Chapter 2

Her project was approved, and as part of it, Barb petitioned the state Board of Education to allow special standards for those who couldn’t take regular tests but could demonstrate aptitude in other ways. Her enthusiasm was met with skepticism, but they left the door open for updates and possible revisiting in the future.

Weeks passed, months rolled by, and soon years elapsed too. Medical testing showed some interesting results in chemical differences between Glee’s mind and what was considered the norm, but nothing conclusive.

Barb and his mom would take Glee on field trips to museums, and holidays permitting, traveled to nearby places of interest. Barb’s research caused her to spend countless hours with Glee, recording details and cataloging his progress.

Barb pushed Glee to excel. She would videotape all of his tests, as they were all oral. Friday, test day, was his favorite. Glee was now a senior in high school, eighteen years of age.

“Glee,” began Barb, “let’s start with a religion question,” as she adjusted the video feed to make sure it had the teenager centered. “Tell me what you think of when you imagine heaven.”

Glee smiled and responded quickly, “Heaven is not a place, and it is not a time. Heaven is being perfect. And that isn’t flying a thousand miles an hour, or a million, or flying at the speed of light. Because any number is a limit, and perfection doesn’t have limits. Perfect speed, my son, is being there.” ²

Barb smiled at the reference to Jonathan Livingston Seagull and nodded slightly, then prodded further. “Tell me more. How does death relate to heaven?”

Glee cocked his head a bit, as if processing information, then straightened out and looked dead-on at Barb, ignoring the camera.

“No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new.” ³

“Good,” she said and then moved to another subject. “What are your feelings on the historical account of the Gay Liberation Front?”

Glee frowned slightly. Barb knew that it wasn’t from a lack of knowledge. She knew that Glee greedily consumed information like a horde of hungry termites decimating a wooden shed. No, she knew that she was deliberately provoking him on a mixed-feelings subject.

“Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” ⁴

Barb smiled again. The testing went on for thirty minutes, most of it rapid-fire with questions covering astronomy, geography, history, science, and even mathematics. The answers ranged from humorous to quite thought-provoking.

“Glee, what did you learn about the historical conflict between France and England?”

“I watched with glee, while your kings and queens, fought for ten decades, for the gods they made.” ⁵

“Many turn to science when religion doesn’t seem to have the answers for them. Your thoughts?”

He responded quickly. “Science never solves a problem without creating ten more.” ⁶

“That seems a little glib, even for you, Glee.”

“We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology.” ⁷

The tete-a-tete ended with one final question.

“Glee ... how do you feel?”

Glee smiled broadly, a wide, toothy grin that brought sparkles of light to his eyes.

“Tell her that I feel fine!” ⁸

Like anyone his age, Glee enjoyed going to the movies, and he liked sports, especially martial arts. When he wasn’t learning and exploring with Barb, he would work out in his backyard. His mom arranged for some private kung fu instruction when Glee was high school age.

Graduation was a mostly solitary ceremony, Glee preferring the company of his Mom and Barb to anyone else. It was somewhat of a melancholy, bittersweet day because it signaled the end of Barb’s term as tutor to Glee.

After dinner they enjoyed the cake and pictures and presents, then Glee and Barb sat around while his Mom cleaned up a bit and put the food away.

“So Glee,” said Barb, “now that you’re graduated from high school, what do you want to do?”