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Hal: Well, I'm gonna be late. Some friends of mine are in this band. They're playing in a bar on Diversey, way down the bill, they go on about 2 to 2:30. I said I'd be there.
Catherine: Great.
Hal: They're all in the math deparment, they're really good. They have this song called 'i', you'd like it. Like lower-cased i. They just stand there and don't play anything for three minutes.
Catherine: Imaginary number.
Hal: It's a math joke... You see why they're way down on the bill.
Catherine: That's a long way to drive to see some nerds in a band.
Hal: You know, I hate when people say that. It's not really that long of a drive.
Catherine: So, they are nerds.
Hal: Oh, they're raging geeks. But they're geeks who, you know, can dress themselves and hold down a job at a major university. Some of them have switched from glasses to contacts. They, uh, play sports, they play in a band, they get laid suprisingly often... So, it makes you kinda question the whole set of terms. Geek, nerd, wonk, dilbert, paste eater...
Catherine: You're in this band, aren't you.
Hal: Ok, yes. I play the drums. You wanna come? I never sing, I swear to God.
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Robert: I hope you're not spending your birthday alone.
Catherine: I'm not alone.
Robert: I don't count.
Catherine: Why not?
Robert: I'm your old man. Go out with friends.
Catherine: Yeah, right.
Robert: Aren't your friends taking you out?
Catherine: Nope.
Robert: Why not?
Catherine: For your friends to take you out, you have to have friends. Funny how that works.
Anne Wittman
Extended Reading
