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Professor Said Mathematicians Failed 50 Years — But Truant Freshman Girl Cracked It in Class

Professor Said Mathematicians Failed 50 Years — But Truant Freshman Girl Cracked It in Class

Chapter 19

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"The Ashworth conjecture," Dorothy said, not as a question.Ren blinked. "How did you know?""Because it's the only math problem old enough and famous enough to send a student digging through fifty-year-old files." Dorothy set down her index cards. "Professor Ridgeway's shadow still stretches pretty far around here.""You know him?""I've worked in this library for thirty-one years," Dorothy said. "I know everyone's shadow, whether they like it or not." She studied Ren for a moment longer than felt entirely comfortable. "You're the one from Tuesday's class," she said. "Word travels fast in a place this small. A freshman corrected Desmond Ridgeway on his own chalkboard. That's the kind of story that outruns lunchtime in a town like this one.""I didn't correct him," Ren said. "I just saw something differently.""That," Dorothy said, "is usually exactly how people end up correcting men like him."Dorothy led her back through the stacks, past shelves of yearbooks and department newsletters gone yellow with age. "What exactly are you looking for?" she asked.Ren hesitated; she wasn't entirely sure how to explain it. "I have this notebook," she said finally. "It belonged to my grandfather. He passed away a few years ago. And I think he might have gone to school here, or worked here. I'm not sure which."Dorothy stopped walking. She turned to look at Ren, more closely now. "What was his name?""Hartman," Ren said. "Edwin Hartman."For a moment, Dorothy didn't say anything at all. Her expression shifted—quick and complicated, gone again before Ren could quite name it."I need to check something," Dorothy said slowly. "Wait here."She disappeared into a back room lined with metal filing cabinets, the kind with heavy drawers that groaned when they opened. Ren stood among the shelves, her heart beating a little faster than she wanted it to.
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Professor Said Mathematicians Failed 50 Years — But Truant Freshman Girl Cracked It in Class

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