To Love And Be Loved

Chapter 6

"Theoretical physicists are rather typical scientists. If you imagine them as absentminded, egg-headed, bizarre characters scratching their chins while deeply engaged in thought... Well, most of the time you'd be right." A ripple of laughter went through the lecture hall.

"What we do is to try to figure out how nature works. That is, why the stars shine, why water is fluid and the sky is blue, what you are made of and why does it weigh that much, why the universe expands, or what energy and matter actually are. Which brings us to the topic of the day." The bald headed professor stopped to take a sip of water.

Cass leaned in to whisper to Fatima. "Have you ever met someone and wondered if you've seen them somewhere before?"

"Yes," Fatima answered, doodling in her notebook. "Everyday when I look in the mirror."

"C'mon be serious." Cass nudged her.

Fatima chuckled. "No, I haven't. Besides, I have an excellent memory." She flicked open her phone and groaned. "I've got to submit my project in the next thirty minutes."

Fatima had been Cass' best friend for as long as she could remember. She was Hausa, though she could speak about four other languages. She was a bit plus in the weight category, even though she preferred to be called curvy while Cass was flat chested and long legged like a bar stool. Fatima was a good friend. The only friend she'd ever had.

Fatima worked part time as an intern at Aduke and Jones, a fashion house that designed native Nigerian clothing.

"So who's this person you met?" Fatima nudged her leg under the table. "Is he a guy? Is he hot? Does he have a yacht?"

"Is that all you think of? Yachts and hot guys?" asked Cass.

"As long as he as one of the two," said Fatima, tucking a loose braid back into her hijab.

"Well, he was kinda hot in a wolfy kind of way and I don't know if he has a yacht," said Cass.

"Wolfy? What does that even mean?"

"I meant he literally oozed danger and mystery. I won't be surprised if he is actually a boxer or a gangster."

Cass still remembered the guy who'd showed up the coffee shop the previous day. She remembered the arrogant beauty of his face. The confidence in his smile. It was stuck in her head like the after image you got after using a computer for too long.

She'd dreamt about him, even though she couldn't remember the contents of the dream. She had woken up feeling rather weird. She rarely dreamt. She secretly hoped she would see him again.

The professor's voice filtered into her thoughts, jarring her back to reality.

"The origin of the universe. The most popular theory for explaining the origin of the Universe is the Big Bang theory. But many physicists believe that this theory has its shortcomings. As a result, some physicists turned to the Inflationary theory, a theory that covers the shortcomings of the Big Bang theory. Nevertheless, the debate about the origin keeps raging on."

The professor clicked a button on his remote and a bright image appeared on the projector behind him. A huge, bright fireball in all its smoldering orange glory. It painted the dark hall orange.

Fatima snickered. "That looks suspiciously like a movie effect."

"Thou have no faith in the science," said Cass.

"Though the term may sound like the universe began with a giant explosion, many scientists say that's not part of the theory," Professor Bart continued. "An explosion implies that something exploded, or expanded, from one center point outward into space. In fact, the Big Bang theory suggests that space itself expanded." The professor paused. Cass was sure it was for dramatic effect.
"If it were an explosion it would have a center. It's really about an expansion of the universe ."