5 - An Unexpected Truth

The next session was much the same as the first, with Mr. Riggs asking Elizabeth to follow him into the back room after class ended, then simply pointing at the work bench. He then sat down at his desk and again started grading more homework.

Elizabeth happily resumed her work. As time passed and she began to get closer to finishing the machine, whatever it was, her curiosity about it and why she was building it began to grow more and more acute. Finally, her inquisitiveness got the better of her, and she looked over to Mr. Riggs and spoke.

"Mr. Riggs, um, what exactly does this.. thing.. I'm building have to do with chemistry?" she asked.

Mr. Riggs glanced up from his grading to simply look at her for a moment, contemplating. Then, he quirked up an eyebrow, gave her an amused half smile, and chuckled.

"Absolutely nothing." he stated, bluntly.

Elizabeth was taken aback for a moment, looking back and forth from Mr. Riggs to the half finished contraption before her, her surprise quite evident on her face.

"Then.. then why am I building it?" she asked, confused.

Mr. Riggs contemplated her quietly for a moment longer, holding his chin in one palm and tapping his index finger against his jaw thoughtfully. Then he sighed, suddenly seeming very weary.

"First, let me ask you a question in return, Elizabeth." he said. "Are you planning on attending college after high school? Do you think that you will continue your education?"

"Ah, no, Mr. Riggs. I don't think I have the grades to go to college, and I know my mom couldn't afford to send me anyway." Elizabeth replied, surprised by the question and turn in conversation and obviously a bit embarrassed about her answer.

Mr. Riggs waved her concerns away, looking impatient.

"That's not quite what I meant. Community colleges will take pretty much anyone, regardless of previous academic achievements, and funding can be arranged. There are numerous grants and scholarships that even students with dubious marks can qualify for, not to mention the ones that are available to low income students. You could very easily attend college, if you wanted to, which is actually what I am asking about." he said.

"Do you want to attend college?" Mr. Riggs asked, speaking slowly and putting great emphasis on the word "want". He was staring at her quite intently.

"Um.. No, not really, Mr. Riggs. I, ah.. I don't care for school very much, and I don't think I would like college any better." Elizabeth replied. She wouldn't quite meet his eyes when she said it.

Mr. Riggs didn't look disappointed with her. He actually appeared to be quite pleased with her honesty.

"I see. Well then, Elizabeth, in that case I will share with you a little secret that many of your classmates probably aren't aware of." said Mr. Riggs, now smiling at her.

"Everything you learn in my class, all the things you've been trying to read through and puzzle out in your very thick, very dry chemistry textbook, everything I've been trying to teach you," Mr. Riggs said, very seriously, "you will almost surely never, ever use in the rest of your life."

"But.. but why do I have to learn it then?" Elizabeth asked, incredulous and a little outraged.

"Most of your classes are like this, Elizabeth. If you don't work at a job that requires a college education, you will never be asked to solve algebra or trigonometry equations, you will never need to write essays or poetry or book reports, and you won't need to know what year "Columbus sailed the ocean blue"." Mr. Riggs stated, flatly.

"And that is why, Elizabeth, you are putting together one of my machines rather than looking dazed and confused as I try to instruct you on electron valences and chemical bond strengths and angles and other such matters. You simply don't need those things. You will never get any use out of them. So, I've chosen to employ your time in a more constructive and entertaining manner." Mr. Riggs finished.

"But if I don't learn how to do that chemistry stuff, how an I going to finish my homework or pass the exams at the end of the class. Even if I don't need the stuff I learn in most of my classes, like you say, I still want to graduate from high school. If.. if I can't pass this class then I won't be able to." said Elizabeth, obviously more than a little overwhelmed by the knowledge Mr. Riggs had just given her.

"Elizabeth, I control the homework, tests, and grading of both. If I want you to pass, you will pass." Mr. Riggs replied, easily.

Elizabeth thought about that for a moment, then frowned.

"But.. what if someone finds out? Won't I get in a lot of trouble?" she asked, clearly worried.

"You? No, you are not the one who would be in trouble, Elizabeth. I would." Mr. Riggs said. "I'm the one doing the cheating, you see. If anyone found out about our little secret, I am the one who would be punished, not you."

"You.. you would do that for me?" Elizabeth asked quietly, looking up at Mr. Riggs with wide eyes.

"Of course, Elizabeth. That is why I am having you stay after school and do this." said Mr. Riggs, motioning towards the half constructed machine on the work bench. "You help me out, I help you out, and everyone goes home happy."

"Provided, of course, that you can keep our little secret." Mr. Riggs finished, smiling, laying his index finger across his lips, and giving her a small wink.

"Sure, Mr. Riggs. I can do that. Easy." Elizabeth replied quickly. "Uh, I have one other question too."

"Yes?"

"What IS this thing I'm building?" she asked, curiously.

"Ahh. I could tell you, but why don't you try to guess? No? Well, see if you can figure it out before you finish it, perhaps." said Mr. Riggs. "I think that would be more fun, don't you?"

Mr. Riggs chuckled, then turned back to his desk and his own work, ending the conversation. Elizabeth simply sat in her chair at the workbench for a few moments, thinking about everything Mr. Riggs had just told her. She had always suspected that most of the things she learned in school were kind of pointless, but to have those suspicions be so casually confirmed by one of her teachers had been a bit shocking. She wasn't quite sure how to react just yet, but she thought that it might be a good idea to put the knowledge aside for now, and concentrate on finishing the machine for Mr. Riggs. If he wouldn't tell her what the device was, she would just have to find out for herself.