Always the Opposites {Brollins}

[ Chapter 6 ]

Rebecca stared at the bold thirteen and question mark that she had written down on her paper after her encounter with the guy from the library.

She didn't know what his reason would be to try and throw her off, but she also didn't understand how he was able to solve it so easily. She'd been struggling with this question for the past few days, and if he was in fact correct, she'd be very impressed.

When she went to school the next day, she had mathematics and figured it was the perfect opportunity to put her question to rest. She felt relief wash over her when someone asked the teacher if the answer sheet could be given out.

However, when the answers were finally handed out, Rebecca's stress came right back. The answer sheet only had the final answers written on it, not how to solve the questions.

But there it was, typed out clearly. The answer to question twenty-six was thirteen.

"So you're telling me he just knew the answer. Just like that?" Pamela walked toward a still-stunned Rebecca holding a little girl against her hip.

"Just like that." Rebecca put her paper down with a shake of her head.

"And you have no idea how?" Pamela questioned, setting the little girl down.

"Nope." Rebecca sighed, leaning back in her chair.

"Weird." Pamela responded, watching the children from across the room before seeing Rebecca holding a bright orange container from the corner of her eye.

When she looked back over at Rebecca, whatever it was disappeared, and she was taking a quick sip of her water.

After she left school, she joined Pamela at the daycare for yet another shift, but she couldn't seem to focus on anything but the exams. When the next morning rolled around, Rebecca was back at the diner, taking orders while trying to stay awake.

"Lopez!" Mercedes noticed Colby the instant the door opened. "What are you doing here? You're never out this early."

"Hey Mercedes." He gave her a quick hug, "Just here for a coffee. Unless you happen to know anything about James Joyce?"

"Who?" Mercedes laughed, looking at him like he had three heads.

"The Irish writer that speaks a lot of languages or whatever." Colby sighed, "Found out yesterday I have an essay to write about him."

"Oh, absolutely not." Mercedes shook her head, laughing again.

"English is kicking my ass, man." Colby looked drained. "I can't catch a break with it."

"I'm not the English type. I'm more into the idea of dropping out." Mercedes laughed, "You want the answer to that you're gonna have to talk to her."

He redirected his attention to a woman topping up coffee for those sitting at the breakfast bar, as she stood behind the counter. Recognizing it was the same woman that he saw in the library the other day.

"She's your best bet. The only thing I could do for you is tell you that Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet." Mercedes shrugged, "And that's only because she made me watch the movie after I refused to read the book for an assignment."

Mercedes noticed Colby observing her movements quietly, "You know Rebecca?"

"Not formally, no." He smiled slightly as she fumbled around with a mug she almost dropped, before looking back at Mercedes.

"Watch this." Mercedes looked over at Rebecca, whose back was now towards them. "Hey Becks, what was the name of that Irish author who could speak a bunch of different languages?"

"Uh, James Joyce?" She replied, loud enough for her voice to carry as she organized menus.

"Yeah, that one." Mercedes continued as Colby watched. "What languages were they again?"

"Well, I mean, obviously Irish, along with English, Norwegian, French, Italian, he could read Latin, and I think he spoke some German too." Rebecca tilted her head back and forth, trying to remember. "I may have missed a few. But, since when did you-"

Rebecca turned around to interrogate Mercedes, but when she did, she quickly realized it was a lot more than her being interested in random bits of knowledge.

"Rebecca, right?" The guy from the library smiled at her warmly as she set down a pile of menus.

"Yeah." She nodded, before she paused, "Sorry, I don't think I know your name."

"Don't worry, he didn't know yours either." Mercedes patted his shoulder. "Becks, this is Lopez. Colby Lopez."

"Nice to properly meet you, Colby." She smiled at him.

"Likewise." He nodded before pointing to the cash register, "Mind if I grab a coffee?"

"Well, it is a diner, so no." She laughed, before turning and grabbing a cup of coffee for him.

"So you're big on English?" He asked as she passed him his coffee after he paid.

"I enjoy it." Rebecca smiled slightly as she shrugged, "I'd feel a lot better right now if that was the only thing I had to study."

"Not a fan of math?" He smiled, remembering her situation in the library.

"Not at all." She laughed, wiping down some cutlery. "But I'm guessing you are?"

"It's easier than English." He sat himself down on one of the barstool chairs.

"Like hell it is." She shook her head, and Colby laughed. "I'd take an English exam over a math one any day."

"They must be right when they say English writers are delusional." Colby blew on his coffee, "They spend more time in made-up worlds than the real one."

Rebecca's jaw dropped, "Your sources are very wrong. I guess they're right when they say mathematicians understand numbers better than they do people."

Colby almost choked on his sip of coffee, and the two stifled both of their laughs when they noticed some stares. Meanwhile, Mercedes smiled while watching them, leaning against the edge of a booth. "They might as well be majoring in chemistry."

The customer in the booth looked up at Mercedes confused, "Ma'am, can you please just take my order now?"