The Sapphire Ring Of Destiny

Chapter 6: Mysteries

The next day at school, Sophie mistakenly carried her ring to school.
She heard her mother’s call for breakfast as she awoke from her slumber. Afraid of the discovery of her secret ring by her mother, she rushed for her school bag and hid it there. Immediately after doing this, her mother entered the room.

‘Sweetheart, is everything alright?’ Sophie’s mother questioned with a raised eyebrow that stared at the school bag of Sophie which was resting on her daughter’s laps.
‘Good morning, mum. Of course, I’m alright.’
‘Are you sure? You panicked as I entered your room.’ Melissa said as she sat at the edge of the bed.

‘Yes mum. I’m just a little bit nervous and tired from the campaign.’
‘Tired! Even after a long, good sleep? Don’t you know you are running late?’
Sophie glanced at the wall-clock. ‘Oh my God, it is already past seven!’ she cried.

‘Alright go freshen up while I pack your stuffs and help you tidy up your room.’ Melissa said reaching out for Sophie’s school bag but Sophie held onto it.
‘Thanks mum, but I’ve already packed my stuffs and don’t bother tidying my room for me. I’ll do that as soon as I get back from school. Sophie responded as she got off from her bed.

‘You’ll just be tired again when you get back from school. Anyways, go and get ready for school.’ Sophie mother said still in the room while Sophie left to take her bath.

When Sophie arrived at school, she saw many students flocking with Gwendolyn, the new girl. They all followed her like sheep responding to their shepherd. Robin and her cohorts sat in class discussing the new girl. Evidently, they had some concern with Gwendolyn’s meteoric popularity.

Sophie was pulling out her Mathematics textbook when the blue ring fell to the ground. She had forgotten that it was still in her bag. She placed her textbook on her desk, got out from her chair and bent down to pick it up.

‘What are you doing?’ Sophie’s friend, Constance who sat behind Sophie in her own separate desk queried.
‘I’m just picking this up. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about it but don’t worry, after class, I will.’ Sophie replied picking the ring up from the ground.

‘Miss Eneda, is there any problem? You appear to be looking for something on the ground.’ Mr Bearing said.
‘No― I mean yes... but not to bother, I’ve already found it, sir.’ Sophie replied to her Maths teacher.

‘Sophie, there’s nothing on the ground. Are you acting a play, what’s the plot?’ Constance whispered to her friend as all eyes locked onto Sophie. Robin and a majority of the class stared at her like she was crazy and possessed imaginary friends but Gwendolyn kept staring at her closed hands

‘Alright Miss Eneda, since you like the adventure of scouring for invisible objects then you surely wouldn’t mind helping the class to find Mr. X in this Algebraic equation. Would you?’

‘But Mr. Bearing, this topic is strange and unknown to me, I really don’t know how to.’ Sophie replied
‘Oh yes, of course, you don’t know a thing about Algebras and yet you refuse bearing and disrupt this lesson with your interactions with the invisible. Thus, you are lost and without bearing, but you, my friend, must try to find your way until you have discovered Mr. X.’ Mr. Bearing said with great spunk and prompting Sophie as she walked to the board and received his marker to deal with the equation.

Mr. Bearing was recognized by the students as the most difficult of all the teachers but the Maths teacher was necessarily so, after all Mathematics was recognized by the students as the most difficult of all subjects even in his absence. He thus deemed it imperative on his own part to give the students bearing and show them the wonder of Mathematics. None of the students knew whether his actual name was Bearing or if it simply came as a nickname from previous students which stuck but they often wondered because even other members of the teaching staff called him Bearing. One fact was however known to all; he took great pride in Mathematics and teaching the subject.

‘Search even when you cannot see, solve even when you don’t know. After all, this is mathematics― the ultimate adventure!’ Mr. Bearing said to motivate Sophie.

‘Mysteries are like holes and just as the sands of a desert; no matter how much water poured into them, they don’t just fill in.’ Robin soliloquised. ‘Oh, poor Sophie, your ideas might hold much water but this Algebra is like the sands of the desert.’ Robin added as she sniggered but not beyond the ears of Mr. Bearing.
Sophie made a gallant effort but still got the wrong answer. Mr. Bearing was however very much unyielding. He wanted Sophie to get the answer to his question.

Suddenly, Sophie saw the ring sparkle in her hands. She was afraid that Mr. Bearing was going to seize the ring so she hid her hands behind her back and surrendered that she couldn’t answer the question.

‘No Sophie, give it one more try. It is too soon to throw in the towel.’
Sophie was dumbfounded. Mr. Bearing ought to have seized her ring since it was prohibited to bring flashy jewellery to school. Sophie was certain that the ring had flashed. Could it be that he didn’t see it flash. Could it be that he doesn’t even see it. This,

perhaps, would explain why Constance asked what she was looking for and everyone thought her to be crazy. There was only one way to find out― she had to put on the ring!

She took the risk and put on the blue ring and as she did she felt a strange feeling. Something extraordinary coming from Mr. Bearing― it was the answer to the equation! She immediately picked up the marker and solved the question.

As she awaited Mr. Bearing’s verdict, she faced the class with crazy thoughts of her mystic ring going on in her head. She realised that some things couldn’t be seen unless you find something else that will help unravel the hidden thing. And while she had these thoughts, she saw Gwendolyn wearing a ring similar to hers. It was bronze and ornamented with rubies, but to Sophie it was simply a red, gleaming ring just as hers was merely a blue, shiny ring.

‘That answer is correct. How did you figure it out?’ An elated and proud Mr. Bearing could only say.
‘In order to find X you must first find Y.’ Sophie replied amidst the class applause then the bell rang for class-break