The Formula is Off

Edward never really thought things through. Impulse more than anything. He was smart. It wasn’t a matter of ignorance, but always more of appetite. This time it had gotten him into a worse situation than he planned or even considered.

The nursing home smelled stale. So did the people. It wasn’t uncomfortable but it wasn’t home despite what the name implied. He could tell by the looks on their faces that they had all resigned themselves to this being how they spent their remaining days. None of them wanted it, but it was just what it was. And now they waited patiently on time. That stale smell lingered in every hallway, the recreation room, worst of all the dining hall. He really didn’t like being here, but it was far better than the alternative. Community service had a way of generating perseverance. But it doesn’t do much for patience. He sat in the vinyl recliner flipping through the channels. He’d never realized daytime television was so monotonous. Usually, this time of day was when the third bell would ring, and he’d stop at the snack shack before History. But not today. He glanced down at his backpack.

“Hey there young fella. What you say? Anything good on that thing?”

“No, just women complaining.”

“They always do.”

Both of them chuckled.

Willie wasn’t like the rest of them. He wasn’t just waiting. He always had an algebra workbook in his hands. “Gotta keep the mind working.” He had told Edward on several occasions. “If you let the mind go, the body will follow quickly.” It was like he was trying to extend time or something. He definitely wasn’t lingering. For a man of his age he was in surprisingly good shape. He always wore that black US Navy Veteran hat, and a pullover sweater. Even in the summer.

“You wanna study with me today?” Willie offered.

“Nah, I’m not really in the mood.”

“Mood got nothing to do with it. It’s a requirement of your program, ain’t it.”

Edward just looked at the bag. The GED test was about two weeks away, and between his hours here and working he wasn’t sure he’d ever pass. But the requirement wasn’t to pass, he didn’t think so. Or at least not on the first try.

Willie took a seat in the matching vinyl recliner next to him.

“I was thinking about something last night.”

“Yeah, like what?”

“Like, how come you did what you did? Doesn’t seem right to me, the formula is off.”

Edward flipped to another channel.

“I’m just saying, a bright boy like you don’t need to mess around with people like that.”

“Well, why do we do what we do most of the time anyway.”

“Reaction.” Willie said it quick and with certainty.

“You mean nature.”

“I know what I mean. I said it didn’t I?”

Edward’s eyes left the screen for half a minute and grinned at Willie.

“Easy old timer, I don’t need Rhonda getting mad at me for working up the residents.”

Willie smiled back at him.

“Some of them need a little working up.”

He looked around the room and spun his head over his shoulder.

“There’s Bob. I saw him sleeping at breakfast, then he took a nap right before lunch. Now he’s back at it.”

“Speaking of which, I should go see if there’s any more tables to clear.”

Edward started to get up.

“Don’t worry about that, you’re with me. Those dishes ain’t going nowhere.” Willie thumbed a page in his workbook. “Let’s see here,” he said lowering his eyes. “A nursing home is holding a weekend fundraiser. Adult tickets cost $12, student tickets cost $8, and senior discount tickets cost $6. They sell 150 tickets total and collect $1,380. The number of student tickets sold is twice the number of senior discount tickets.” He looked at Edward to make sure he was seated and paying attention. “How many adult, student, and senior discount tickets were sold?”

Edward almost shrugged his shoulders but then he remembered what happened last time.

“Um…”

“Um ain’t an answer. You gotta think it through – ‘a’ is adult tickets, ‘s’ is student tickets, ‘r’ is senior discount tickets. Now add ‘em up.”

Edward strained his eyes briefly looking past Willie.

“I’ll need to get out some paper.”

“How else you gonna do it?”

Edward wrote and quietly spoke out loud, “… ‘a’ plus ‘s’ plus ‘r’ equals 150.” His voice trailed off as his writing increased.

“Don’t forget the constraint equa—”

“Shhh,” Edward snapped back.

“Don’t get fresh with me,” Willie chided. “I’ll call Rhonda over here and you’ll be mopping up floors the rest of the afternoon.”

“Sixty adult tickets, sixty student tickets, and thirty senior tickets.”

Edward’s head lifted quickly.

Willie sat for a minute just looking at the book.

Edward leaned into him a little closer.

“Well, look at you…that’s right.”

Edward’s smile filled the room so much it almost woke Bob.

——

It had been a while since the last bus came, but this one seemed much later than it should have. Edward found himself stumbling once when he climbed the short stairs, and twice when he descended them. He wasn’t running, but he was moving faster than a walk. He almost ripped the door off its hinges when he entered and right away turned left to the rec room.

“How’d it go, Eddie?”

A voice from behind the front desk almost caught his attention. He didn’t have time. He approached the vinyl recliners with urgency—but they were empty. He looked around the room, a few of them looked at him, one lady gave a short smile like a pensive grandmother. Bob slept. Eddie hurried back to the front desk.

“Hi Eddie.”

“Hi. Have you seen Willie this morning?”

The look on her face made Edward stop.

“I passed.”