Her Catalyst - Background

Her Catalyst is a story of hope and love in an alternate timeline. Background contains various events and conversations which influenced some of the characters and set the stage for how they respond to the situations recorded in Her Catalyst.

A peek inside:

"I could use a bit of a break."

"Okay." He sits down across from her and asks, "So, how's school going?"

"It's getting better in the sense that I'm learning more and getting better grades. However, it's not fun when I have to interact with the other students who aren't interested in learning."

Mr. G nods his head as he says, "Yeah, that can be difficult. Either you conform to some group and become like a puppet to the strongest personality in the group, or you try to be an individual and are considered to be an outcast by all of the groups. They think you're not good enough to be in their group, while they accuse you of acting like you're too good for them, yet the truth is, you just want to be left alone."

"That's it exactly."

He glances at her book and paper and asks, "Geometry? How do you like it?"

"It's interesting. It's taking me awhile to learn the formulas, but it helps me to understand how containers of very different shapes can hold the same amount of material."

"I hadn't thought about it from that perspective. I suppose that working in a kitchen with the various ingredients might raise the question of whether one container really does hold the same amount as another container."

"Yeah. It's funny how the shape of a container can give the impression that there's more product than another container. Excuse me for a moment." Angelisa gets up, is soon back with his food, says, "Here you go. Enjoy," and sits back down.

"Oh, thank you. I can move to a different table so you don't have to watch me eat."

"Mr. G, I watch people eat all day long."

He thinks for a moment then says, "Oh, yeah. Sorry."

She just grins at him as he slowly smiles then she tells him, "Besides, I don't often get to talk to someone who is so willing to listen."

"I'm all ears," he picks up a fork full of food, "and mouth."

Angelisa chuckles and talks more about her other classes while she enjoys his encouraging words and thoughtful questions. A couple of times she gets up to refill his drink and then to get a takeout box for his leftovers.

"Thank you for listening to me, Mr. G, I really appreciate it."

"It was my pleasure. I always like to hear how you're progressing. I continue to be amazed at your effort and determination to get an education and at how well you've succeeded."

She assures him, "If it wasn't for you being interested enough in helping me and to take the time to figure out why I couldn't read standard then encouraging me as I struggled, I would have dropped out of school a long time ago."

"I was glad to do what little I could, but you're the one who realized you had a problem, had enough courage to admit it, and then made the effort day after day to fix the problem."

"Why is it that we go back and forth on who deserves the credit for helping me to learn to read and be able to get an education?"

Mr. G tries to look at her sternly as he tells her, "Probably because a certain young lady refuses to listen to the wisdom of an ancient one."

She just laughs and enjoys his answering smile.

"I probably ought to be going and not interrupt you any longer."

"You weren't interrupting me. I enjoyed the opportunity to have someone listen to me and talk with me."

He stands up as he says, "Angelisa, you have every right to be proud of yourself, and I'm proud of what you've accomplished. Thank you for being willing to tell me how you're succeeding. Keep up your hope and your future will be bright with opportunities."

Angelisa stands up and struggles not to...