Hands To Fall Into (manxboy)

The Discovery/ Introduction (sort of)

Edmund flipped the marker over his fingers as usual, while staring at the board re-evaluating everything. "... Is it correct?" He thought out loud. "Could it be...? Did I..." He stopped when he got to the last equation he had written up. "I... Oh my goodness! I did! I-I did it!" The marker dropped from his hand and rolled on the floor. But Edmund didn't care this time. He rushed out of his study and jumped over the railing at the stairs. "Dad! Dad!" He rammed on the door and then burst in. "Eddie, what have I told you about coming in uninvited?" Father asked. "It isn't of import! I did it! I found the sequence!" Edmund cheered, ignoring the blond man in the chair across from Father. "...you found the sequence of prime numbers?" Father asked as the information sunk in. "I thought you'd be proud..." Edmund trailed off and fiddled with the hem of his sweater. "Eddie, I am proud of you. " Father smiled. "How could you find a sequence? Prime numbers are random." The blond man asked, turning towards Edmund. Edmund adjusted his glasses and was about to answer. "I'm sure you'll be delighted to read about it in the papers, Mr Smith." Father said. "My son can get a little... carried away, sometimes." Father was slightly implying the fact that Edmund tended to launch into monologues that only made sense to him as he sometimes forgot to say a few sentences.

~*~ a few weeks later ~*~

"... And that's the sequence of prime numbers." Edmund explained, he tried to look anywhere but at the humongous crowd in front of him. His fingers fiddled with the hem of his sweater. He was nervous and the constantly flashing cameras and the bright lights didn't help much. "Mr Lockwood, what will you after your new discovery?" One of the reporters asked. "I'm not entirely sure as of now." Edmund answered. How should he know? It's only been a week since he worked out the sequence. "Alright, thank you, Mr Lockwood, for your presentation." Edmund nodded and walked off the stage. He sat down next to Father and listened to the rest of the conference.
"Great work, Edmund." Edmund spun around at the mention of his name. He had been staring out the window while everyone else "mingled". It was Prof. Felicity Waters who had congratulated him. "Thank you, it took me a year." Edmund answered. Felicity smiled and nodded. "This is a great discovery. You'll be the nightmare of programmers now, though." Felicity laughed a little, and Edmund smiled slightly. "Not my fault they have to defend banks." Edmund answered. Felicity smiled. "You look a bit down, is everything okay?" Felicity asked. Professor Felicity had been a close friend of the Lockwood family. She was the one who taught Edmund in maths through his years of homeschool. "It's their anniversary today. Look at him. He doesn't even care." Edmund said as he watched Father talk with a group of people. "It's as if she never even existed." Edmund sighed. Felicity gave Edmund an apologetic look. "I'm sure, he still does care." Felicity said. "But everyone copes a little differently with loss." Edmund nodded, but he didn't believe it. Father always seemed as if he wasn't aware that Mother had ever lived. "I guess so..." Edmund trailed off. "Oh good we have found you. Mr Lockwood we'd love to interview you." A reporter and a camerawoman seemed to appear out of nowhere. "If it's necessary." Edmund answered and got dragged off.