edward had been disconcerted when he saw the number of pages in the test, but the real shock came when he started to actually look at the test.
there were no answers, just questions! edward had never taken a test which did not have a set of answers, sometimes only two answers, to choose from.
where were the answers?
the fat man was still sitting at the table in the front of the room. though he looked like he might be getting ready to doze off. he had seemed friendly enough, so edward resolved to ask him what was going on.
where are the answers? edward asked.
the fat man did not seem surprised by the question, and answered with a friendly smile. you have to supply them yourself, he replied.
but i have never taken a test where there are no answers.
you are taking one now, the fat man replied, still smiling.
do you mean i have to think up the answers and write them down myself?
of course.
on what? edward took his phone out of his pocket. now that he thought about it, it was a little surprising that he had not been asked to surrender it, or even to turn it off. maybe the testers thought they needed it to keep track of him. for what? he was harmless.
but to the fat man edward just said, do you have an app i can put the answers on?
ha, ha! no, put the answers on the paper, underneath the questions. that is why there is so much blank space on the paper. use the pencil, that is what it is there for.
but, edward struggled to get the words out, i have never used a pencil, except to sign my name once in a while. and, he did not say, with one of those pencils you use on a screen, not on paper. out loud he said, i can’t write with a pencil, except to sign my name.
that is too bad, the fat man replied with a sympathetic nod, but you can answer the questions by drawing pictures. you can do that, can’t you? don’t worry, the questions are easy, and you have lots of time to answer them.
edward was now beyond despair. suddenly he realized the whole thing was nonsense, and he just wanted to get it over with. his head cleared, and he took a deep breath.
all right, he told the fat man with a weak smile.
that’s the spirit, the fat man said. my name, by the way,, is omar khayyam. what is yours?
he must know my name, edward thought. but he answered, edward, edward the ninth.
i am happy to meet you, edward. with that, the fat man stood up. i am going to take a little break, he said. but don’’t worry , i will be back soon. just do the test as best you can.
edward glanced around the room. will anyone else come to take the test? he asked.
no, omar khayyan told him, it is now too late. if anybody shows up now, they will be told to come back at the next test date, whenever that might be.
and with that, omar left the room, leaving edward alone with the test.
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