Curse of Genius by Taylor White
* * *
As we're walking back to her room, Mrs. Anderson asks me if I would be alright with the students asking me questions for a few minutes at the end of class every day. She even gave the idea a cute little name.
"We'll call it the 'Ask Dori' segment," she says, her eyes all wide with excitement as she looks at me.
And since she's so excited about it, and it seems harmless, I shrug and go, "Yeah, I like that idea."
But it doesn't take me long to regret that decision. When we get back, she uses the remaining ten minutes of the period to introduce the 'Ask Dori' segment. And I find myself slouching down in my seat, completely embarrassed.
"So?y'all can ask her whatever you want," she says, gazing around at everyone encouragingly. "It doesn't have to be math-related. She's a genius on all topics."
It's definitely awkward hearing her say that to the class. I peek up at everyone and see some people looking at me, some people looking at Mrs. Anderson, and some glancing back and forth between us.
Then I catch a glimpse of Becca on the other side of the room, and I see her frowning at me, wondering what the hell this is all about. I widen my eyes and shrug, and even though she probably interprets that as me being confused as well, what I'm really trying to convey is that I have absolutely no idea why I agreed to this.
A few seats up and one row over from Becca, Summer is turned sideways in her seat with an altogether different look on her face. Her expression is frozen solid as she stares at me with this weird, open-mouthed smile. She's totally intrigued by me at this point.
"I know we're just getting it started today?" Mrs. Anderson begins, now trying to talk over the class. "?But if anyone has a question they want to ask Dori now, feel free to ask her."
Right away, Joey Kestle, who is recognized campus-wide as a major class clown, raises his hand and asks, "Will you break up with Bryson and go on a date with me?" He maintains a wide-eyed, serious expression as the class laughs.
"Oh?and?if your answer's no, maybe don't tell Bryson I asked you that?" he adds, still bug-eyed and serious.
I look down and laugh; it was pretty funny. Then I look back up at him and say, "Maybe some other time. And I won't tell Bryson."
"Yes!" he yells, doing a massive fist-pump as if he just scored big. Everyone continues to laugh.
"Okay, okay, does anyone have a serious question?" Mrs. Anderson asks, recovering from her own laughter.
"So, you're a genius on all subjects?" Summer suddenly asks.
Just as I'm about to answer, Becca goes, "Duh, Mrs. Anderson just said that," causing quite a few people to chuckle. Surprisingly, Summer just looks down, defeated and embarrassed, and once again, strangely, I feel badly for her.
"I have a question," someone says quietly. Everyone looks to the back of the room as Daniel Berston slowly raises his hand.
Daniel is a straight-A student, extremely intelligent--probably one of the smartest students in the school, even--and really shy just like me. So along with everyone else, I'm surprised to hear him speak up.
I grin at him as he glances at Mrs. Anderson, then focuses on me.
"It's not really school-related?" He pauses.
"Okay," I smile.
"Does a falling tree make a sound if no one is around to hear it?"
"Wow, now that's a good one," Mrs. Anderson says, looking from Daniel to me. Before I can say anything, the entire class begins discussing it, giving their opinions, but with very little depth to their yes and no answers.
The yes's are simply saying, of course, it has to make a sound. Why wouldn't it make a sound just because no one's around? And the no's are posing the question, how would anyone even know it fell?
The debate continues on for a couple more minutes. When it finally starts to die down, I look over at Daniel, who has been listening to everyone without saying a word, and I ask him what he thinks. Right or wrong, he looks at me and gives an answer with substance.
"I think it does," he shrugs. "The disturbance of the impact will cause sound vibrations in the air whether anyone's around or not."
I nod at him, impressed. Then I give him and the rest of the class the answer to the age-old question.
"Well, you're close," I say, squinting. "But the definition of sound is the sensation produced by stimulation of the organs of hearing by vibrations transmitted through the air or other medium. In other words, sound and vibration are two different things. Vibrations travel through our inner ears and into our brains, and then our brains turn those vibrations into sound?so, because sound is actually produced in our brains, the answer to the question is 'no.' If no human or animal is around, the falling tree will only make vibrations--no sounds."
With the exception of Becca--who I've already explained this to years ago--the entire class is now nodding, deep in thought?including Mrs. Anderson. And as soon as people begin discussing it again, the bell rings. But that doesn't stop them from asking me more about it as I'm loading my books into my backpack.
As the morning goes by, I think I manage to talk to everyone in the school at least once. Luckily, though, by lunchtime things have kind of died down. Everything is pretty close to normal, even--everything except for Summer. Even though I'm still mildly wary of her sudden kindness, I'd still welcome it with open arms. Anything is better than being bullied.
But I have a feeling Becca's not going to be all that welcoming. In fact, she's sitting across from me at the lunch table, staring at Summer on the other side of the caf. And trust me, if looks could kill, right now Summer would be nothing more than a sliced-up pile of raw meat covered with blond hair.
And when Brad and Trent join us at the table and start talking about Summer's party this weekend, things get awkward fast.
"Y'all gonna go?" Brad asks as he and Trent glance between Bryson and me, oblivious to Becca's and Summer's deep hatred for one another.
"Umm?" Bryson pauses and looks at me. Then I look at Becca and Holly across the table. Becca has a dull, angry look on her face, like she wants to flip the table on its side and storm out of the caf. Holly, however, is sporting the same uncomfortable expression as Bryson and me.
So I quickly nod, shrug and say, "We might go," just to cut the tension before Brad and Trent notice, if they haven't already.
As everyone starts talking again, Becca glares at me and shakes her head. That's when I realize that even though my current problems appear to be fading fast, since I'm not really in the spotlight anymore--which I was starting to get used to anyway--and Summer's no longer trying to destroy me, I see another potential problem on the horizon. Possibly even a more serious problem.
Becca and Summer are sworn enemies. Becca and I are best friends. And Summer pretty much asked me for forgiveness in the hall this morning. So either Becca is going to have to give Summer a chance, or I'll have to ignore Summer and be mean to her for Becca's sake. Honestly, I don't see either one of these things happening.
23
Game Time
"Am I really texting Brian about Summer's party?" Becca groans, lounging on the comfy green recliner and peering at me over the top of her phone. She's annoyed to say the least, and she has been all day long. Becca knows Bryson and Holly won't go to the party without her, but she also knows they wouldn't mind going. And since it's apparently supposed to be like the biggest and bestest, most spectacular blowout party in the history of all the universe, she has grudgingly decided to go. But I can tell she's holding out hope that I'll end up not wanting to go.
I turn around and look at her as I'm putting my hair in a ponytail. "Yeah, I mean, if you want him to go," I reply, knowing what she's really asking is "Are we seriously going to this dumbass freaking party?"
She rolls her eyes as I turn back to the mirror and adjust my cheerleading skirt, lining it up with my top.
"He might already have plans Saturday night," she mumbles as she starts texting.
"Becca, it's Tuesday night. I'm sure you're giving him plenty of notice."
I walk around and take a seat on the edge of my bed. After staring at the closet door for a second, I shrug and say, "She didn't say you couldn't go."
Becca's expression turns sarcastic, and when she replies, her tone of voice is sarcastic, also. "Right?that means she wants me there."
I shrug again. "She still didn't say you couldn't go. She said I could bring whoever I want."
Becca sighs and checks her phone. "But?I mean?you honestly don't believe she likes you all of a sudden, do you?"
"Believe me, I'm just as surprised as you are," I say. Then a long silence follows as we both stare off in thought. "?But why is she being nice to me if she doesn't like me?"
"Well, if you think about it, she has to be nice to you because the whole school likes you right now. She can't go against that."
I nod as I look down at the ground, once again deep in thought. Becca has a point. The very same thing crossed my mind yesterday, but I didn't want to believe it. I would hate to think Summer's just waiting for this whole thing to blow over so she can bully me again. And even though that's entirely possible, I'm choosing to believe that maybe she really has changed, and we could possibly even be friends. But hoping to get Becca on board with that concept would be like hoping to win the Powerball twice--it's laughable. The best I can hope for is simply to get Becca to the point where she doesn't want to put Summer in the hospital every time she sees her. Even that's a pipe dream, though.
"You could be right." I look up at her. "But what do you want me to do? You know I'm not gonna be able to be mean to her. I couldn't even be mean to her when she was being mean to me."
Becca checks her phone again, slightly shaking her head.
"Could you please just try to tolerate her? Please?"
She gives me a sideways glare. "You know I'm gonna end up killing this girl, right?"
"Just give her a chance," I grin. "And as far as the party goes, if she makes you leave, I'm leaving, too."
Becca's phone goes off. "Brian said he wants to go," she says with another eye roll.
"Speaking of Brian?" I get up and walk back to the mirror. "Do you think he's gonna ask you to be his girlfriend?"
"I think so." A huge smile spreads across her face as she fiddles with her phone, then extends it out to me. When I walk over to look, I see a text from Brian that says, "Somethin I wanna ask you?next time I see you." With a smiley face on the end.
"He sent me that last night," Becca says as I look up at her and smile. "I didn't mention it because I didn't want to get my hopes up, in case that's not what he wants to ask."
"He's coming to the game tonight, right?" I ask excitedly.
"Yep."
"Nice! Looks like you might have a boyfriend soon."
Becca's cheeks are all rosy now as she takes her phone back. I can tell she's holding in her excitement, just in case we're wrong.
"I guess we'll see," she says, flustered.
Then I hear a text come through on my phone over on the dresser, so I grab it and plop down at the foot of my bed.
"About to pull in your driveway, sexy. XOXO."
Goose bumps instantly pop up on every inch of my body. Out of everything Bryson calls me, 'Sexy' definitely excites me the most, even though 'Princess' is probably my overall favorite. There's a slightly different emotional reaction to each name he calls me, and they're all equally amazing.
As I continue to read his text over and over, I start to think about how incredibly hot he looked earlier at school, all dressed up for game day. I think about how his chest, shoulders, and back were nearly bursting out of his white button-down shirt; how his muscular forearms were exposed when he eventually rolled his sleeves up to his elbows; and how amazing his butt looked in those J. Crew khakis with his shirt tucked in all nice and neat. I think about his smile, his eyes, his hair?basically everything about him.
And just when I start to think I might be getting a little too excited, Becca looks over at me and says, "Bryson?"
I smile and nod, never looking up from my phone as I text him back.
"Can't wait, XOXO" I text, followed by a line of smiley faces.
"He's about to pull up." I toss my phone to Becca so she can read the texts. Then I hop up and head for the door.
"I'm going to the bathroom." I walk out then poke my head right back in. "Hey, you're not gonna ride with Bryson and me to the game?"
She looks up with a smile after reading our texts. "No, Brian's gonna pick me up after he gets off work at the mall."
"Okay."
As I approach the bathroom, I notice the door open and the light on, and I can hear the sound of a garbage bag rustling around. When I walk in, I see Carson putting a fresh bag in the garbage can, even though it's Hailey's week to change them out.
My shoulders drop. "Where's Hailey?"
"Fuck if I know," he snaps with a shrug. Then he goes on to tell me about how Hailey planted an audio recorder in his room yesterday evening, recording a rather explicit phone conversation he had with Audrey--a girl from Central Private he's talking to--and now she's blackmailing him with it, threatening to give it to mom and dad.
"She has my damn phone, too," he says, angrily tying a knot at the top of the full bag.
I immediately head over to her room and knock on the door. When she opens up, it's basically a re-run of the episode that took place a few nights ago. I stare her down without saying a word, she acts completely innocent at first, and then she finally cracks and hands over the phone and the audio recorder so I can delete Carson's conversation.
I look at her and let out a sigh of frustration. It doesn't seem to matter how much I get onto her, or how much disappointment I express. When it comes down to it, she can't help herself. In all fairness, Carson probably deserves it every time, but I want her to understand that it's not right to blackmail people under any circumstance.
When she suddenly catches a glimpse of Carson walking by in the hall, she storms right past me and all Hell breaks loose.
Luckily, Mom and Dad are immune to Carson and Hailey's bare-knuckle bouts these days, and they rarely ever respond anymore. But Becca immediately steps out of my room with a grin on her face, periodically glancing up from her phone and giggling as Hailey tears into Carson with a perfect blend of high-pitched screaming, evil eyes, and finger pointing. The verbal assault continues even after Carson retreats to his room.
"I told you to change those bags out after we left for the game! You're gonna pay for this!" she threatens, standing in the doorway, pointing at him with one hand while clenching the other into a tight fist at her side.
"Shut up and get out of my room!" Carson yells back. And before she decides to charge him and start gnawing his face off like Hannibal Lector in 'The Silence of the Lambs,' I run over to pull her away and try to calm her down. As luck would have it, I have just the thing to turn her frown upside down at the moment.
"Hailey, look--" I grab her arms to get her attention. "Bryson's coming! In fact, he's probably already here."
Just as I thought, she perks right up, raising her eyebrows high and smiling wide. "Really?"
Before I can say a word, she's already halfway down the stairs, happy as can be. That's officially the quickest I've ever seen her cheer up. After tossing Carson's phone back to him, then heading back to my room to look in the mirror one last time, Becca and I head downstairs, as well.
"Okay, ready? One?two?three!" we hear Bryson say, followed by Hailey laughing hysterically.
When we get to the bottom of the stairs, we see him tossing her in the air and catching her as my parents sit on the couch, watching and laughing.
"One?two?three!" He tosses her up and catches her one last time as we approach, then he looks over his shoulder at us and grins.
"Hey," he says. And after he puts Hailey down--who doesn't appear to be okay with that at all--he turns a
Then after he hugs Becca, we all take a seat. Since Hailey aggressively claims her spot next to Bryson on the couch--which I think is adorable--I end up on Becca's lap on the recliner.
"So, Dori says y'all are in for a heck of a battle tonight, huh, Bryson?" my dad says.
"Yes, sir," he replies, rolling his sleeves back up. As he goes on to tell my parents about how Briggston High has been undefeated since last year, and how they're the number one team and all that, I'm sitting here just staring at him, desperately trying to control my urge to jump on him and put my lips all over his. I literally want to drag him up to my room by his shirt, close the door behind us, and make out with him until morning.
But since that's not exactly an option, I gaze at him and fantasize about it instead. I'm slowly dragging my eyes all over his body, while periodically glancing at Hailey and my parents to make sure they're not watching me.
And just as I start daydreaming about him out on the court in his basketball jersey, single-handedly laying a smack-down on Briggston, Carson comes running down the stairs and breaks my concentration.
"I'm leaving, Audrey's about to pick me up." He reaches for the doorknob as he looks this way. "What's up, Bryson."
"Hey, Carson, y'all coming to the game?"
"No, we'll have to catch the next one. I'm going to help Audrey study."
Becca narrows her eyes. "You're helping her? There's no way she's dumber than you are."
Hailey laughs.
"Hey, why don't you skip on over to your house and never come back." He glares at her while backing out the door.
"'Cause I can't tell you how stupid you are from over there," she says. After he shuts the door, Becca looks at me, confused.
"I helped him with his chemistry homework the other night, so he kind of understands it now," I explain.
Not knowing how else to respond, Bryson chuckles along with my parents at Becca and Carson's exchange.
Then my mom directs her attention back to Bryson, and so do I.
"So, do you think we can beat them tonight?" my mom asks, as she and my dad look at him hopefully.
"I think so. I think we'll be able to take 'em." Bryson grins, then glances over at me and winks confidently.