The Meadow

They entered Steve Ballantire’s lecture room together whilst Eva listened to Henry O’Malley’s voice endlessly pointing out classes, venues, the cafeteria, sports centre and she was relieved when they finally reached Hugo’s future classroom. They walked into the empty lecture hall and Eva sat down thankfully in one of the benches in the front row. She looked around her. The place felt incredibly academic.
It seemed filled with knowledge that hung almost tangibly in the air and yet it had a friendly touch to it. She imagined what it would be like when it was filled with the bodies of students and their teacher. The front podium from where the professor taught had a single plant with an exotic flower on it. O’Malley caught her eye. “An orchid. He is quite an unusual man, I assure you.” Then he looked over to where Hugo stood in front of a blackboard that spanned the length of the room with a very long and complicated problem written out on it.
He looked at his mother and pointed with his finger to a message written atop the unfinished equation, inviting anyone to complete it. “Can I, Mum?”
Eva smiled, delighted with her son’s curiosity and his willingness to ask the question. “It’s for the students, Hugo.”
But he already held a piece of chalk in his hand. “Please?”
“Hugo, no. We have to go …”
“And why not?” Henry placed a gentle hand on her arm. “Go ahead, Hugo, while your mother and I continue our conversation. Why don’t you see if you can solve Steve’s problem?” The boy needed no further encouragement. He stood a few feet away and began reading the equation from the beginning, all the time rolling the white piece of chalk between the palms of his hands. When he was sure he grasped the question and the gist of the teaser, he ceased his fidgety movements and became very still, as if deep in thought. Then he stepped forward and began writing, slowly but surely working his way towards the final step, methodically shifting along the blackboard, revealing the solution that had befuddled Steve’s students for more than a week.
Eva and O’Malley watched in silent fascination as Hugo finally arrived at the answer, signed his name and put the chalk down.
O’Malley could not believe what he had just witnessed. An eleven-year-old boy had just solved one of Steve’s brain teasers in the most unusual, creative way. Henry had noticed that Hugo did a lot of the calculations in his head and communicated minimally, which meant he was processing raw data at a very high level.
But Henry was sure that if Hugo were asked to explain himself, he probably would find that fairly difficult to do in view of what he had recently learned regarding Hugo’s handicap. He was eager to discuss the phenomenon he had just witnessed with Steve and was simultaneously immensely excited by the potential of the child that had been brought to them through very unusual circumstances. He could barely contain himself and couldn’t wait to see Steve’s face when he discovered that his brain teaser had been cracked.
Steve arrived a few minutes late for his next assignment of assisting Mike Burley in the science lab. His presence was not immediately required and he stood in the doorway leaning against the post, still trying to process the experience of a few minutes ago outside the administrative building. A very strange feeling had taken hold of him that stubbornly persisted and he was somewhat annoyed at having to deal with the way he felt. Who was this woman? She came from another part of the world so she had to be a stranger, and yet his entire system screamed recognition. But how? Logically, it was simply not possible. He decided to make a quick stop at Henry’s office before the day was over. He needed more information.
“Ah, Steve!” Henry waved him into his office. “I’m glad you are here. Our guests have arrived.” Henry looked very pleased with himself, as if he was privy to some information that Steve was not. “I know you were in the science lab the whole afternoon, but have you been back to your own classroom since?”
Steve noticed the unusual excitement in Henry’s demeanour. “No, Henry. Why would you ask that?” He kept his voice even. Neither midterms nor work were on his mind right at this minute, but he didn’t quite know how to broach the subject of his real curiosity. Henry supplied the answer without him having to probe.
“I took Mrs Norman and her son on a short tour of the campus. I showed them your lecture hall, since this is where Hugo, the boy, will spend most of his time.” He smiled, watching the younger man closely. “The child is everything and more than they have claimed. You’ll see.”
Steve listened to every word and became very quiet. Mrs Norman? He took a deep breath and ignored the last part of Henry’s statement. “I see.” He suddenly felt somewhat foolish and wanted to get out of Henry’s office. Of course! A woman like her would be married. Or was she single, perhaps a widow? Despite his best intentions, he found himself asking the next question anyway. “Where is Mr Norman?”
Henry had not caught on to the reason for the question. “Well, curiously, he is one of us, Steve; an Englishman and a diplomat. You might know this, but Mrs Norman is Israeli. I understand her husband is presently on assignment somewhere abroad.” Henry’s thoughts went back to what he had witnessed earlier in Steve’s lecture hall. “Give me a call tonight, will you?” He smiled, gathering some papers on his desk. “You’ll understand later. I know you will.”
Steve’s eyes narrowed, but he decided not to probe any further. “Fine. I have to go now, Henry.” He made for the door, impatient to get away and engage in that game of squash with Stocker. He was angry and frustrated with himself and intended to punish that little rubber ball when he stepped onto the squash court. Stocker should not be expecting any mercy either.
He left Henry’s office and strode down the corridor, forcing himself to deal with the reality of the situation, but despite his best efforts to forget the striking dark haired woman, the hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach persisted. What in God’s name is the matter with me? I haven’t even met her! And it isn’t as though I have not been with striking and beautiful women before. But then he remembered her laugh, and his mind continued its treacherous betrayal and against his will he found himself imagining what she would be like, face to face.
Glad to reach his lecture room, he wrenched open the door and headed straight to the back corner where he stored his sporting equipment in a locker. He glanced briefly at his watch and noticed that it was already close to six o’clock and if he were late for his appointment, he would never hear the end of it from Stocker. Out of the corner of his eye he caught the writing on the blackboard and then froze in his steps as he turned to look at it head-on. “Well, what do you know?”
He spoke softly under his breath. “I had better get hold of Mrs Shepherd to buy some jam…” Just then his eye caught the name signed at the end. Hugo. “Jesus!” Steve couldn’t stop the profanity that escaped from his lips. He took a step closer and stared in absolute amazement at the work on the blackboard. Not only was another link added, but the whole equation had been completed. Underneath, another teaser had been started. What he was witnessing was the beginning of an illogical formula, which related more to theory physics than conventional mathematics.
It concerned string theories and their dimensional impact when brought into line with advanced mathematics. He smiled wryly, remembering Henry’s request for a phone call. No wonder the man had had trouble containing himself. Steve took his sports bag and headed for the door, where he stopped to look one more time at the blackboard. “Who’s going to teach whom, Hugo? I wonder…”