Alexander "Sasha" Shelby is the most academic of his family. While he possesses an high intelligence, he deliberately wastes time being completely irresponsible. Much to his families disapproval.
(Sasha's P.O.V.) I was strolling around the house as I read about partitioning in mathematics and how to apply it. I heard the front door opening, but didn't look up to see who it was. As I heard the footsteps approach, the book was suddenly snatched from my hands. Looking up immediatly I saw that it had been John. My older brother looked through the book, a typical teasing brother act. "What the hell is this garbadge!" Arthur laughed loudly as he looked over John's shoulder. "Number Partitions" I simply shrugged. "It's not that difficult to be honest. Which is ridiculous, considering they class it as advanced mathamatics". John and Arthur looked at me with suprise. Clearly they did not find it as easy as it was for me. "Well, luckily you are the genius of the family" John snickered. I rolled my eyes at them before watching them leave. "No, wait" I said stopping the two brothers in their tracks. The watched as I approached the blackboard and wiped of a section of the bets, much to their protest. "Number partitioning is something even you two can two can understand" I began and began to explain the basic of it as I wrote down what I was saying. "Lets say that P of 4 euqals 5. Now all that means is there are five ways to add up the number four. Which are-".
I turned around to look at my brothers. A faint hint of understanding. "Seems easy enough" Arthur answered, "yes, if its this simple. I don't see why you should be the only one in academic classes" John joked. "It is simple enough with the small numbers" I said turning to look at the blackboard, "but when you raise the number of P to 100. There are 190 million, 569 thousand and 292 hundred different combinations" I explained and wrote the problem beside the first one. But only showing a few combinations.
"If I would continue to solve that by hand it would take me weeks, and a much bigger chalkboard. But someone did do just that and now thinks he can figure out a formula. Plug in the number, any number, and out comes the number of partition. Like magic. And just like that a 100 page's calculation can be put in one page using a single formula". I turned back around to my brothers. A moment of silence became between us before Arthur spoke. "Are you sure you are a Shelby?". Then Tommy walked into the bettingshop. Stopping for a brief moment to look at the blackboard behind me at the Partitions. Tom turned his attention to me "bit below your level of intelligence, dont you think Sasha" he said and pointed to the board, "couldn't agree more" I replied to him and closed the mathamatics book. "Well, once you have the time, can you take a look at the car?" Tommy said grabbing a packet of cigarettes. "What's wrong with the car?" I asked throwing the book on the table, "breaks, I imagine" Tommy shrugged, "fucking hell" I sneered and immediatly got a move on to the car, "you know there is a person who works on cars for a living, right? Mechanics. Call on them next time there's a problem with the car". "Why would I pay money for something that you also can take care off" Tom said following me to the car. "I'm about to start charging money for my knowledge" I stated as I squatted down to look under the car. I heard Tommy laugh at my comment. It didn't take me long to find out the issue with the car. The brakes simply needed some oil. I crawled from underneath the car and sat upright while cleaning my hands. Then suddenly Tom reached in his coat before flicking a single coin at me. I caught it and looked at it. Chuckling realising he paid for my work. I pocketed the coin and stood up "so why did the car need to be fixed?" I questioned, "we are going to the fair" he replied puffing out a cloud of smoke.
A while later
"I thought you said we were going to the fair?" Arthur asked, "we have business first" Tommy said turning the car off. "Come on. Bring your wits" he said stepping out. "Something none of you posses" I chuckled, but soon felt a smack against the back of my head from Arthur. Which made me laugh like a cheeky kid. "What business?" Arthur asked turning his attention to Tommy, "that's the Lee family" John declared. I looked over the field and spotted the Lee family, just like John had. Soon the familiar voice from Johnny-Dogs loudly yelled out Tommy's name after he had seen us. "Johnny Dogs" Tom greeted back, "Tommy, how the hell are you?" Johnny Dogs asked walking up to us. "All the better for getting the city smoke out of my lungs" he replied. "He's says as he lights a cigarette" I told him and smirk. Johnny Dogs looks at me with a smile "always with the wit, Sasha". "So you riding with the Lee family now. Myself I'd rather live among pigs" Tommy said as we walked away from our car. I saw some lads look up with annoyed faces at Tom's comment. I smirk enjoying jow easily triggered the Lee's got. "Come on, Tommy. No disputing" Johnny replied not wanting to start trouble between the two familes. "So your first fair since France?". "What do you know about France. You war-shy Gypsy bastard" Tommy replied with a chuckle as a white horse walks past us. "So this the horse?" Tommy asked walking up to it and mentioning for me to follow him. "And that's the car" Johnny replies walking to the car. I stop in my tracks. "you aren't swapping the car for a bloody horse?" Arthur loudly asked Tom a bit annoyed. "Of course we are not swapping. Ha. That would be mad" Johnny explained walking back to me. "We're going to play two-up" Tommy said stepping away from the horse. We where far away from our brothers and Johnny-Dogs to hear us properly. So I told Tommy what I thought about two-up "I'm biased with a coin toss". "How so?" He questioned me, "Well, when people flip an ordinary coin, they introduce a small degree of precession or a wobble, in dumb people talk, meaning a change in the direction of the axis of rotation throughout a coin's trajectory. Because of this precession, the coin tends to spend more time in the air with the initial side facing up. And because of that, it has a higher chance of landing on the same side as it started. Which makes a coin flip not quite 50/50, more like 51/49". "So I bet on the side that faces up before the toss to have a bigger chance?" Tommy asked intruiged, "its just 1% more, but every procent counts" I shrugged as we stopped in front of Johnny-Dogs. I watched as Tom grabbing two coins, handing on to Johnny. My brither briefly glanced my direction, before the two of them flicked the coins in the air. The coins landed on the grass and I watched the two males bow down and pick them up. Standing back up they spit in their hands and shake. Tommy hands Johnny the car keys "here you are". Guess my prediction was incorrect or Tommy had just bad luck. "I knew it. I knew it. Tommy you bloody idiot!" Arthur yelled not enjoying we lost the family car for a horse. "Shut up, Arthur. I won" Tommy stated calm. I chuckled of course Tommy wasn't that unlucky, or well, atleast had taken my advice. "I promised Johnny, I'd let him have a spin in the car if he lost" he explained. Suddenly I heard three Lee boys laughing loudly. "Are you Lee boys laughing at my brother?" Tommy asked as he stepped towards them, "Are ya?". The Lee boys also walked forward. "Eh? I asked you a question". "Tommy, it's just a crack" Johnny said quickly stepping in between everyone, "Get your family out of here and go enjoy yourselves at the fair before they start a war" Johnny said before turning to speak in Romani at the Lee boys "go on. Go. They're from good people. Their grandad was a King. A king". "Yeah, but his mother was a diddycoy whore" the Lee on the right snapped back. I stopped dead in my tracks and watched my brothers turn around and looked at the Lee. My hand turning into a clenched fist. Beside me Tommy was also fuming with anger. I watched Tommy grab his peaked cap and swung it at the Lee.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The rest of us also went ahesd to fight. I charged to one of them and tackled him to the ground. Before crawling ontop of him and helding him there. I grabbed my peaked cap and swiped it quickly across his face. The razor blades cuting through the skin. The razors that have been sewed in cutting his face up. It may not have been the best option to start fighting but no one. And I mean no one calls my mother a whore. The screams filled my ears as cutts and punches where dealt out. The scent of blood filled my senses. Eventually I stood up after roughly letting the man go. I out my peaked cap back on and wiped the blood away from my broken nose. Before following my brothers back to the car.
