as her eyes sparkled with excitement. The next moment she scrambled for the nearby board eraser and quickly erased the last three steps on the board before she started scribbling down with double speed.

It awakened the dull, dead crowd to spring into excited chatter and they got much louder when the girl went to the third board and started to deduce the final equation.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Abernathy lost her smirk and her brows descended into a tight frown. She slowly sat up, frowning at the girl before she shifted her gaze down to her watch and then regained her smile.

"One minute." She stood up and announced loudly as she casually walked around the girl. She then suddenly froze on spot as her eyes intently studied the solution to the second equation. She was completely taken aback as she could never think such a complex equation could be solved so effortlessly. The steps were simple and direct, and the method she used would make it easy to disassemble and check for errors quickly.

Mrs. Abernathy was feeling extremely frustrated and annoyed, but she quickly retained her composed demeanor. This was not over yet. Not until she could solve the final equation. And that will be her Achilles heel.

For a first year student to solve two 3rd year equations in less than ten minutes – that girl already proved her point loud and clear. But it would indeed not be considered her win until she could deduce the third equation.

The final equation was the most complex one of all. It needed to be solved in separate parts first and then gather them together to solve it once again to get the final result. Any small mistake along the way will make it impossible to reach the end. And even if she could eventually solve the equation, there wasn't any time left now. So her defeat was inevitable.

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 cocky 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 discernable. 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.