His invitation was a peace offering, an indication of his trust in her and respect for her ideas. Nina pondered that night as she studied whether or not to accept it, if it would be too easy an admission of interest or would at last permit her to approach their level of intimacy. She had been jealous of Bell for months, envying his long hours with Walter in deep discussion, finding her own friends lacked such qualities of intense thought. She chewed on the end of her pencil and glanced at the clock, its hands poised at a quarter past nine. Whenever she did go out on weekends it was about this time that both of them turned up, retreating into a haze of smoke in the back of the bar. Making a decision, she slammed her book shut and shoved her notes into her book bag. As she swiveled around in her chair, Lauren said, "You? Coming out of your books? Do you have a date or has the world come to an end?"
"Neither one, but I cannot concentrate with you snapping your gum." Nina hated her roommate; a mindless twat more interested in seducing her professors than putting any real effort into good grades. She had pleaded for a transfer but all the rooms were full this semester, so for the time being she was stuck.
Lauren rolled her eyes and snapped her gum extra loud as Nina left, shutting the door behind her and darting down the back staircase, avoiding two classmates making out in a corner and one who had clearly been smoking marijuana and was now staring in abstract fascination at the ceiling tiles. The open air was a welcome relief after the stuffiness of the dorms and her pace increased as excitement raged within her. Butterflies increased in her stomach as she crossed the street to the bar. She had never been wanted anywhere; she was too smart for most of the girls at her previous schools and the boys had not cared to be shown up by her. Walter had been her first true friend but even so, had left her out whenever William Bell was around. But now she had been asked to be one of them, to share in their serious conversations and voice her opinion in their arguments, and not by Walter, but by Bell. Somehow, that felt significant.
The bar was crowded as usual. She kept her head down so no one she knew would see her, skirting the larger tables and trying to remain calm as she approached the back. Their usual booth was empty and she felt a pang of disappointment before a familiar, sensual voice said over her shoulder, "You came. I hoped you would."
Bell removed the strap of her book bag from her shoulder and offered to take her coat. Nina took it off and allowed him to toss it in the far corner of the booth, tugging on the sleeves of her sweater and wishing she had worn something less dour. She seemed to only wear black and gray and suddenly realized he did too. It suited him. She slid into the booth and he sat across from her, indicating to the waitress that she was wanted.
"Nina?" he asked.
"Something light," she said, "I'm not much of a drinker."
The faintest hint of approval flashed through his eyes and he ordered for them. "I am not either," he confessed. "It numbs the mind and unlike Walter, I never find that helpful." Leaning back against the stiff, padded seat, his eyes took on a faint warm glow from the single lamp hanging overhead. "He should be here soon; he never sulks long."
"I take it you have not spoken since your argument this morning," she remarked.
"No, which is not unusual; sometimes we don't speak for days, even when working together."
He seemed to find it amusing rather than irritating and she liked that about him.
Their drinks arrived and she was glad, for it gave her something to do with her hands. Bell studied her, the noise of their surroundings retreating into the background. Presently, he said, "The first time you entered my classroom I knew you had potential and stood out from the other students. You were the only one willing to risk arguing with me and jeopardizing their grade simply to put forth a unique concept. And your theories on quantum physics were remarkable. But I must admit, my very first impression was your hair."
"Ah, yes, well, I fear not much can be done about it, although I do seem to be the only one in the family who has it." Her smile was genuine as she sipped her drink, aware that her foot was very near his under the table. "My mother always said my great, great grandfather had red hair but I am the first of the Sharps to exhibit it."
It was long and thick, loose about her shoulders and of a most unusual color. People often thought she dyed it.
Tapping his fingers on the table, he said, "I have a theory about intelligence and certain hair colors. Yours is… very unusual."
"Does it assist or hinder your theory?"
"Both." The corners of his eyes twinkled and shifted focus, catching sight of Walter making his way toward them. Nina watched the two men greet one another, a kind of affectionate contempt apparent between them as she took the cherry out of her drink.
Walter did not appear startled at finding her there, merely removed his coat and slid in beside her. "What did you think of our research?"
"It is very interesting and certainly probable, but I have not yet discerned what variables prevent the machine from working. Give me time."
Glancing across at his friend, Walter said, "Bellie believes we should not tamper with time. He must believe my intention is to change some incident in history and thus threaten our modern world."
Rather than respond, Bell crossed his arms and remained silent.
Nina looked from one to the other. "There is a certain danger in it," she admitted. "One might step on a butterfly and cause one variable to collapse into another, altering time as we know it. There is no end to the potential for good, but in doing so we might …"
"Tear a hole in the fabric of time," Bell supplied. "That is what I told him this morning."
"But is it not worth the risk?" Walter demanded. "Imagine the possibilities and what could be learned from it! To speak with Einstein or meet Tesla! To explore the greatest scientific minds of the past and learn from them first hand! What we know now is a mere speck in comparison to the vast secrets of previous superior generations! History is full of remarkable men, philosophers and mathematicians, tyrants and saints… if we do not tamper, then nothing will change! It is possible to visit the past and not leave a mark on it, but first we must master time itself! This was your idea, Bellie! Will you deny this chance when we are so near to making it possible?"
Uncrossing his arms, Bell leaned across the table and lowered his voice. "I did not say I would not do it. I am as intrigued with the idea as you are, but we must be careful. Tampering with time has the potential to destroy our universe. We cannot bend it to our own will; we risk creating cracks in the very framework of our world."
They scowled at one another. Nina emerged from her corner, drawing their attention as she said, "Your theories about the alternative universe… what do you believe exists on the other side?"
Reducing the furrow in his brow, Bell answered, "Duplicates; replicas of everything on this side but in varied form, since it stands to reason that alternative events would transpire. It would be foolish to assume we are carbon copies of one another, thus in the other world there would be significant but subtle differences."
"Differences, yes, but not in personalities, merely in life experiences," Walter argued. "It is safe to assume our genetics are the same, and as such our clarity of thought. It is even probable to believe many of the same conclusions are formed, that it is possible in the other universe, our replicas are engaged in a similar debate."
"Or the thought has not crossed their mind at all," Bell remarked. "They may not even know one another."
An awkward silence followed in which Nina half expected a mean-spirited retort, but Walter quietly said, "That would be a great shame." He caught her expression and his own softened as he placed his hand on hers. "Oh, dear, Nina… you must not be put off by our quarreling. William and I are quite fond of one another; you see, arguing and challenging one another, it stretches our minds."
"And our patience," Bell added with a smirk.
"That is indeed true," William laughed.
Their glasses were empty and in need of refilling. One of the waitresses came over to attend to it. Nina was more comfortable now that she'd had something to drink and her eyes wandered to the man across the booth. Bell had an unusual air about him that commanded respect, but she had discovered more to him than she first thought. Now that she had a glimpse into his thought process, all her initial conclusions about him as being distant and evasive faded, for he was in fact polite and considerate, more so than Walter, who was very driven and single-minded. It was Bell who stayed with her once Walter decided it was time to leave; he had come up with an idea and rushed off to apply it at his lab, leaving them with the bill and Nina holding her own coat.
Taking it from her and assisting her with it, Bell said, "That is our Walter."
His use of "our" caused her a feeling of affection and she said, "Yes, it is."
"I'll walk you, if you don't mind."
She nodded and accompanied him out into the night air. It was dark apart from the street lamps and the walk back to the dorms relatively peaceful, for it was late enough that most of the students had retired. They did not hurry, enjoying the faint hues of the night sky above the city lights. "You cannot see the stars from here," she said regretfully, "not like in the country."
"I thought you might have grown up in the country; you have a certain …" Feeling her looking at him, he returned her glance, "… idealism about you that city life robs us of entirely."
"Then you are not an idealist?" She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and kicked some leaves out of the way.
"I am a realist. I look at problems and the logical conclusions. But our world needs idealists to keep realists sane."
Placing her hands in her pockets, Nina was quiet for a moment and then said, "This morning I was unkind in my suggestion that you would use Walter to your own ends. I'm sorry. I can see that you respect him very much."
The dorm loomed before them and he paused not too far from the foot of the stairs. Nina went up several steps and turned back to bid him goodnight. He watched two of her classmates go in behind her, laughing as they helped one another down the hall, clearly intoxicated. "I regret that I cannot speak to you differently in public on campus but it is better if no one is aware of our experiments. I trust you will not hold indifference against me, for I assure you it is not meant viciously, merely to preserve my reputation."
"I understand." Nina smiled at him, a hint of deviousness in her as she added, "And just so no one suspects, I will not hesitate to contradict you in class if I think your reasoning is faulty."
His eyebrows shot up and amusement surfaced in his tone as he said, "I would expect nothing less. Goodnight, Nina." He stuck out his hand.
"Goodnight, William."
Retreating with the tingle of his fingers still warm against her sleeve, Nina looked back as she entered the dorm and found him gone.