Mathematicians and Scientists (Saanvi×Ben)

Chapter 9: I'm Impressed

Ben

I head to Grace's house and knock on the door.

"I have to see Cal. " I say as she opens the door.

"What's going on? Why are you all panicked? I don't want Cal getting hurt by whatever you are in a frenzy about. "

"He's not going to get hurt. I came to talk to him about something 828 related, and to get my stuff off the wall in the garage."

"Fine. You have 10 minutes. "

I run upstairs to see Cal, and I wrap him into a hug.

"I missed you so much. I'm so glad you're here. "

"I've missed you too. I'm afraid your mother only gave me 10 minutes. Something has happened. "

I explain the deal about Griffin to him.

"I'm sorry.  I haven't had any callings about any of this. I wish I could help."

"It's okay. I need to get my stuff from the garage,  but I love you. Text me if you need anything.  Are you and Olive coming over this weekend?"

"Love you too, dad. Yeah, I'll see you Friday after school." He replies.

I head down to the garage and pack up my stuff. Olive walks in.

"I've missed having you around here. It's kinda boring without a mystery to solve every second. " she says.

"Well I have one for you. I think there's been another 828. "

I tell her the Griffin story the same way I did Cal.

"That's crazy. I will do some research, and find anything linking the two events. I'll get back to you."

I hug her, and we say our goodbyes. When I get to the car, I give myself one minute to reflect on how much I've missed them. Then, I head back to my apartment. 

I put up all my papers on the inside of a cabinet. This way I can hide it if someone comes over. It's as simple as closing the cabinet. 

I text Michaela to see if she has any updates.

Griffin is being taken to the precinct.  It sounds like the DA is going to make a deal with him. I'm still hoping he'll do the right thing. -Michaela

I don't know what happens to someone when they misuse the callings,  but I have a feeling it's going to happen to Griffin. I text Saanvi to see if she's found anything.  Right before I send the text, I get one from Olive.

Griffin was underwater for exactly 828 minutes.

How is that possible? I can barely wrap my brain around the new information so I need to tell someone who can. I decide to just call Saanvi instead of texting her.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Saanvi, Olive just realized that Griffin was underwater for exactly 828 minutes. Have you found anything? "

"That's crazy." She says before she pauses and spews a bunch of thoughts," What can that mean? I don't get it. Why all of a sudden is there another 828 incident? The only thing I found in my research is that he has the same blood marker."

"Okay. Well whatever is happening must be related to that bloodmarker. Is there anything else you can research.  Or would you want to come over here and help me? I could really use a fresh set of eyes. I stare at this stuff everyday.  "

"There's not much more I can do in the way of research.  I can be over in 10 minutes though.  "

I text Michaela again and tell her to keep me updated. I include that Saanvi will be here helping me.

Saanvi? You guys have been getting awfully close lately.  -Mick

I text back.

Thanks Captain obvious. She's a good friend and she just so happens to be good at solving things. You'll be thanking me if we figure something out and you don't have to release Griffin.

Leave it to Mick to be constantly teasing me. To be fair, she always sees these things before I do. Is there something I don't see. Am I catching feelings for Saanvi?

The doorbell rings, and she walks in.

"I brought dinner. A chef salad for me and a Turkey club for you. "

" Thanks! All this research is making me hungry. "

She remembered what I got. She's so thoughtful. 

We sit down to eat at my small table.

"So, this is my apartment.  It's small, but it's what I've got for now. It has the kitchen,  this sitting area , two bathrooms, and the three bedrooms. "

"Well it's nice. I like it so far, but it's lacking decorations."

"I have never been one for decorating. I like how a decorated house looks, but I have no knowledge of 'interior design'" I say with a chuckle.

"Well, we're going to have to fix that. After this whole Griffin thing passes, I can help you decorate. "

" I would love that."

We finish eating and then head to my room. I show her the closet that is now covered in 828 galore.

"This is incredible... It's like you poured out your mind onto paper. "

"Are you suprised?" I ask.  Everyone knows by now I have a bit of an obsession when it comes to 828.

"No...I'm impressed." She replies.

She looks at me and smiles,  and I smile back. We have a brief moment where we look eachother in the eyes. She looks away and gets a weird look on her face. 

"You okay?" I ask her.

"Yeah. It was just that calling.  "

"Have you figured out what it is?" I question.

"Well, not really....Nope. I haven't found anything. " She says. I see her start to mess with her necklace.

"Saanvi,  you're lying through your teeth. What is it?" I ask again.

"I just...I can't tell you. Okay?"

I can see how troubled she is. I touch her cheek where the mark is. I've never felt as much fear as I did when I saw Alice pointing that gun at her. I care about her deeply.

"Hey, you don't have to be upset. I trust your judgment.  I know you'll tell me if a time comes when I need to know. "

She looks me in the eye and nods. The way she looks at me in that moment gives me a slight butterfly feeling.  I can tell she feels it too. I reach out and touch her hand. She waits a second and then grabs a hold of it. I stand there holding her hand with butterflies in my stomach. I feel like a kid.

I see her look at me out of the corner of my eye. She seems to be weighing her options for a second before she spills.

"Ben...I get that calling whenever I'm with you. The calling kept saying 'Don't waste it. ' I talked to Michaela and she thinks it's saying don't waste my chances at a relationship with you. "

"Oh...I see why you didn't want to tell me until now. But just know, we aren't going to waste this. I care about you, Saanvi."

" I care about you too, Ben. "

Reader's note: Any thoughts on this chapter?? Anything you'd like to see happen in the next one? Just leave a comment!