Wizard Read Online Free PDF Page B

failures: with stoic bravery.
    Deep down, in their own way, Sophy knew, they loved her, just as she
    loved them; but communication between parents and child had always
    been difficult. When she was younger, Sophy had felt as badly about the
    Disaster as Paul and Anna had. Guilt over her own lack of genius had kept
    her doggedly plodding her way through all those endless accelerated
    classes designed for the intellectually gifted.
    As one despairing teacher after another had failed to find the courage
    to tell the Bennets that their daughter simply was not a genius, Sophy had
    begun to hate the role into which she had been cast.
    "She simply doesn't apply herself," her fourth-grade teacher had
    explained to the Bennets at a conference. "I'm sure she has the ability, but
    she seems perpetually bored in class. It's like that sometimes with the
    truly gifted. It's hard to engage their attention, even in advanced classes
    such as this one, because they're so far ahead mentally."
    "She'll come into her own in high school," the seventh-grade instructor
    had assured the Bennets. "In the meantime, all we can do is keep exposing
    her to as much intellectual stimulation as possible."
    "She'll blossom in college," the high school teachers had insisted. "Some
    bright teenagers simply don't do well in high school, even in these
    academically accelerated classes."
    And all along, the only one who had admitted the truth was Sophy. She
    wasn't bored in class; she was usually totally lost, desperately trying to
    comprehend what her fellow students picked up so easily. She wasn't
    failing to apply herself. She worked hard, driven by guilt and the fear of
    disappointing her parents.
    But always there had been the wizards surrounding her. From the day
    she had been sent off to the carefully selected preschool for precocious
    children, Sophy had been trapped in the midst of the truly brilliant.
    Sophy's only satisfaction during those formative years had been
    pursuits that involved color and fabric. In kindergarten she had latched on
    to the discovery of crayons with a vengeance, going through one coloring
    book after another until she was designing her own coloring books.
    Unfortunately, the rest of the class was working on the rudiments of
    mathematical set theory.
    In grade school, art had been taught in the accelerated classes, usually
    in relation to mathematical perspective and the properties of light. Sophy
    hadn't been overly interested in the scientific side of the matter, but she'd
    happily played with the watercolor paints until they were gently but firmly
    taken from her.
    Her parents had briefly considered the possibility that her true genius
    might lie in the realm of art, but when she showed no great interest in
    drawing anything other than doll clothes, they abandoned the idea.
    When she discovered dressmaking, Paul and Anna Bennet steadfastly
    decided to treat it as a hobby. They were still treating it that way. In all
    honesty, they weren't the only ones who looked on her skills as a hobby.
    There were times when she suspected that Nick Savage did, too. That
    realization was vaguely annoying, but she told herself that in time he
    would realize how important her budding career as a designer was to her.
    Firmly she dismissed the concern. Nick would learn.
    Someone like Max Travers would probably never understand, though.
    His academic elitism would always get in the way. Not that it mattered.
    She could care less what Max Travers thought of her future career. But
    why had she felt so wary around the man tonight? Hadn't she left those old
    feelings of intimidation behind for good? Of course she had. So why that
    primitive wariness? Why had she practically run from his car tonight? It
    made no sense.

    Sophy had put the restless questions out of her head by the next
    morning when she walked into the downtown high-rise building that
    housed S & J Technology. She had a large box under one arm, and as soon
    as she stepped off the