Easy As Falling Off a Bike pt 3205

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The Daily Dormouse.
(aka Bike, est. 2007)
Part 3205
by Angharad

Copyright© 2017 Angharad

  
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It felt rather quiet without Trish in the house. Cambridge isn’t that far away but it felt like it was a different continent. I wished I’d gone now, I mean how will she cope without her mum there? I would find out an hour or so later.

We’d just finished dinner and I was still on the post-prandial mellowness that follows a much enjoyed meal, when the white tornado swept in. I was sure she’d grown since she left home that morning. “Mummy, it was brill, they gave me this exam paper to do and I finished it in half an hour—well the bits I could do. I was supposed to take two hours but I wanted to look around and ask lots of questions.”

“Sounds like you enjoyed yourself, sweetheart.”

“Oh yes, Mummy, it was great, what’s for dinner, I’m starvin’?”

I fed our two intrepid travellers and as soon as she’d eaten, she went off to show the others her pictures of Cambridge, a very beautiful city. I had Simon alone. “What did they think of her?”

“They want her, but at twelve she’s just a little too young. They’ll take her in October next year to read physics and maths. They’ll also send her some problems to solve each week via the internet—she showed them she was capable of using the net to do them and she’s looking forward to seeing them.”

“How did she do in her exam paper?”

“There were six questions, I couldn’t even understand them let alone answer them. She answered five in half an hour and got them right, the other one was a something she’d never seen before, the guy she saw was very impressed but he said she was just too young to attend a university designed for students six or seven years older than she is.”

“So how are we going to work this, neither of us can babysit her and the university can’t, she’s very naïve trusting and thus very vulnerable. She’ll have very little social life because she’s so young, so perhaps we’d be better waiting for a couple of years.”

“They want her.”

“You mean they don’t want Oxford to get her—that would be more manageable but still beyond easy.”

“Perhaps—look, have we the right to prevent her reaching her full potential?”

“We have an obligation to protect her until she’s able to do it herself and that’s years away. It would only take one paedophile...”

“The university would have some obligation surely?”

“To educate her, the rest would be up us, as her parents. Why couldn’t she have been an ordinary kid?”

“You promised her to get her into any university at which she wanted to study.”

“I know, but little did I think that would be at age thirteen. We can’t let her go, it’s too dangerous.”

“You can tell her then.”

“Couldn’t we employ someone like a nanny, you know rent a house for them both, she could take her to college and collect her in the afternoon.”

“It would need to be someone very trustworthy who was prepared to become very bored most of the time. In fact we’d probably need a team of people who spent a couple of weeks with her and then went off for a rest.”

“Sounds expensive.”

“It probably would be—but she’s so young.”

“I thought you’d be pleased.”

“I am on one level but I keep seeing the pit fall and practicalities.”

“I know, I just thought it would eb such an achievement.”

“Si, it would be but there are as many dangers as there are advantages.”

“You’re right, we’ll have to tell her no.”

“Tell me what? Are you saying I can’t go to Cambridge?”

“We have some things to sort out before we can say yes,” I said feeling myself glowing with embarrassment.

“Well you’d better do it soon, because I’m going to Cambridge whether you like it or not.”

“Not with that attitude you’re not. Remember, you still need parental consent and I’m not prepared to give that unless I know you’re safe there.”

“It’s university, Mummy, like the one you run only better. You go to work every day without a body guard.”

“I’m a fully grown woman, Trish, you are still a child, like it or not. I can take care of myself.”

“For god’s sake, I’ll be thirteen going on fourteen by then—practically an adult.”

“Before I am prepared to say yes I need to know you are completely safe.”

“Oh for god’s sake—you’re only jealous because I’m cleverer than you.” With that she stormed out of the room and ran up the stairs.

“I’ve had a very trying day, a full blown Trish tantrum is not helping my headache.”

“They were very keen to have her, the guy said she was the brightest one he’d seen for a decade.”

“It’s not her cleverness that’s in dispute, it’s her age and maturity.”

“I know, I know. Where are you going?”

“To get an aspirin then to try and talk her genius ship into a state of calmness in case she decides to murder us in our beds so she can become an orphan to stop us stopping her from what she wants to do.”

He roared with laughter.

“I wasn’t joking.”

“Oh.”

After taking an aspirin and a drink of water I went upstairs and heard Trish telling the others that she had a bit of time to figure out how to get to Cambridge by herself.

“But you’d have to find somewhere to live,” cautioned Livvie.

“That costs money,” said Hannah.

“I think you-ah being siwwy not wistening to Mummy and Daddy.” It was interesting how Mima was getting round part of her speech impediment.

“What’s the point of listening to them, I’m cleverer than both of them put together.”

“Why does everybody call me bighead?” trilled Livvie.

“You’re only jealous, just like them,” Trish hurled at her sister before charging out of the bedroom and straight into me. She frowned at me and spat, “You’re always in my way,” before running down the stairs. For the first time in my life I was beginning to think I might have been better off not adopting them. Then came to my senses and went down stairs to look for my affronted offspring.

When I did find her she was sitting talking to Daddy, mine not hers. They were in deep conversation, I slipped back out of the room and went to the kitchen and filled the kettle. Simon came along soon afterwards and we both had a cup of tea.

Half an hour later Trish came up to us and apologised. We hugged and she said Gramps had helped her see things in a new perspective and I wasn’t to worry, she wouldn’t leave me until I was ready. She went off to bed and I was left speechless.

“Just what did you tell her?” I asked Daddy as he came through the kitchen on his way to his study.

“Och, naething, I jest telt her ye wasnae ready to cope on yer ain withoot her support f’ a few more years yet.”

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Comments

Trish is a real piece of work

littlerocksilver's picture

Keep her in school locally, but let the university to continually challenge her. When she is mature mentally and physically, she can probably go directly into a PhD program. The tragedy would be to not let her develop. I've seen some of these savants on the telly, and they seem to be very mature in other ways as well. Hopefully, Trish will catch up.

Portia

Okay

THAT made me laugh!

Well said Gramps

Sometimes it's not always wise to refuse outright, Cathy was right in so many ways , The problem was trying to get Trish to see it from her pov, Enter Tom and by appealing a little to Trish's ego he was able to achieve what his daughter and son-in -law had so far had great trouble with.... Having said that you do feel that this is only the start of Trish and university related problems ....Life is going to be very interesting for the near future it seems..

Kirri

Empty Nest Syndrome

Though Trish will not be the last to leave, when my youngest left and got married was an extremely painful part of my life.

I don't care about corporal punishment

She will forever pull that 'I am smarter than you are card'. Wait until she runs into people who pulls the 'I am more popular than you are card.' Trish's social intelligence is below average imho for an almost 13 year old.

Her tantrums are getting tiresome. Let her join Billie.

Ah, that Tom

After all, Cathy probably couldn't even put on her shoes without Trish's help.
Keep 'em coming Ang. Over 3200 and still grabbing our attention.

Karen

As you know, I'm a regular follower of "Bike"

There is a lot to appreciate, even the goddess, which I find (like Cathy) hard to accept, but also the gentle humour. There may have been other times, but this so far as I am aware is the first for which I have laughed aloud on the final punch line.
Love it, thanks
Dave

Love that last line!

I can just imagine her expression after Tom says that, it would be hilarious to see! LOL

Maturity

When I was sixteen my father was an idiot, by the time I was twenty six, he had learned an awful lot.

This a is a well known saying but it rings forever true.

Still lovin' it.

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Had a close friend in High

Had a close friend in High School, who graduated three years early at age 14; was given a "full ride scholarship" to MIT.
He was super smart in everything except "Street smarts" and common sense. Sadly, I learned that he had passed away
in 2015 when I was talking with another classmate about an upcoming reunion.
I can definitely feel for Cathy regarding her issues with Trish.