Conversation 28

Listen to a conversation between two students.

David: Whew! That’s the last one!

Rachel: Hi, David. Sit down. The last what?

D: My last exam. That’s it for me for this term!

R: Lucky guy! I’ve still got one exam left tomorrow.

D: Which one?

R: Microeconomics. And I’m dreading it.

D: Yeah? How come? Couldn’t be that hard for you. You’re an Economics major, aren’t you, Rachel?

R: Yeah. It shouldn’t be, I know, but somehow- I’m just not getting a handle on it. Too much math, I guess. I’m more of a theoretician. (laughs)

D: (laughs) Yeah, you and John Maynard Keynes. Rachelian Economics- where supply and demand are not inversely related.

R: (laughs) Anyway, I’ve just barely squeaked by all of her quizzes- and I only got sixty-nine percent on the midterm.

D: Oy! You’d better burn some midnight oil tonight, then.

R: Don’t worry- I’m planning to. Want coffee?

D: No thanks. I gotta run in a minute.

R: How come? I thought you were all done.

D: I am. I want to pick up the tickets for the Homecoming game.

R: Haven’t you done that yet? I thought you were all gung-ho for Homecoming. I hope there’re still some left.

D: No problem. They’re already bought and paid for. I just have to pick them up at the frat house. Zeta Tau always buys a block of seats so we can ‘command a presence’- and make fools of ourselves.

R: (laughs) Well, that should be easy.

D: (laughs) Yeah, our reputation’s not so hot, is it? But this year’s officers have been trying to untarnish our image. Get us off our slippery slope to utter degradation.

R: (laughs) Good luck. Gotta date?

D: Huh? Uh…erm…well…I just thought you, uh, would….

R: Come with you? And get beer and catsup splattered all over me? And get both eardrums shattered? You gotta be kidding. You’re on your own for this one, David.

D: Aw, c’mon, Rachel. It’ll be fun! I’ll buy you a big chrysanthemum!

R: Tempting, but…no. I’ve gotta get packed, anyway.

D: Packed?

R: I’m going home for the break- and I leave real early the next morning.

D: Oh. OK. Well, I guess I’ll just batch it, then. That means I can drink more and make a bigger idiot of myself without you there.

R: Yeah, look at it that way. How’d you do on your finals, anyway?

D: Oh, pretty good overall, I think. I’m not too sanguine about my chances of passing Biometrics, but the others have been fine. I should get an A in Genetics, and either As or Bs in Cell Biology and Animal Behavior. Biometrics- that’s been awful. It’s all statistics and probabilities and variances and things. All, um, higher math!

R: Ha! Well, I empathize. That’s my Achilles’ heel, too. Numbers just don’t like me.

D: Or you just don’t like numbers. Y’know, I actually liked arithmetic when I was little. It was so logical. And algebra, geometry- I enjoyed those. No grey areas, I guess.

R: You probably liked playing with your compass and protractor, didn’t you?

D: Ha! Funny you should say that. I actually impaled myself on my compass one time- horsing around at school, and I ran it right through my finger! The school nurse had to pull it out for me. Gross!

R: Ack! That gives me the shivers! I didn’t know mathematics could be so dangerous.

D: Yeah. Anyway, when I got to calculus in high school, the wheels suddenly came off. I hit a brick wall, just suddenly could not understand what in heck was going on. That’s the point where math and me came to a parting of the ways.

R: Sounds like my story- except for the puncture wound! I guess we should just keep sharp objects out of your hands, eh?

D: Yeah, that would be safest. How about your finals?

R: Oh. Yeah, they’ll be all right. Micro tomorrow is my only real worry. World Economies is good- I should ace that. And maybe ace Political Systems, too- I think Dr West likes me.

D: Huh?! What do you mean, “likes” you?

R: No, no- I just mean that he thinks I’m an eager student, so he’ll give me the, the benefit of the doubt, maybe, on my final grade. If there is any. I wrote him a real nice mid-term essay.

D: That thing on “the joys of capitalism”?

R: Right.

D: Didn’t you just copy that out of Wikipedia?

R: Hey, hey!- I did research, yes!- and I cited every single source, thank you!

D: Sure you did. Oh! Gotta go. I told them I’d be stopping by at three.

R: OK.

D: Sure you don’t want to come?

R: I’ll pass.

D: OK then. …I wonder… that nice blonde in my Behavior class….

R: Watch your mouth, buster!

D: (laughs) OK, OK. Next time, then.

R: Maybe. Bye.

D: Bye.