Question and Answer

It was career day at Jefferson Middle School.

Booths were boothed, posters posted along lunchroom halls.

Congregations formed aroud popular dreams: the astronaut, the doctor. The professor found himself quite alone. He shrugged it off, watching the other workers answer questions. He figured these kids saw enough teachers daily.

Towards the end of the uneventful day a small girl came up to him.

"How do you deal with constantly seeing your favorite students leave and never seeing them again? Do they simply get replaced with other kids?"

The professor looked at her through his glasses.

"I find that my relationship with my old favorites now is just like how it was when they were in my class," he said.

She tilted her small head. It was oval shaped, with a sharp chin.

"How does that work?"

"Well," said the teacher, "I ask them questions and they answer them."