ME, CINDERELLA?(21)

I sighed.

“Can we talk?” Mark leaned forward in the doorway, a concerned expression on his face. I couldn’t tell him no.

“Sure,” I said. “Give me a minute to get dressed.”

“One minute,” Mark said, stepping back. “And you’re not allowed to disappear.”

“Ha, very funny.”

The snow had disappeared as quickly as it had come, and with the sunshine above us it felt like spring had come back to California. I convinced Mark to go with me to a coffeeshop in the village near the university, where he bought me the biggest latte they had. I wasn’t about to chance running into Eliot again at the library cafe.

“So what happened?” he said once we had sat down with our coffee. “You always said you wanted to go to Hungary. This was your thing.”

A fierce pinch of desire wrung its way through my heart. It aimed its line not toward Hungary, however, but directly at the figure of the eminent, the honorable Dr. Herceg. Eliot. I shook my head.

“Not anymore,” I said. “I don’t deserve it.”

“The hell you don’t. I’m going to tell the department chair it was you.”

“No!” My voice carried across the coffeeshop, and several people looked over toward us. I hunched over my latte, trying to look forgettable.

“Brynn, I heard them talking. Patterson wants to give me the Prize but that guy Herceg insisted that you’re the winner. And there’s no way I’m taking it from you. You won, fair and square.”

“No. Mark, it wasn’t fair. I met him before. Herceg. I think he rigged the test to help me win.” Now that I had to explain it, it all seemed so implausible. I expected Mark to ask why Eliot would help me, but he didn’t even blink.

“The test was anonymous, Brynn.”

“Then how did I get to the end without being dismissed? “

“By kicking ass, just like the rest of us. You’re smart, Brynn. Jesus.” He leaned forward and put his hand on my shoulder reassuringly. “You did well.”

“I didn’t know half of the answers!” Tears threatened to spill down my cheeks. The second time I had cried in… god, in years.

“So? Neither did I.”

I raised my head. Mark’s face was completely serious.“What?”

“Are you kidding? That was the hardest test ever. I probably didn’t know two-thirds of the answers.”

“Quentin said he answered everything.” My lips trembled.

“Quentin is an overconfident asshole, of course he said that.” Mark leaned back in his chair. “There’s no way he got half of those right. Are you serious? That’s why you left?”

“That’s not the only reason,” I said.

“What else?” Mark waited patiently, but there was no way I was going to tell him about the piano, or about the way Eliot’s hand brushed against mine, igniting a fire inside of me.

“Trust me,” I said. “You deserve it more than me.”

“Nuh-uh.” Mark crossed his arms. “Not going to happen. I’m abdicating.”

“Mark—”

“And then Quentin will get it. You want Quentin to get it?” Mark looked serious.

I sighed, bending my head over the coffee.

“No,” I admitted.

“Then you’re going to the math department right now to tell them that you’re the mysterious disappearing girl.”

“I—” I looked into Mark’s face, but he looked like he was ready to handcuff me and haul me down to campus himself.

“Okay,” I said. My skin flushed red at the thought of admitting to Eliot that I wasn’t the girl he thought I was. But another part of me thrilled to know that Eliot wanted me for his internship, and hoped even more that I might be able to go to Hungary, as I had been hoping for the past thirteen years.

Mark and I walked to campus from the coffeeshop, the sun warming the day quickly. We made our way through the math department to Patterson’s office, and as we turned the corner, my steps faltered. Eliot stood in front of the door next to Patterson, gesturing angrily towards a sheet of paper. Mark coughed and he turned to see us, his frown melting into a blank expression that I could not read. Eliot straightened himself up to his full height as Mark and I approached, his clear eyes giving away no hint as to the thoughts hidden in his mind.

“Hello,” he said to me as we walked up, and extended his hand. “You must be Brynn.”





CHAPTER SIX



“If people do not believe that mathematics is simple, it is only because they do not realize how complicated life is.” - Von Neumann



“Congratulations, Mark,” the department chair said.