The Doctor Will See You Now

Mathematics

I spent the early morning giving Belinda a much needed clean and you could once again see the beautiful fluorescent green stripes that ran along her hood.....I had given Lavendar a lift to work and after giving her a kiss on the cheek we went our separate ways.

As I was about to go and head toward the staff room I was apprehended by the Principal who I later discovered was named Catherine.

"Thanks for taking the assignment.....I didn't want to have to cancel the class"

"Cancel it?"

"Yes.......without a fully qualified teacher there could be no lesson but then I realised you were a second in mathematics and the natural choice"

"I am happy to help"

"Here is a copy of the student list, I think you will see that the majority of the girls from your Biology class are also in the Mathematics.........yesterday I started the class and announced the semester project, all groups have been arranged with pairs too.....I know you maybe wanted to do this but if it turned out that you declined the invitation then I would have a further problem"

"But Catherine, if the class was cancelled then the project would be a waste of time"

"It wasn't going to get cancelled"

I looked at her and smiled, this lesson was arranged for me and all I had to do was make sure that the students clicked with me.....fortunately as she said I had the majority of them in both lessons and that included the bridges sisters.

I took leave of her and walked down to the lecture theatre...this University was equipped with three and so I was happy to be able to use one for such an important class.....I arrived, took a deep breath and walked inside.

It was like being back at school and the noise level was deafening but I let them get on with it and instead put my books down on the desk and then turned on the projector and got ready for class.

I turned to speak and it immediately went quiet.

"Good Morning class, most of you will know me already but for those that don't I am Miss Johannsen and I teach Biology but this is my second subject........this does of course mean that I won't know everything so please prompt me if I do miss anything"

I looked around the room and recognised most of the faces.

"The Principal has informed me that the semester project has been assigned to you all and that groups have been arranged.....as I do not have the information could I please ask each of you to write your name and your partner on this paper"

I looked up to see Jessica with her hand up.

"Yes Jessica........how may I help you?"

"Everyone is sat next to their assigned partner"

So from my vantage point I could see that her partner was.......Maria Carter.......this was not good news and I observed them through the course of the lesson, chatting, giggling and generally being happy in each other's company.

"Jessica.......at the end of the lesson can I see you for a few minutes"

"No problem Miss Johannsen"

"Now everyone....as I know your names, you may call me by my first name and for those of you who don't know me it's quite unusual......my name is Elixir"

We spent the first lesson much like the one in Biology and went through the course information and I got a chance to explain to everyone exactly what the semester project involved.

"Now students......this university is planning to do a number of 'firsts' and it is hoped that this project is successful that we can present our finding to the University final and match our skills against some of the usual high brains.........this year's project is to take a mathematical theorem and dissect it.......find the pro and cons of the original and then organise a theorem that shows it in today's reality"

I watched as the majority of the class groaned, that wasn't the answer I was expecting........should be a fun semester.