Life Of A Bitch

11

A few days pass by uneventfully, with me lying low and putting a pause on my bullying. Whatever happened is enough for another few weeks. The locker story reached Mr. Bennet's ears and from what I have gathered from our spies, (or gossipy girls) is that he called Brandon to his office about the matter. Gossipy girls inform us that I am not in trouble as Brandon stated that it was just a rumour.

I am sitting in Mr. Das's class now, staring at my binder. It's filled with calculations and figures and there's hardly any space left for writing on the paper. Still I do what most math whiz students do; start writing in a tiny blank space left at the bottom right corner. I don't have to continue on a fresh page because I know the answer will come correct. If it can be done in this small space, then why waste paper?

I can hear Callaghan and Mr. Das arguing. Well, only her arguing because Mr. Das was reasoning with her as a very liberal parent who would just say, 'Bad, Lucy' to you when you return home late, high on cocaine, drunk and pregnant. Why doesn't he just throw the answer at her face? She is arguing against something which is a proven fact.

Ah. That explains the fifth position.

"But, sir, we've been drawing ray-diagrams in Physics for the last four years," Callaghan says and stomps her feet. "Why were we doing that just to find out inevitably that light is a particle?"

Mr. Das is an extremely liberal man. His teaching and explanations are thorough and could even teach the dumbest of minds but, he doesn't get angered at all. He could go on and on, explaining the same thing hundreds of times until finally, the ass gets it. If I were in his place, even by putting my hatred aside for Callaghan, I would be be strangling her by now.

"Miss Callaghan, I am sure you know-" his voice breaks off in the middle and I look up. He's looking at me, smiling as to say, 'remember my threat?'.

Oh no.

"Perhaps you would better understand if one of your fellow classmates explains it to you." He says, looking at Callaghan. The latter looks at Brandon and shrugs. Brandon gives her a look which probably says 'you are wrong'.

"Miss Lewis," Mr. Das calls out, as I expected. "Please help Miss Callaghan understand this."

Great, Mr. Das. Just great. Placing me against Callaghan? Why hadn't you thought of it before?

I hear a snort. "Sir," Callaghan says, trying to keep the laughter out of her voice, that bitch. "Think again. I presume Brandon would be the best one for this. Or even Arnold or Hannah. But Jennifer?"

"Does she even know what optics is?" I hear a guy whisper at the front. Me not knowing Optics would be something like you not knowing your penis size. Oh sorry, you don't have one.

"Oh that would be far-fetched," a girl says, giggling. "I bet she doesn't even know about Physics."

"She probably thinks it's a device to measure the level of pinkness and glitter in objects."

Pinkness? Pink? Pink is a ghastly colour. Why would I even like it?

Girl, you are wearing a pink blouse, a crimson skirt, pink sneakers and a pink hair tie.

I look down. Oh.

"I have faith in Miss Lewis." Mr. Das states. "She can solve your dilemma within no time."

"Not to be rude, sir," Callaghan says, keeping a straight face. "But I think, she would find it easier to sort out the pretty ones and ugly ones of this class than to separate odd and even numbers within the first hundred numbers."

The whole class bursts into laughter. I feel my cheeks turning red with rage.

This fifth-position thinks she's Sheldon Cooper?

Well, we'll see.

I slide out of my desk, grab my omnipresent Physics pen drive (oh lord, it's pink too?) and march over to the the platform where Mr. Das is standing. He immediately moves out of the platform, as if sensing my motives and and stands near the first desk, folding his arms.

I take a deep breath and look around at the students, who look confused.

Hey, you sure about doing this? There will be serious conse-

Fuck off.

"We have been studying that light is a wave since we started the topic of reflection," I say, rolling out the projection screen and inserting the drive in the computer. "Fine, I agree completely. But now, we're in the third year of high school. Don't you think it's enough time to learn about Higher Physics?"

"Don't you think you should learn basic Physics first?" Callaghan retorts. Some students muffle their laughs.

Why is this nerd so damn confident? Does she even belong to the nerdo-species?

"Fair enough." I say, smiling. "Perhaps if you studied basic Physics well, you would've come first in that nobody-cares Science Competition, instead of fifth."

"What about you?" She growls. "You are probably failing in Physics every year."

"If I had failed, I wouldn't be in this class as you, honey."

"Oh, don't think we don't know about your under the table doings. Or shall we say, under the skirt doings?"

"Miss Callaghan, please take a seat." Mr. Das intervenes before I could crumple her up and throw her into the dustbin. How dare she?

"What does the double slit experiment tell us?" I ask the class.

Callaghan stands up. "The double slit experiment tells us light is a wave, not a particle. When we put a lit torch in front of a barrier with two slits before a photographic plate, instead of two bands of light appearing on the plate, there are multiple bands of light- an interference pattern. This interference pattern occurs only due to the property of waves. So light is a wave. This is an experiment that we did in our junior years. That is exactly-"

"Sh sh," I shush her. "Not so fast. You are forgetting Einstein's discovery in 1905." I play the PowerPoint presentation on the computer.

"When UV light hits a metal surface," I say, glancing across the room. The other half of the students were already on their phones. Doesn't matter, I just want to prove to Callaghan that I am smarter than she is. "It causes an emission of electrons. Einstein explained this by proposing that light- thought to be a wave- is also a stream of particles."

Callaghan stares at me defiantly. "You're just making it up."

I look at Brandon. "Mr. Lancaster, your opinions on this?"

Brandon stares at me, apparently shocked that I know so much about Physics.

"Mr. Lancaster?" Mr. Das prods him.

Brandon frowns and looks at Callaghan. She mouths something to him which I don't get. Brandon shakes his head and stands up.

All the eyes, well, of this who care, are fixed upon Brandon, hoping that he would prove me wrong.

"Sir, Miss Lewis is right." He says, and thus begin the 'what'ing of the nerds. "Einstein definitely proposed the theory of light being both particle and a wave."

"The theory isn't proved," Callaghan argues, still numbed by how I could be correct.

"Miss Callaghan, it is proved." Brandon says. "It kind of forms the basis for Quantum Mechanics."

"If it wasn't proved," I say, smiling again. "The people studying Quantum Mechanics are fools then. Quantum Physics and Classical Physics differ, Miss Callaghan. Just on the basis of insight."

The bell rings just then. "Don't worry, this is not in your course. I was just having fun." Mr. Das says. The cool guys and girls exit the class indifferently. It's the nerds whom I fear; they may release the video of me, the bimbo of the school explaining Quantum Physics to the class any moment.