I spent an hour going over the ledger, looking for any clues or hints about who Len was working for, but I couldn’t find anything, and I eventually put the ledger away for another day. It was late afternoon on Saturday and besides my outing to see Shannon this morning, I’d been cooped up studying for weeks.
Until my teachers packed in some new knowledge to be tested on, I was carefree. I wanted to go out. I wanted to do something. Eva and James were at a family dinner tonight and Bobby was at football practice. Our team had made the playoffs and every game from now on was do or die. Now that exams were over, Coach was filling up all their free time with practices.
I wondered what Mark was up to. Only one way to find out.
He picked up on the third ring, “Hello?”
“Hi Mark! It’s Abby. Are you busy now?”
“Not really. I have a geology exam on Monday, but I’m ready for it. What up?”
“I finished my last mid-term yesterday and I’m too antsy to stay home. I need to get out and everyone is busy.” Oh shit. Why did I say that?
“In nutshell, you’re bored and I’m your last choice.” He didn’t sound upset. I actually think that he was laughing. At me? Ok. Fair enough. I’d earned that.
“That didn’t come out as nice as I’d wanted it to and you’re not so much ‘last’ as the ‘unexpected’ choice.”
“Well, when you put it like that, how can I refuse? What did you have in mind?”
“Nothing. That’s the problem. What do you college people do?”
“Most college students spend Saturday night going to parties, drinking and passing out. You can’t do those things yet, but I do have an idea of something we can do. Do you know where the Roark Library is?”, he asked.
“Sure. I…I go there to do my research.” I was going to say that I was there just before the fire, but I didn’t want to bring that up.
“Can you meet me there, by the front doors, in half an hour?”
After agreeing to meet with him, I headed to my room to change and freshen up, before getting on my bike and heading over to the library. I was really curious to find out what Mark had in mind for tonight. I wasn’t naïve enough to think that it was anything romantic. He was at least four years older than I was and while that wouldn’t matter in ten years, it made was a huge difference now. It was probably illegal for us to get “too intimate”. Being closer in age to his little brother, Connor, probably wouldn’t help either. Not that any of this mattered. I wasn’t looking for Mark to be my boyfriend, just my friend.
I arrived at the library with a few minutes to spare and I locked up my bike. He walked out of the library just as I sat on the bench to wait for him and he joined me. “Hi. Are you ready for a true college experience?”, he asked.
“That’s why I’m here. What are we going to protest? Are we going to march against segregation in our schools, for cleaner water or for free tuition?”
“You do realize that college students do more than that?”
“Sure you do, but you’ve already said that we’re not going to a party, so what else is left?”
“Pretty, brave, and a wisenheimer. You’re the whole package, Abby.”
I grabbed his arm and looked up at him with mock adoration, “Do you really think I’m pretty?” I batted my eyelashes at him.
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He gently pulled away from me, laughing.
“Wait. Did you actually use the word ‘wisenheimer’? How old are you anyways? 90? Should we change your name to Saul and dye your hair white?”
“Abby!”
“Shall I get thee a tonic to ease thine cares? You look parched. I can bring it hither, but you have to make sure not to spill any on your slacks. In sooth, ye should be wary, for I am a rapscallion!”
“Ok, OK. I give up. You win. I concede the crown of snarkiness to you. Now, do you want to sit here and make fun of me all night or do you want to do something interesting?”
I pretended to think about it.
He pulled me up and we started walking.
“What’s the plan?”, I asked.
“Since you’re not going to college, I figured that you should see what it’s like to be a student.”
“That makes no sense at all. Why would I want to see what it’s like, if I’m not going to go?”
“Because that way, you can see what you’re missing. You’ve decided, but you didn’t have all the facts.”
“I don’t think you’ll change my mind, but I’m game. Where are we going?”, I asked.
“You’re going to listen to a lecture and then you’ll have a chance to study.”, he replied with a pleased smirk on his face.
I groaned and five minutes later, I followed him as he walked into the Rearden Geology Centre. I’d passed by the building dozens of times and I’d never even thought about going in. I had to admit though, that it was impressive. The entire first floor was set up like a giant mineral and rock exhibition. Hundreds of rocks, minerals, crystals and gemstones from all over the world were displayed, with spotlights shining on them to show off their best features. Each exhibited item had a plaque describing the specimen and giving information on what it was used for. Offices and classroom lined the perimeter of the exhibit.
As we walked in, Mark switched into tour guide mode and spent the next hour showing me his favorite specimens and telling me all about them. That was the lecture part of his plans and he was really good at it. I’d never really cared for rocks, and I still grouped them all as rocks in my head, but Mark made them interesting. He had passion for this subject, and it showed. It’s hard not to get swept up in someone’s enthusiasm when they love something so much.
At the end of the lecture, we were back at the start of the exhibition and Mark asked me to pick any specimen and he’d list its characteristics and uses. Kind of like a living version of flashcards. This was the studying part. I readily agreed and we started going to various specimens at random. What Mark didn’t realize was that I was studying too. For each sample that I tested him on, I sent my field out and associated the rock or mineral with how the field identified it. That way, I’d have a larger common vocabulary with my field, and I’d know what things were made of when I scanned them. I’d already done this with a bunch of metals at the forge, but now I was adding in all sorts of things that you wouldn’t use in a forge, including gypsum, sandstone, limestone, quartz and all sorts of gemstones. By the time we were done, I could literally identify the specimens with my eyes closed, even if I couldn’t list off all their characteristics like Mark could.
“That’s what it’s like to be in university, Abby. In high school, they force you to learn all these subjects that you’re not interested in. It’s mind numbing to sit in class every day for hours at a time and learn about things that don’t hold your attention and don’t relate to your life or what you want to do with it. In university, you get choose what you’re going to study. You get to follow your interests.”
“Mark, I had a lot of fun tonight, but it wasn’t because of the rocks. It was because you love rocks. Your passion carried me with you. I don’t have that spark of interest that you have for things that come from the earth. I don’t have that intensity for anything that’s taught in a university. Also, most university professors aren’t you. They’ve either lost or never had that spark. Most professors couldn’t hold my attention the way that you just did.”
“Well, you can’t say that I didn’t try and at least I got some studying time in. I was going to come here tomorrow and do this. It was much better having someone to help.”
“Hey, I’m up for human flashcard anytime and I did learn a lot. I really liked those shiny rocks.”
“Those were gemstones.”
“Yeah, shiny rocks! Me like shiny rocks!”
Mark facepalmed and shook his head. “You’re hopeless”, he said. “But if you like shiny rocks, how would you like the chance to find some of your own?”, he asked.
“Really? Where?” I was interested.
“My family goes gemstone mining up near Asheville every year. You pay an admission fee to get into a gemstone mine and you get to keep whatever you find. Connor and Rose love it. We usually go during Spring Break. You’re welcome to come stay with us for a week and join us. Your dad could come too, or you can bring a friend. We have plenty of room for everyone.”
“That sounds awesome. I’ll check with dad and let you know. Uhm, would it be ok if I invited two friends?”