"tried"
15 minutes, 398 words
There weren't many things Charles Edward Eppes, PhD, tenured professor at the prestigious California Institute of Science, had tried and failed at. Professionally at least. He had a near miss when Marshall Penfield had challenged his Eppes Convergence, but he had managed to find a solution to the error Penfield had discovered. He had attempted – twice --- to solve P vs NP, and had failed both times. But while that was a professional failure, strictly speaking, it was more of a personal failure. Even now, several years after the last aborted attempt, he wasn't convinced he had had any serious hope of solving P vs NP. Looking back, he could see that he immersed himself in the unsolvable problem to avoid the unsolvable problems of life. He had more chance of solving P vs NP than he had of preventing his mother from dying of cancer, or keeping his brother safe. But he had tried and failed both times.
His personal life was another story altogether. He had tried to make a lasting relationship with Susan Berry. He had failed at that twice. Just like P vs NP. His first attempt at taking Amita on a non-math date had been a miserable failure. But they had managed to rescue that situation when they realized that math was a part of who they were, and attempting to craft a relationship without their math would be like trying to walk without feet.
He had tried to master the game of golf. Of course he had failed, but he had succeeded at finding something he and his father could do together. If he could keep his temper under control, he could count golf as a success.
But now he had to really step out of his comfort zone and try something truly different. His chances of failure were great. But at least he could look back and say he had tried his best. He looked to Larry for reassurance. His mentor nodded, smiling. "You can do it, Charles."
"Larry, I'm not so sure."
"Charles, you know the math inside and out. All you have to do is explain it in your own inimitable way."
Charlie sighed and stepped through the door. Mrs. Gilbert's seventh grade math students stopped yelling, dancing and arguing to look up at the newcomer. "Good morning," Charlie said. "I'm Dr. Eppes. I'll be your substitute teacher today..."