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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 30

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"Is she all right?" Roy asked, straight to the point, the way old pilots tended to be.Reese hesitated, then let him in. She told him everything: the accusation, the hearing, the notebook taken and locked away like it was evidence of a crime instead of a memory of a man who had loved his granddaughter enough to leave something behind. Margaret in the hospital, the scholarship hanging by a thread.Roy listened without interrupting, his weathered face growing more serious with every sentence. When Reese finished, he sat quietly for a moment."Tomorrow," he said finally. "The hearing's tomorrow. Same time as some big symposium thing."Roy nodded slowly, something settling into place behind his eyes—the particular stillness of a man who had made up his mind. "I think," he said, "it's time I had a word with a few old friends."He left Reese's apartment and drove straight to Frank Ellison's house, porch light already on despite the late hour. Frank answered in his undershirt, surprised to see Roy this late."Everything all right?""Not exactly," Roy said. "You remember that girl from the diner, Ren?""Of course I do. Good kid. Works harder than anybody I've ever met.""She's in trouble," Roy said. "The kind of trouble that isn't fair, and isn't right, and isn't going to get fixed unless somebody besides a bunch of college professors decides to show up and pay attention."Frank didn't ask a single follow-up question. "What do you need?""Tomorrow morning, Wentworth Hall, that big auditorium. There's some symposium thing and a hearing happening right alongside it. I want a room full of important people to look up and see that ordinary folks notice, too.""I'll be there," Frank said. "I'll bring my brother-in-law if he's not working."Roy's next stop was Ruth Callahan's house, two streets over, porch already dark, though she answered on the second knock, wrapped in a robe.
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Professor Said Mathematicians Failed 50 Years — But Truant Freshman Girl Cracked It in Class

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