Smarter (an Ell Donsaii story #2) Read Free

trying to figure college out.”
    “Well he’s the principal now and asked me if you’d be willing to give the commencement address for the high school graduation?”
    “Accch! I’m still a year younger than a lot of the graduates! They aren’t going to want to hear me talk!”
    “Believe me, no one thinks much about your age. You are much too famous for anyone to focus on whether you are ‘old enough.’ He said it would mean a lot to the school. You’re by far their best known graduate.”
    “I didn’t even graduate! I left after my junior year. Besides, isn’t graduation in just a couple more days?”
    “Saturday. They have another speaker who’s agreed to step aside if you’re willing.”
    “What would I talk about?”
    “Tell them about gymnastics and winning the gold medals, that’s what they’re most interested in.”
    “But you and I know that I’m a freak. I can’t just tell them that gymnastics is easy for me.”
    “Talk to them about physics then.”
    “They’ll die of boredom.” Ell threw her head back on the headrest with a moan. “Let me think about it for a moment.”
    “And…”
    “And what? You’re not going to spring another speech on me are you?”
    “No. But Jake… Well, you know how you and Jake have never gotten along? But he got to be such a big fan of yours when you were in the Olympics. And now he’s just dying to do something to make it up to you for how he behaved in the past. He’s been working hard on something for you all this last week. I don’t know what it is, but I hope you’ll give him a chance with it?”
    “Oh Mom. I don’t know. Just hearing his name brings a picture back to mind of that condescending sneer …”
    “Please, for me?”
    “Well you love him and he is my step-dad, so I’ll cut him some slack. Not very much though. I just can’t picture him giving up his old ways.”
    “Try to be nice. He might even help finance those interview trips you’re worried about.”
    “Well, that actually would be nice.”
     
    ***
     
    Ell’s heart started pounding while Mr. Mandal gave her a glowing introduction. To her dismay he focused on her gymnastic gold medals and her subsequent role stopping the terrorist plot to derail the Olympics. Ell had hoped that as an educator he would concentrate on her academic achievements and at least mention her physics paper since that was what she intended to talk about. She stood and, trembling like a leaf inside, slowly walked to the podium. Staring out over the gymnasium full of people she thought wonderingly to herself that neither competing in the Olympics nor facing terrorists had made her this tremulous. There was just something terrifying about public speaking, especially to a group of her peers. She grimaced; they were going to hate her topic.
    Her fear went unrecognized by the audience who only saw a very attractive, slender, strawberry blond young woman in a black pantsuit get up from her seat and walk, apparently confidently, across the stage to the podium.
    She stood silently at the microphone several long moments, wondering if she actually had the courage to give this talk. People shifted in their seats. Finally, she cleared her throat, “I suspect… that you want to hear about winning Olympic gymnastic medals.” she said weakly, then cleared her throat again and with more strength said, “Or that you want to hear about what it was like to be in that room with the terrorists.
    “OK…
    “The first was exhilarating, the second was terrifying…”
    Ell paused. At first scattered chuckles, then a full throated laugh swept the audience. “Now that that’s out of the way, let me tell you about something much more interesting. At least to me.
    “Young’s double slit experiment is one of the most elegant and exciting phenomena in all of physics and something that I lay awake at night thinking about. I think you should all be puzzled by it too, so I’m going to briefly explain it to you. If you