Tracing the line down to me, I looked at my name and frowned. Samantha Ellen Frances Rousseau. I’d always hated having four names. It seemed so silly growing up. Everyone else had managed with just three. I flipped through some more of the paperwork, looking for anything that caught my eye or seemed familiar. Copies of my mother’s thesis and first write-up in a journal made me smile. She had been a brilliant scientist.
I looked up at the clock and decided I had enough time to look quickly through the other folder. The noise in the office soothed my nerves. The clicking of someone typing, the whispers of Mary as she flirted with David. David telling her to hush. It was nice to have a little normal for a few minutes.
Alex’s folder had several paper-clipped articles from medicine journals about homeopathic solutions for cancer and dealing with chemo along with information about a new drug that seemed to be helping ease the pain of some cancer patients without affecting their quality of life. The articles were fascinating and I felt hope swelling in my heart. Maybe jumping the pond wouldn’t be so bad. Especially if I was able to help Dad. Or at least make him more comfortable.
In the very back of the folder was a note in slanted text and a sticky note with a website address. Apparently this was a link to a doctor that worked strictly with patients suffering from prostate cancer. Alex wrote that the doctor lived in the UK and might be persuaded to give my father an in-depth examination.
Becca cleared her throat and I looked over to where she was sitting.
“Your class starts in five minutes.”
“What?” I looked at the clock on my desk and frowned. The time had flown by. I grabbed my stuff and put it in my bag before jerking my head toward the door. “Let’s go.”
The lecture hall was on the other side of the building, so we took the back stairs. I hesitated just inside the door when I saw all the people in the room. Almost every seat was taken, which was unusual for such an early class. Duvall looked at me with a blank face from near the stage and I wondered what was running through his mind because I sure as hell didn’t know what to think. My fingers tightened on the strap of my bag and I walked forward purposefully. Fake it ’til you make it would be my motto of the day. The room quieted except for a few whispers.
I set my bag down and turned toward the room. My eyes picked out familiar faces amongst a hundred or more that I had never seen before. “It makes my heart all types of bubbly to see so many people excited about the chapter on ornithology.” A faint ripple of amusement spread through the room. “For those of you that didn’t wake up this morning with a newfound love of birds, open your books to chapter twelve.”
I pulled my notes out and grabbed a dry erase marker. While the true students rifled through their bags, I quickly outlined some key points on the whiteboard. I turned back to the class and swallowed. I’d never spoken to this many people before and it was intimidating.
Hopping onto the small desk on the stage, I decided to focus on what I was supposed to be talking about and forget that most of these people had only come to stare at me. “Who can define a bird?”#p#分页标题#e#
A young undergrad’s hand shot into the air. I couldn’t remember her name, but I tended to refer to her as Hermione in my head. I nodded at her.
“An animal whose body is covered in feathers and forelimbs that modified into wings.” She smiled proudly.
“Yes, but that isn’t all that defines a bird. Anyone else?” I looked around the room. Someone I didn’t recognize raised their hand and I waited a beat before nodding for them to speak.
“Are you really a princess?”
“All little girls are princesses, didn’t you know that?” My heart sped up in my chest and I narrowed my eyes. Titters erupted around the classroom and I sat down on the top of the desk. “Now, who can tell me about birds?”
One of the male students raised his hand and I pointed in his direction. “They all have scaly legs, a beak with no teeth, and bear their young in a hard-shelled egg.”
“Good.” I jumped up and scribbled the definition on the board. “Does anyone have any idea how many types of birds there are in the world?”
There were more people with their hands raised when I turned back around. I tried to pick someone I recognized from the class, hoping they would stay on topic.
“Danni?” I looked at a small blonde.
“Five thousand?” I almost couldn’t hear her tiny voice.
“Nope. Who else?” I pointed at a boy with a skullcap on.
“Four thousand, five hundred and seventy two.” He smiled when people turned to look at him.