The Bull. Idiot. Animal. Nathaniel closed his eyes. Then he walked away. Outside, Clara was waiting beside the road.
“You ready, Professor?” Nathaniel looked back at Ravenwood. He thought about the strange creature he had invented to survive—the bent shoulders, wandering eye, broken speech, and foolish smile.
Samuel had never been real. And yet Samuel had endured everything. Nathaniel smiled. “Yes.” He climbed into the wagon.
Years later, Professor Nathaniel Reed stood before a classroom in Philadelphia. On the blackboard behind him were equations complicated enough to silence the room.
A student raised his hand. “Professor Reed?” “Yes?” “Is it true you once fooled an entire plantation into believing you couldn’t count?”
The class laughed. Nathaniel smiled. Then the room became quiet. He picked up a piece of chalk.
“People often see what they expect to see,” he said. “And sometimes their certainty makes them blind to what is standing directly in front of them.”
He turned toward the board. The chalk touched the black surface with a soft click.
Then Nathaniel began to teach.
Disclaimer: This story is entirely fictional and created for entertainment purposes only. It does not represent any organization or individual, nor does it encourage inappropriate behavior. The content was generated with AI assistance.
