Yeah, I realize I'm a lame writer. And a lame puzzler. IGNORE MY LAME PUZZLE IN THIS CHAPTER.

CHAPTER 2: EN ROUTE

Summer blazed on as an unusually hot September wind swept through the window, ruffling papers tacked to the bulletin board and brushing a few off of desks. Laura sat with her chin in her hands, reading "End of Summer Luncheon! Bring a treat and join your classmates in wishing the summer farewell with food and fun" on several of the papers as they fluttered, wondering whether she should bring something fruity or chocolatey. She knew what she preferred, but…

The girls in front of her giggled loudly at somebody's joke, breaking her from her food reverie. Not one to dabble in chit-chat, she struggled to find something else in the room that she could pin her eyes to without appearing ditzy and like a daydreamer. To be lost in one's own thoughts was seen as more of a weakness than a boon, and she tried her best to appear observant and concerned in her surroundings, although she could do so, as well as be wrapped in thought. Her eyes settled on the door, soon to be opened by a visiting professor from the university in the city. Nothing new happening, but that didn't seem to bother anyone except her.

'I can't wait until graduation… Still a four years' wait…'

Broken from a daydream for a second time, Laura straightened herself along with the rest of the girls as the door slowly opened into the room, the headmaster cascading through the doorway. He was smiling and jovial as usual, even more so with a visiting professor in his caped wake. He waved to the class, greeting them but not waiting for the reply, finally leading the new teacher to the desk.

"Good morning, girls. May I introduce to you Professor Hershel Layton from Gressenheller University. He will be teaching elective archaeology this semester, and hopefully next semester as well." Professor Layton smiled warmly, tipping his wool cap forward slightly. "Please welcome him with rapt attention and your eagerness to learn." He turned to his new staff member, mumbled some words, smiled to the class once more, and left. The door shut with a click.

Professor Layton opened his briefcase on the desk, his eyes fixed on the students. "Well, hello, ladies. Headmaster Ginlade greeted you just a few moments ago as girls, but you look like a group of intelligent young women eager to learn. It seems he's underestimated you. You'll find I will do quite the opposite." Laura heard a couple girls in the very front row stifle low giggles. She estimated that the group would be vying to become teacher's pet within a week's time.

The professor leaned against the front of his desk and placed his palms on the surface, gripping the edge. He never removed his hat, nor his smile. "So. Welcome to Modern Archaeological Scholarship class. We'll be covering topics in recent findings in archaeology quite extensively, as well as some in-depth study of the history surrounding the places of these findings." His voice was quiet and calm, English accent lacing his words delicately. He was noticeably comfortable even though it was his first day. He made little to no actions with his body, but was obviously running marathons in his mind as he prepared what to say. "Any objections?"

The class shook their heads in unison, a few muttering an audible 'No'.

"Good. Then let's start! Chapter 1 in your books looks rather dull, doesn't it? I took the liberty of reading the entire text last evening, I hope you don't mind us neglecting it for the time being…" Several girls looked to their neighbors and smiled, whispering to each other as the Professor turned and walked to the board.

"Seems as if I picked the right course then, Laura," a girl named Millie muttered. "No book, and such a gentleman! I think I'm already quite infatuated with him…"

"Oh, Millie, he has to be at least close to double our age, what with his knowledge and background! And we've barely heard him speak…" Laura tried to reason. "I mean, he-"

"He's brilliant! Look at him!" Millie hissed. "Sharp and stunning, yet demure as hell. I wonder if he's seeing someone…"

"Surely married, with children somewhere. Or has his head buried in too many books most of the time to bother with such things anyway," Laura whispered matter-of-factly.

"You'd surely know of that sort of thing, wouldn't you?" Millie retorted, displeased that she couldn't get her sentiments returned. "I'm sure he's…" Laura blatantly ignored her friend as the Professor began speaking on something about Egypt or Rome, or was it South America? She didn't really care. The class was an elective, and had nothing to do with what she wanted to accomplish. The reading would be done casually and the papers in a similar fashion. She checked the clock in the front of the room: 11:30. Only half an hour until lunch.

The rest of the class was engaged and interested, judging by the laughs and responses of the other girls, but Laura sat quietly, counting wall bricks or how many times the girls in the front unabashedly flirted with their new teacher. Whichever one, she lost count. No matter how hard she tried to listen, the warm wind and the buzz of the outdoors caught her interest instead; the hard desk chair and cold cinderblock walls were hardly conducive to her learning. Just as she was succumbing to dozing, Professor Layton clapped his hands together and erased everything he had previously written on the chalkboard. Apparently, Laura had been trying to keep herself awake for 20 minutes, as the clock now read 11:50.

"Time for a puzzle, ladies. I'll occasionally give you these to test your mental abilities and keep them sharp! It's important for a blossoming young woman to be able to reason and use logic. That's all these puzzles test you on, so don't panic." He laughed lightly at a few girls who had groaned. "Not puzzle fans, I take it…"

He wrote a story problem on the board, complete with a simple diagram to help visualize the concept. "Now then! Ladies, please write this down on a piece of paper, and try to solve. Don't think too hard! It's much easier than it looks."

Laura could tell even before reading through the puzzle that three-fourths of the class was struggling to come to terms with the new work in front of them. It was as if the excitement of a charming, new professor was drained from them completely, instantly. Before she even considered the puzzle she wrote it down, lest she not finish it before class, and have to take it home. Millie poked her shoulder.

"What is this? Do you have any clue about this? I hate maths problems…"

Laura studied the words and picture intently, feeling that it really was easier than it looked. 'Tom starts at point A and needs to get to point B.' Okay, fair enough. 'He walks a distance x on the first day, and each subsequent day walks half of the distance covered the day prior.' What a lazy man… 'If Tom walks 5 miles the first day and point B is 100 miles from point A, how many days will it take Tom to arrive at his destination?'

She was good at mathematics in general, but wondered if this really required to be worked out heavily. Could this professor really expect everyone in the class to be at the same mathematic level? She divided 5 by 2, added the two numbers together, and continued the pattern until… She looked at Millie and how she was progressing. She was up to 10 days' time in the sequence.

"I can't do this anymore…" she moaned. "I'll be in here forever! This Tom character barely moves, the lazy sod!" The rest of the class seemed to share the same sentiment. Professor Layton was gazing at his pocket watch while Laura sat quietly, staring into space, trying to figure out the little annoyance in front of her.

"Time's up, ladies," Professor Layton said quietly, standing up from his desk chair. "Has anyone an answer?"

"He barely gets anywhere!" Clara shouted. She sat in the front row and had been swooning only minutes ago but seemed to be in distress over the riddle. "It's going to take him 10 years at least, I'm thinking!"

"Is that so?" the Professor questioned, smiling. "Anyone come up with another time estimate?" Several girls offered their number estimates before the clock read 12:00, but none impressed the Professor much. "Well, you can take the puzzle home and see if you can solve it with more time. Poor Tom takes his time, doesn't he?"

Laura packed her things slowly, waiting for the others to file into the hall. Millie looked at her curiously. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I just have a question of the professor. You can go ahead. I'll find you outside for lunch." She followed Millie to the front of the room but stopped at the desk. Professor Layton was returning papers into his briefcase which was already stuffed with books and folders with different markings on them. She cleared her throat. "Excuse me, Professor Layton. I think I may have the answer."

He looked up calmly, the same look plastered across his face. It must be hard to fake that expression and appear as a gentleman, Laura thought.

"Please share. I was hoping someone would have gotten it, but…"

"He never gets there."

"And what makes you think that, Miss… I apologize, I haven't memorized the class roster just yet but…"

"Laura. My name is Laura," she said with a quick smile. "Well, the distance just continues dividing by two. It gets smaller and smaller, but Tom will never get to zero, or, his destination. It's much like an asymptote in mathematics. He will get obscenely close, but will never quite touch."

Professor Layton threw his head back slightly and laughed, putting Laura off guard with his change in demeanor. "A most thorough explanation! Well, you are correct, Miss Laura. I do say, I wonder if you'll still be the only one to have solved this puzzle by tomorrow morning. We'll find out tomorrow, shall we?"

Laura smiled. "Yes. Thank you, Professor." She accepted another of his smiles and left the room.