Long Division (2 page)

Irritated by my own thoughts, I stepped onto a wobbly footstool and struggled to make room on the crammed shelf for the book. It didn’t want to go back to its proper place. And none of the other books seemed too keen on making room. I fought, my impatience rising. Being too short, I wobbled on tiptoe, my stand beneath me shaking treacherously. I did manage to wedge a corner in before the books snapped back shut, yet I lost my footing and had to pinwheel my arms like a madman to stop from toppling backwards. My hands clamped to the shelf before me just in time.

A swear escaped my lips and I winced. Carol would not be pleased if she caught me doing that.

‘All right, Mark?’ a familiar, female voice broke into my thoughts.

I spun round from the book I was battling with and looked down to the table beneath me. A woman my age, a bit mousy, with a pointed, freckled nose and shoulder-length brown hair was watching me, looking slightly amused. I knew her well. It was Ashley, a regular patron and one of the few I actually liked. It probably had something to do with the fact I’d known her since I was seven.

I stepped off the stool, abandoning the stubborn book.

‘Bit early to be studying, isn’t it?’ I glanced to my watch. ‘Not yet ten o’clock!’

She gave me a smarmy smile. ‘Just cramming a bit early. Got a test today at noon.’

I directed my gaze to the computer opened before her. Power points. All numbers and equations that went completely beyond my understanding.

I scratched the back of my head. ‘Well, best let you get on with it, then.’ Chatting was not my strong suit these days.

‘Hey, now, wait a mo!’

I turned back to her, surprised. Not many talked to me. Perhaps I scared them off. And I wasn’t sure I could remember the last time a person of the opposite sex spoke to me in casual conversation. I couldn’t think of any after the accident…

She leaned forward on her elbows, looking up at me, still smiling. ‘You were off last week. I’d wondered where you were.’

I was even more surprised by that. She’d noticed I’d been gone? I didn’t think anyone had…I wished I had a better excuse for my absence. ‘Yeah, ah, sick, I’m afraid.’

A lie, and yet, not entirely a lie.

Her hazel eyes grew soft. ‘Nothing serious, I hope.’

Small chat. That was good, I supposed. I tried to remind myself how exactly it worked. ‘Oh, no. Standing here now, aren’t I?’

‘Yeah.’ Something behind her eyes flickered. Maybe she remembered the date. She didn’t mention it.

I desperately tried to think of a way to steer the conversation away from the direction it was headed. I crossed my arms at her. ‘By the way, you’re not the culprit who’s been leaving a mess in the maths section for the past few weeks, are you?’

Ashley blinked and smiled again, confused. ‘Afraid not! You’ve got a problem maker on your hands?’

I nodded. ‘Yeah and whoever it is has been making my life damned irritating! It seems like once a week I’m cleaning up, always in the same spot.’

She leaned back in her chair, eyes sparkling. ‘Ah, how very intriguing! A mystery!’

I rolled my eyes, knowing full well that library problems hardly ever fit the word
intriguing
. ‘Spoiled kid, more than likely.’

She grinned. ‘I’ll keep my eyes open for him.’

I offered her a smile. ‘I’d appreciate it. I’d like to catch the little bastard red-handed.’ I stepped back to the stool and reached up for the book.

‘Hey,’ she said, stopping me again.

I again turned back to her.

‘When does your shift end?’

That took me off-guard. ‘Oh, uh, five-thirty.’

‘A couple of my mates and I are going out tonight. I was wondering if you’d like to come along? They’re all good people.’ She gave me a meaningful look. ‘Some of them are single.’

Her invite was the last thing I’d been expecting. Part of me desperately wanted to go. I hadn’t been out in ages. Hadn’t really had anyone to go with. Yet, going out somewhere, with people my own age, engaging in conversations, being social. I wasn’t sure I could do it. Shy fear wrapped its hands around my spine. It had been so long I wasn’t sure I remembered how. And why would anyone want to talk to me? The stranger? The odd, quiet one who didn’t want to talk about himself. Didn’t know how to. I’d suffocated the part of me that longed for the company of others till it almost didn’t exist but now I felt the faint stirring of it in me. I wanted to go. I wanted to be around people again, but I wasn’t sure I could.

She clearly took my hesitation as reluctance. ‘Don’t worry,’ she said quickly, ‘you won’t be the only bloke.’

I struggled with my thoughts. Laughed. ‘Yeah, yeah, um, sure. Why not!’ I couldn’t believe the words as they tumbled out. What the hell had I just agreed to?

Ashley pulled out her phone. ‘Great, just give me your number and I’ll text you tonight.’

I obliged and then said, ‘Thanks, hey, and good luck with that test!’

Her thanks floated behind me as I hurried from her sight, till I had at least three walls of books between us. I leant against one of the shelves and shook my head, smiling. I certainly hadn’t expected
that!
And then the worry started. It ate through my surprised happiness until I forgot it existed. I had to go out tonight! With people my own age. I had to remember how to behave normal. Act happy. I was not entirely sure if I was capable of that.

I shook my head, pushing it all from my mind, and got on with my work; now wasn’t the time.

The day bled by in a timeless blur of helping patrons, more often with using our wifi than with them actually wanting a book. People didn’t like to read these days. Why bother with the technology available?

By the end of my shift, all I wanted to do was go home, yet when I stepped out into the fresh air, so forgotten when surrounded by stacks of books, I changed my mind.

It was still light so I decided to divert from my usual path of straight back to the Underground and walk. It had turned into a surprisingly nice day and it seemed a shame to waste it back at the flat. Also, I was a bit ashamed to admit, I wanted to put off thinking about the night as much as possible. I had made a habit long ago of taking to ignoring the things in life that made me nervous or that I dreaded. Perhaps a bad habit to have, but it kept me a little saner.

I kept my head down as I walked past the students, those younger and cheerier people than myself who I couldn’t quite bear to look at. I didn’t like to remind myself that I should have been one of them. I had been. Until the accident. Then my studies had all been flushed down the toilet. I couldn’t handle it any longer. I was lucky to have the job I did, yet sometimes I wished it wasn’t at a college. It reminded me too much of what I’d lost.

As I passed under the shade of the tower, suddenly a noise yanked at my attention. My mobile phone. I stopped dead. My phone ringing? Nobody called me. There was no one I know who
would.

Ah, yes, Ashley.

Probably realising the mistake she’d made and ringing to cancel.

I fished into my pocket. Thankfully, my mobile was still ringing as I finally pulled it up. I frowned at the number: one I didn’t recognise.

With a bit of reluctance, I answered it.

‘H—hello?’

I was immediately surprised. It wasn’t Ashley. Not even a woman.

‘Your theory is wrong,’
a deep, hurried voice of a man growled at the other end, talking very, very fast.
‘You’re looking at it all wrong. You think that the waves are a one way process, that, if there is some sort of transmitter, cannot go two ways. This is incorrect, consider my Theory of Oscillation. One simply needs to know the proper formula for the reverse process. I think I’ve got it. Think of the tide—’

I frowned. ‘I’m sorry, I think you have the wrong number.’

There was a pause.
‘You are not Professor Andersen?’

‘No,’ I laughed, embarrassed and not sure why.

‘Ah, my apologies.
’ There was a click on the other end.

Silence.

‘Hello?’

Nothing.

I pulled the phone away from my ear and stared at it. Then hung up. He was gone. Whoever he was, and whatever he wanted, I wasn’t able to help him. I stared out across the grassy yard, dotted with students lying against each other, reading, sleeping. Friends. Lovers. I sighed in frustration.

My phone buzzed again. I jumped and pulled it up. Text message. Not the caller. From Ashley:

WE’LL BE AT STAG’S HEAD AT SEVEN. LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING YOU OUT!

Reluctantly, I text her back, letting her know, and lying a bit, that I was looking forward to it, too. Seven. That gave me just under two hours. Hardly enough time for me, who liked a good cushion of time to work up to whatever I was forced to do. With resignation I turned myself for home.

I’d never been to the Stag’s Head before, but it was your typical pub. It certainly looked not too threatening.

When I finally found it, I hoped I’d worked up enough nerve to get through the evening. I pushed the doors open and wound my way through the packed crowd inside. The yellow light and music and smell of pub food was a good wash over me. It shook me out of my thoughts a little. I did have to admit: it did honestly feel good to be out.

I spotted Ashley through the sea of people and made my way over to her, meekly apologising to those I had to step around. Ashley ducked through a tight spot and took me by the arm. The pressure of her hand sent an almost alien flutter through me. It had been so long since, well, any type of human contact.

‘All right, Mark?’

I grinned. ‘Yeah, great, yeah!’ I actually felt it—a bit.

The pub was playing music I’d never heard before. It filled my insides, vibrated them.

Ashley introduced me to her friends. Two other girls and two blokes. On a first impression Miranda and Kaye were both very lovely, as was Ashley. And Walter and Matt seemed friendly enough.

I ordered a lager and made my way back to the table my small group had claimed. It was all a blur to me. Jokes and talk of work and university and dates. I joined in where I could. Each drink I tipped down my throat loosened me a slightly, shook my nerves away. Things started coming back to me.

In the drone of conversation I gazed across at Ashley, admiring her profile. Funny, in all the time I’d known her I’d never really
looked
at her. The way her soft lips twisted up into that playful smile when she laughed. And her eyes kept drifting my way till at last they caught mine for a second and held them.

A desire long forgotten that I hadn’t expected started to fill me, beginning down at my feet and rolling up. God, she had beautiful eyes. Perhaps it was a blessing I didn’t know what she was looking at. What she saw. What she remembered. My insides twisted at the thought. She must have understood, for she gave me a slight smile and pulled her gaze away. I was jerked back to the present, out of my small island of just me and her.

‘I’m telling you,’ Walter was saying, ‘this technology is going to change—no, revolutionise the world! Nothing will ever be the same again!’

Miranda looked to the ceiling. ‘That’s what they always say.’

Ashley glanced between them, lips twitching in an interested smile.

Walter shook his head. ‘But just imagine the possibilities, Miranda! Early studies have already shown an increase in learning among the test subjects. I’ve heard rumours about what could come after that. For the disabled, do you know what this could mean?’

I frowned and leant over. ‘Sorry, I’ve been a little out of the news, what are you talking about? I just saw a bit of it on the cover of
Metro
this morning.’

Walter gave me an almost sympathetic expression. ‘InVizion Technology—you know, that new tower that seemed to have sprung up out of nowhere several years back? Well they just announced their first product today.’

I shrugged. ‘So what makes it so special?’

Miranda rolled her eyes. ‘They’re promising the moon and stars.’

Walter shot her a trying look. ‘They gave a demonstration today, YouTube broadcasted it live. The device, from what they’ve shown, is going to change everything.’

‘How?’

‘It works with the brain, it actually…integrates with it. With the device, people will be able to do things that were unheard of until now. Do things…
just by thinking about it.’

I stared. ‘By thinking about it? Like what? Telekinesis?’

Walter shrugged. ‘I wouldn’t be surprised! People can process information faster when they read, download things to their mind, like your brain is a computer connected to the internet.’

I shuddered at the idea. ‘That doesn’t sound very pleasant.’

Walter looked dreamy-eyed and tapped the side of his head. ‘Be nice for these bloody implants to finally have a use beyond checking to make sure you’re not overdosing on your meds. I’d say it’s about bloody time some company took advantage of it.’