Amber Lynn [Lynn - Rebound (Washington Senators Book 1)

Fifteen years ago

The buzzer indicating the end of class blared loudly through the room. Willow felt the vibration echo through her body and shivered. Among many things she hated about high school, the annoying screech announcing the end of class stood right around the middle of her list. It couldnt compete with the fact too many people filled the classes and halls, most of whom stared at her openly.

It also didnt compete with the germs and sickness she felt almost vibrating through the air. Willow considered herself a scientist, even if others thought it was just a phase. She wanted to someday work on ridding the world of diseases that took the toll on a persons body and whittled them down to nothing.

Her grandmother had died of one such disease when Willow was six. Willow and her grandmother werent particularly close, as if anyone in her messed-up family could be, but Willow watched as the cancer ate away at her grandmother, and Willows brain flipped a switch and started learning everything she could on the subject of diseases and how to fight them.

Obviously, that may sound a little crazy for someone that young, but Willow never let something like that stand in her way. When she came up with a task, her determination saw it through to the end. In her small lab at home, she already had different compounds she played around with on a daily basis. She wasnt anywhere near ready for clinical testing on anything, or even preclinical, but given another year or so, she thought shed have something to present.

The plan to enroll in a public high school ate into each day she shouldve been home working. She thought the idea of enrolling was completely idiotic from the start, but her parents declared it time for her to socialize and learn how to be around others before heading off to college. At ten, Willow didnt belong in high school, like she hadnt belonged in grade school five years before.

It wasnt her anti-social behavior that made that a fact. It was the pure and simple fact she knew more at ten than every teacher shed come across in the school. And that was a fact.

Take the class she was in as an example. Dr. Anderson had to be one of the smartest teachers in the building, but the idea hed shared about a revelation in the in vitro fertilization process had flaws. Willow hated puzzles with pieces fitting together wrong, which his explanation did, so shed corrected the problems in front of her, announcing them to the class.

Dr. Anderson had at first smiled at the interruption and her corrections, but at some point, his friendly expression changed. Willow had trouble reading people. Her brain told her too many times that the face in front of her didnt really match what the person felt.

Her mother was a prime example of this. Pauline Jamisons face almost never moved. Part of it was thanks to the injections she got to keep wrinkles away, another thing Willow saw as idiotic. But mainly, her mother was just a cold woman who didnt let her emotions show. Willows father had provided the cold description in an argument shed overheard once, and it stuck in her mind.

Willow didnt know if most parents would be proud that their child was considered a prodigy and genius. All she knew was the announcement and the constant weirdness, as they put it, made them unsure what to do with Willow. She didnt mind, at least not most of the time. It usually meant she got to spend more time alone in front of the computer, picking up more for her almost photographic memory to store, or playing with the small lab she had set up in her room.

Miss Jamison, do you mind staying after class for a few moments?

With her books tucked away in her backpack, Willow had been ready to head home for the day. Her driver was probably waiting outside for her. Knowing Mark, probably wasnt necessary, but Willow thought it anyway. The man had been working for her parents for years, and he never missed a drop off or pick up.

Looking up to the front of the room, Willow saw that Dr. Anderson had his back to her, studying the general process of in vitro hed drawn on whiteboard for the class to learn. Hed left parts out of what was on the board, which annoyed Willow, even if hed spoken them aloud. He might as well have put the beginning and ending of a story up there.

The rest of the room had cleared out, as it always did the second the buzzer sounded. She understood the need to be anywhere other than the classroom, but the reality of her smaller body being pushed around in the crowds of teenagers rushing to escape their prison of the day always made her remain a few extra minutes in class.

She walked up to the whiteboard and looked at the scribbles. Dr. Andersons handwriting left a lot to be desired, but Willow really couldnt complain. Whenever she bothered writing things down, generally her thoughts moved so fast that scribbles were all anyone else could see. They always made sense to her, and she supposed that was most important.

You have a brilliant mind, Miss Jamison. Especially for this kind of stuff, which shouldnt be possible at your age.

There were no questions in his words, so Willow didnt bother responding. It annoyed her parents when they wanted to have a conversation and Willow found nothing worth saying on her part. Not that they ever really talked about anything that interested Willow. Maybe if they tried, shed have more to say.

I wish I could study it, he said as he turned to face her. Willows gaze remained on the board, but she saw the movement. I deliberately put holes in the discussion today to see if youd pick up on them.

That statement caught Willows attention. Her head moved slightly to take in his expression. It seemed closed off, but that wasnt unusual for someone dealing with her.

But you went beyond just pointing them out. You brought to my attention the flaws in my hypothesis. I wouldnt expect that from a college student taking this class, let alone a ten-year-old.

His voice remained flat. Much like facial expressions, Willow couldnt always tell the meaning behind a persons words from their voice. Thats why she generally just stayed away from others. Her brain would try to pick up what it had trouble sensing or get caught up on one small aspect and time would float away. Shed stand there immobile thinking things through, while the world around her went on like she didnt exist.

She didnt mind the not existing part, but others did. They could tell she was never fully there in the conversation and annoyance always followed.

Dr. Anderson didnt seem to mind, though. She saw his smile out the corner of her eye as her brain remained focused more on the board in front of her. The idea of creating a life intrigued her. Shed been studying biology long before coming to Dr. Andersons AP class on the subject. She knew all about the normal way to make babies, but the idea of starting the process outside of the body was more her speed.

Youve indicated you want to someday cure diseases. Cure even the deadliest cancers, I believe you said.