Science, the most valuable and powerful force in the world, or so some believe. Of the many people who try to harness this power, many who dabble or work directly with this are called scientists. Many do it for a living; some do it as a hobby, others as an obsession. For those who are not lucky enough to be paid to take part in this they most work privately, and sometimes even secretly. One such person is Alexander O'Hara, though everyone knows him simply as Alex.
Alex is a man whose dedication to science is paramount in his life, but very few suspect just how large a portion of his life is dedicated to it. He is one of the science teachers at Parsons High School in Little Creek, Illinois. He is well liked by the staff for his knowledge and professionalism in his field. Only the school board and the principle know that he has a doctorate in Theoretical Physics and a master's degree in Mechanical Engineering. It was a specific request of his before he had taken the job. Before that he had worked in a government lab in Utah, which to this day remains classified information. This story revolves around one of his inventions as well as two of his students.
It was a lazy afternoon on May 12th, 1996 in Little Creek, Illinois, and Alex's seventh period study hall was spread out across his classroom. They were gathered in groups, talking or reading, a few doing their work for other classes quietly, but Alex was at his desk, in his small cramped office. The air hummed as his two laptops were open, black screens with green lettering ran across them, so quickly that it was nearly impossible to catch more than a word or a small string of numbers. Scattered across his desk were schematics, scribbled notes, and several graph tablets, completely full of sketches and equations. During class, he was attentive and caring for his class, but study hall was his, just as it was theirs. All of the information he had lying around was already retyped, scanned, and stored at his home and in his P.D.A. All of it was kept locked up or hidden from most people's view, except for today, as he still had yet to put it back away.
However, one student, Marshall Hanna knew a little more than the rest. Everyone else's knowledge were little more than guesses, but he had seen it and had talked to Alex about it. It had been an accident. Marshall's mother and father were friends with Alex from back in high school and had graduated together. They had asked him to tutor their son in math since he had always been so good at it. Since it was a personal request, he told them he would, and every other weekend, their son, Marshall, came over on Sunday afternoons to study and learn. It was one of those Sundays that Alex had been to busy to tutor him, and in his excitement, shared what he was doing with his young friend.
Now, although Marshall still receives help from Alex, he also provides it. When necessary or when he asks, he becomes Alex's assistant. However, Marshall was in his English Literature class, and Alex was nose deep in his notebook. That is why, he never even noticed as Alyssa Gates came up and knocked on the door frame to his office, which the door to, was wide open. She was a student in his third period A.P Physics class, and was a bright student, eager to succeed. As students went, she was one teachers enjoyed, she was polite, well spoken, and did her work. Today, she had come in to turn her assignment in before the due date tomorrow. With her free time during lunch she had finished the handout, and like she so often did, had brought it to her teacher to turn in early.
The knock startled him out of his daze as he quickly turned to the door from the computer monitor. It took him a moment to recognize her, but his mind had been on other things. When the realization came, he smiled.
"Ah, hello Ms. Gates, turning in your assignment already, or is there something I can help you with?" he asked kindly.
She politely smiled back and opened up the binder under her arm. "Just the assignment for today. Do you mind if I turn it in?" she asked, just as she always did, even though she knew he would say yes.
"You should full well know by now that I gladly will, but thank you for asking," he replied as he took the paper from her outstretched hand.
She thanked him, but he could see as her eyes drifted to the green screens behind him. As he noticed, he reached behind him, he closed the laptops. When he turned back, she smiled and wished him a good afternoon before leaving his classroom.
I suppose I could have done that more politely, but its better for her not to get involved, he thought to himself as he turned back around and began to flip through his notebook.
As she walked down the hall, she tried to force the green screens of Alex's laptops from her mind. But as all young adults, curiosity got the best of her, and she began coming up with strange ideas. She knew better than to pry, but her interest was sparked. The question was, who could she ask besides Alex? There was always Marshall, he spent enough time in that class, and everyone knew his family was friends with Alex and his, but would that be such a good idea? Then again, she wouldn't see Marshall till the next day and by then the thought would quickly be out of her mind again and filled with thoughts of classes and boys. Being a teenager was just too much more trouble than it was worth.