Code to Zero Page 0,18

She thought about Luke's girlfriend. Elspeth was the most striking beauty on campus, a tall woman with long coppery hair and the pale, resolute face of a Nordic queen. 'What about you? Are you in love with Elspeth?'

He returned his gaze to the road. 'I don't think I know what love is.'

'Evasive answer.'

"You're right.' He threw a speculative look at her, then seemed to decide that she could be trusted. 'Well, to be honest, this is as close to love as I've ever come, but I still don't know if it's the real thing.'

She felt a pang of guilt. 'I wonder what Anthony and Elspeth would think of us having this conversation,' she said.

He coughed, embarrassed, and changed the subject. 'Damn shame you ran into those men at the House.'

'I hope Anthony won't be found out He could be expelled.'

'He's not the only one. You might be in trouble, too.'

She had been trying not to think about that. 'I don't believe anyone knew who I was. I heard one of them say "tart".'

He shot a surprised glance at her.

She guessed that Elspeth would not have used the word 'tart', and she wished she had not repeated it. 'I suppose I deserved it,' she added. 'I was in a men's House at midnight.'

He said: 'I don't think there's ever any real excuse for bad manners.'

It was a reproach to her as much as to (he man who had insulted her, she thought with annoyance. Luke had a sharp edge. He was angering her - but that made him interesting. She decided to take the gloves off. 'What about you?' she said. "You're very preachy about Anthony and me, aren't you? But didn't you put Elspeth in a vulnerable situation tonight, keeping her out in your car until the early hours?'

To her surprise, he laughed appreciatively. 'You're right, and I'm a pompous idiot,' he said. 'We all took risks.'

"That's the truth.' She shuddered. 'I don't know what I'd do if I got thrown out.'

'Study somewhere else, I guess.'

She shook her head. 'I'm on a scholarship. My father's dead, my mother's a penniless widow. And if I were expelled for moral transgression, I'd have little chance of getting another scholarship. Why do you look surprised?'

'To be honest, I'd have to say you don't dress like a scholarship girl.'

She was pleased he had noticed her clothes. 'It's the Leavenworth Award,' she explained.

'Wow.' The Leavenworth was a famously generous grant, and thousands of outstanding students applied for it "You must be a genius.'

'I don't know about that,' she said, gratified by the respect in his voice. 'I'm not smart enough to make sure I have a place to stay the night'

'On the other hand, being thrown out of college is not the worst thing in the world. Some of the cleverest people drop out - then go on to become millionaires?

'It would be the end of the world for me. I don't want to be a millionaire, I want to help sick people get well.'

"You're going to be a doctor?'

'Psychologist I want to understand how the mind works.'.

'Why?'

'It's so mysterious and complicated. Tilings like logic, the way we think. Imagining something that isn't there in front of us - animals can't do that. The ability to remember - fish have no memory, did you know that?'

He nodded. 'And why is it that just about everyone can recognize a musical octave?' he said. 'Two notes, the frequency of one being double that of the other -how come your brain knows that?'

"You find it interesting, too!' She was pleased that he shared her curiosity.

What did your father die of?'

Billie swallowed hard. Sudden grief overwhelmed her. She struggled against tears. It was always like this: a chance word, and from nowhere came a sorrow so acute she could barely speak. .-:;

'I'm really sorry,' Luke said. 'I didn't mean to upset you.'

'Not your fault,' she managed. She. took a deep breath. 'He lost his mind. One Sunday morning he went bathing in the Trinity River. The thing is, he hated the water, and he couldn't swim. I think he wanted to die. The coroner thought so too, but the jury took pity on us and called it an accident, so that we'd get the life insurance. It was a hundred dollars. We lived on that for a year.' She took a deep breath. 'Let's talk about something else. Tell me about math.'

'Well.' He thought for a moment 'Math is as weird as psychology,' he said. 'Take the number pL