Chapter 2

She turned to the whiteboard, erasing the eighth-grade algebra problem and replacing it with complicated symbols and equations Thompson had never seen in their class."This," she announced with a cruel smile, "is a calculus problem for my 11th grade advanced placement class. Since you think you're too good to follow basic instructions, perhaps you can solve this while standing."Laughter erupted across the classroom. Zack, the class clown, made an exaggerated boo-hoo sound."You have five minutes," Veronica said, glancing at her watch. "Or it's straight to detention for a week."Thompson stared at the board, his heart pounding. But beneath his fear, something else flickered: recognition.The symbols weren't completely unfamiliar after all. Every Tuesday and Thursday evening for the past year, while his classmates played video games or scrolled through social media, Thompson had been slipping quietly into Westside Public Library. Not for the comic books or the latest young adult novels, but for something that would have surprised everyone who thought they knew him."Back again, Thompson?" Mrs. Doyle, the elderly librarian, would greet him with a knowing smile as he headed straight for the mathematics section.Thompson's fascination with numbers had begun when he was just seven. His father, a construction worker who'd never finished high school, had been measuring for a home project. "Math is the language of the universe, son," he'd said. "Even when people don't make sense, numbers always do."At home, Thompson shared a small apartment with his parents and younger sister. His mother worked double shifts as a nurse's aide, while his father took whatever construction jobs he could find. They rarely had time to attend school functions, which only reinforced Veronica Maxwell's assumption that they were uninvolved parents.What Ms. Maxwell didn't know was that Thompson's bedroom walls weren't covered with basketball posters or superhero movies. Instead, they were adorned with printouts of mathematical theorems and famous equations he discovered online.Three months ago, Thompson had found something special at the library: an advanced calculus textbook someone had accidentally left on a table. He'd been captivated by the elegant curves of integrals and the logic of derivatives. While the symbols seemed intimidating at first, Thompson discovered they followed patterns he could understand.Using free online videos and math forums, he taught himself the basics of calculus, working through problems late into the night by the dim light of his phone to avoid waking his sister in their shared bedroom."Thompson, dinner!" His mother's tired voice would call, and he'd quickly hide his math notebooks under his bed—not because he was ashamed, but because he didn't want his parents to worry that he was working too hard.Once, his father had caught him. "What's all this, son?" he'd asked, picking up a notebook filled with equations."Just stuff I'm learning," Thompson had replied nervously.His father had studied the notebook silently, then looked at Thompson with unexpected pride. "You keep going. Your mind is going to take you places my hands never could."

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