Chapter 38
38
t
+25 BONOS
Shaun was a good man. Knowing how much I wanted to see Mr. Holland, he soon found an excuse to invite him out.
“Are you sure you don’t want to join us for a meal?” he asked. He wanted me to meet Mr. Holland openly, but I did not dare.
I felt scared and guilty.
He had probably worked really hard to forget about me ; I didn’t want him to remember how disappointed he was in me or feel regret over what I had turned out to be.
“Don’t overthink it. Mr. Holland has brought you up many times over the past few years. He did sound regretful about you, but I can tell that he still misses you,” Shaun told me. “When a teacher genuinely likes a student, they wouldn’t stay mad for long. Trust me, I’m a teacher now, too.”
After returning from a research institute aboard, Shaun had begun taking on his own students.
I knew that he had only the best intentions for me, but I still declined his kind offer. Apart from gear, I also didn’t know how to face Mr. Holland.
All I wanted was to catch a glimpse of him, to see that he was doing well. That would be enough for me.
Knowing that he would not be able to change my mind, Shaun didn’t press me further.
Soon, Mr. Holland arrived. He looked energetic, and his steps were brisk. I felt relieved to see that.
After discussing academics for a while , Mr. Holland suddenly turned the topic of conversation to me. “Shaun, I remember that it was Emilia who referred you to me. Have you kept in touch with her these past few years? ”
My heart skipped a beat. I tightened my grip on the coffee cup I was holding.
Shaun glanced surreptitiously toward my hiding place before responding calmly, “Why do you ask, sir?”
“Some time ago, I heard some things about her. It seems her relationship with Irvin Sawyer isn’t going well. I was wondering if you might have any news about her,” Mr. Holland said. ” She was a good student in every aspect. It’s just that she was too preoccupied with her love life.
Mr. Holland’s tone was filled with regret.
38
+25 BONOS
“If she had continued developing the AI chip she proposed back then, it might have been completed by now and put into use to advance society in general. She’s truly talented–she shouldn’t have wasted her gift on a man.”
As a passionate scholar, Mr. Holland cherished talent, especially gifted individuals. He had always believed that I would be able to surpass his accomplishments in just a few years, given my talent.
When I had abruptly decided to drop out of university for Irvin, he had been disappointed and angry, so much so that he swore to never see me again.
Yet now, when he heard that I wasn’t doing well, he couldn’t help but worry about me. He wanted me to come back, to live the life I was supposed to have.
The concern in his voice made me tear up. When I thought about the project I had spent over a year researching back then, I felt even more ashamed.
In my second year of university, a classmate of ours had a car accident that affected his nerves, leaving him paralyzed. The doctors said that he would never walk again.
When Mr. Holland brought us all as a group to see him, I felt deeply troubled at seeing this once ambitious and promising student’s life shattered by a single accident.
While helping that classmate, I came across many others in similar situations. Seeing their pain, and that of their families, I couldn’t stop thinking— if only there were something that could replace their damaged nerves, something that could take over their lost functions, they would be able to stand again.
During one experiment, I suddenly found a way that could make my idea come true. I had shared it with Mr. Holland, who was so thrilled that he called me a genius. I had only recently started studying in the field of neuroscience , so it was surprising that I could have such insight.
2/2
30
+25 BONOS