(short story)

Three student friends lived in the ancient walls of one of the famous American colleges: Harry, Tom and Jane. Harry was a philosopher, always immersed in his thoughts, Tom was a mathematician, and Jane was a historian who knew a lot of dates.

They met on a joint lecture course. One evening, after another long lecture, they were discussing their studies.

“Harry, what did you think of our lecture today?” Jane asked and took a bite of her sandwich.

Harry looked thoughtfully at the ceiling.

“I think the real point of this lecture is for us to realize that there is no point.”

Tom looked up from his formulas and laughed.

“It was so deep, I almost drowned. But, you know, I found a mathematical way to solve our problem with the lecturer.”

Jane looked at him with interest.

“How did you do that?”

Tom smiled proudly.

“We’ll just calculate the probability that he’ll ask one of us a question and avoid those moments. Of course, to do that, we’d need to have an accurate schedule of his questions over the last three years…”

Harry took a deep breath.

“Do you realize that we now have no choice but to do math for the rest of the semester?”

Jane laughed.

“Or we can just pretend we don’t understand either, like most of our classmates”.

Tom shook his head.

“That would be too easy. I like solving problems through math.”

Harry rubbed his forehead tiredly.

“Well, if you find time between calculations, tell me the best time to sleep during lectures.”

Tom smiled and went back to his numbers. Jane, scattering crumbs from her sandwich, added.

“You know, maybe we are living proof that students at this college can find a scientific approach to any nonsense.”

The next day during the lecture, Tom raised his hand and asked the professor,

“What is the probability that you will ask me a question?”

In this way, he wanted to make sure that his calculations were correct and that he would not be asked today.

The professor raised his eyebrows and smiled slightly,

“Given your question, almost one hundred percent.”

Harry and Jane could hardly contain their laughter as Tom turned pale and realized that his plan had serious flaws. From then on, their new strategy was simple: always be prepared for unexpected twists and turns of fate. And, of course, don’t forget to laugh at yourself, because student life is not only about learning, but also about finding the positive in even the most difficult situations.