Sorry it's been a while (thanks to dumb crazy finals). DX But I'm not that far from a few more days off such as Thanksgiving, Christmas break, oh, and my birthday (cuz it's during the weekend. Mine isn't that big of a deal). But hopefully this next term will go easy on me and I can write more frequently. Thanks for bearing with me. ;) This chap's gonna be a biggie.

Christmas break had come and gone quickly for our genius. Despite the rationing, the Hawkinsons had a fine Christmas dinner with goods that were saved over the year. As for gifts, Jeffrey received a few books about science, philosophy, mathematics, and a notebook for more formulas. The biggest surprise for everyone was that Mildred had accepted a marriage proposal from a fellow dancer. Nathan was his name, and he worked with her at the small local theater company.

When he left, the parting wasn't as sorrowful as last time. It was good to see Harold and the Weavers again. However, the reality check-in would take some time to get used to. It was the first day back to the big part of reality as he and Harold walked down the hallway towards Professor Hemingway's classroom. A clutter of students either leaned against the walls or stood in the middle in a circle, and very few were alone. Harold lightly grabbed Jeffrey's arm and speed-walked toward his pals.

Jeffrey listened to his acquaintances' conversation with a slight attraction to its topic. It wasn't really of his taste but it did seem interesting. In a short time, he became tired of it and decided to practice his analysis skills by studying the appearances.

He recognized Mary Rogers, an American, by her distinctive shoulder-length blond hair and the habit of chewing gum and blowing bubbles. Kenneth St. James by his traditional white blouse, burgundy sweater vest, and tall height. Thomas Wood by his skinny short stature and his epically failing attempts to flirt with the girls. Poor fellow. Jeffrey thought. The insecure lad stood next to the bespectacled but femme fatale prodigee Bernadette Marks, who stood out not only as a strangely beautiful girl but a beautiful dancer. Jack Kendall by the horde of girls around him as he talked about the thrills of his American past. A young woman with blonde wavy hair, he analyzed, under his left arm really didn't seem to be interested any longer in the conversation. She shrugged her shoulders and slithered backwards from the embrace.

"Hey, baby!" He called as soon as he felt nothing at his side. "Where are ya headin'?"

Jeffrey couldn't hear her reply courtesy of the bustling hallway but instantly recognized the girl when she turned around. Blond hair and brown eyes, he took note.

She rolled her eyes and muttered something. Sometimes, a very observant person could swear he could be a jerk sometimes. Dratted scoundrel. She thought, her fingers digging into her palm in two fists. She sighed heavily through gritted teeth before glancing at the classmates around her. Charlotte's spirits raised as she flashed a grin and gently waved at a young man she recognized. She got away from the cluster and speed-walked towards him.

"And how are we today?" She asked him, adjusting to her secondary British accent.

"I'm doing quite fine, better than I expected." He replied.

"Adapting back to school, eh?" She guessed.

"Sounds like it." He chuckled. "How's your world?"

"Alright, I guess." She shrugged, making her resting golden locks jump. "Nothing really new."

"Sorry to hear that." He paused. "My older sister accepted a marriage proposal, which was indeed a Christmas surprise for the family."

"Well, congratulations. Since Joseph died, it's been just me for the past few years." She smiled. He didn't respond but was noticed on staring at the blond American boy at the other end of the hallway. "What?"

"Nothing." He switched back and forth from a full glare to a raised eyebrow. "It's just that...the way he's acting with all those poor girls. They surround him like candy, which as you probably know is a rarity."

Charlotte didn't want to make Jack look bad, even though he could be careless at times. "You should know that all Americans aren't bad. What about the States' President Roosevelt? He helped England during the War."

"I know that well. I...I just haven't had a good past with the ones I've met. Not against Americans in Hemingway's class at all. Even when my colleagues and I thought you were one of them. You seem too genuine to be one of them."

"Genuine? Really? Wow...Thanks." Poor girl. She had no idea what to say. An unsure smile grew on his face as he confirmed his words with a courteous nod.

"I would've said the same about the Germans," She resumed the subject. "But something changed. Shortly after the war, about a year or two, a brother and his little sister moved from Germany. They may have been from a country with wicked people living and dictating there but they were some of the sweetest people I have known."

"You don't say?"

"I do say."

Professor Hemingway opened his classroom door, and the students began pouring in like milk from a bottle. One could swear that a body guard team's worth of girls escorted Jack to the room. Jeffrey and Charlotte went with the flow of the crowd. Charlotte winked as she whispered, "We'll talk more later."

True. When I used to live in an apartment when I was 7/8, one of my neighbors was an elderly lady who was a teenager in Germany during World War II. She's dead now, but hearing a smidge of her story there at that time was pretty interesting. Sad, but interesting. And yes, she was sweet. Okay, moving on...

"Whoo!" Charlotte sighed, leaning against the wall. "Glad that's over with." She looked at a blank but wide-eyed Jeffrey. "Not that I don't like dance class." She chuckled.

"I know what you mean at times." He sympathized. "Are you doing anything later on today?"
"I don't know. My dormmates are having a bit of a reunion just for the sake of it. I've decided to be on my own for a while today being as I don't like being around lots of strangers as it is."

"I'm sorry. I really don't have much on my hands either. The family I'm staying with is visiting some relatives for the day, and it's just me right now." Charlotte lightly raised an eyebrow. From she experienced, she thought the British were more of the "mi casa es su casa" type. "Don't worry. They gave me the option to go or stay."

"Okay, good. What were you thinking of doing? All that I can think of is out of the question."

"Well, I can't really think of anything pleasant that I can afford. I'm sorry, Charlotte."

"Let's see, I never had a dog..." Charlotte thought aloud, warm air flowing from her mouth in the cold. "I never really caught onto my brother's hobby of stamp collecting, but I have always enjoyed photography." She pulled out a picture of herself and Allison outside their dorm building. Both girls grinned widely, partly for the fun of it and being strangely hyper at the moment.

"Allison Hardy. She's a nice girl. We went to school together for about two years." Jeffrey noted, smiling. "For a long time, I've been fond of finding different ways to work with numbers. Like adding eight to a number you have. You subtract two from the first digit and then add one to the second digit."

As it turned out, the two classmates decided to take a stroll around the campus. A light layer of snow lay on the ground. "Fourteen plus eight...twenty-two...wow; you're right. Any more?"

"Let's see...to get from one square number to the next, try this. Take the square root of your first number, for an example, let's use five, the square root of twenty-five. Multiply five by two, ten, and add one, eleven. Then you add eleven to twenty five."

"Thirty-six. Smart!

"Thanks much. I figured those two out when I was somewhere in between twelve and fifteen. Right before I decided to go onto more complex mathematics." Charlotte whistled in exclamation, which made him chuckle. "With the rationing of paper, I had to learn to write small and even in the middle of the blueprints."

"Mum would've encouraged me to keep a diary to record my life, so I can see what you mean. It would've worked the day we found out about my brother's fate, but that moment's too clear in the mind of yours truly to forget. I don't know how I'll ever be able to forget." She sighed, a gloomy look on her face, and looked at him. "Sorry."

"Don't be." He spoke sympathetically. He looked into her slightly damp brown eyes with a pair of gentle blue eyes. "I can't say I've been in the situation you've been, but I am sorry."

She smiled and wiped the new little tears from her eyes. She looked at the plain wristwatch she wore. "It's getting close to dinner time, so I guess I'd better get going."

"See you tomorrow, Charlotte. I hope to catch you some soon." She may have not told the British genius this, but she believed she had never met anyone like this chap.

Too genuine. Too genuine to be one of them. The Americans, well, most of them, were a bit brash and even rude at times. According to Jeffrey's view, this bright young woman was too wonderful to be a member of this crude race. He watched her time and time again with the seemingly flighty school girls along Jack Kendall's side like chorus girls in a Broadway show. If she wasn't one of them, then why she was of the many girls clinging to this American brute? Yes, they danced together and all that jazz, but why? Jeffrey danced with a girl throughout the majority of his classes, and neither of the two had feelings for each other. As much of a genius as he was, it was pretty difficult to solve this mystery.