Students milling in for the test. I choose my seat
carefully: close to the back, with the wall as my protector,
but such as my view will not be the distraction of others.
The teacher hands out the forms... going by each... and
every... seat... excruciatingly... slow... pace. The form is
placed on my desk and fills my vision. First question:
Choose the correct answer:
1. The electron is a wave.
2. The electron is a particle.
3. None of the above.
4. All of the previous.

My heart pounds in my chest, once, twice, thrice; a warning
sign. Cool it, deep breaths, and what do you know, Lombart
actually knows what she's talking about. That lunatic of a
teacher, but those deep breaths do calm the mind.

Ok, test.
Hmm. "The electron is a wave."
Electron.
Electricity.
Wave.
Sea.
Man, the sea was beautiful last night. Man, I should have
studied.
Stop. Concentrate. I was at the lesson this was taught, I
have a vague memory of the board being filled with lines,
diagrams, and the perspiration of our ecstatic professor.
"This was a revolution! A revolution in thought and in
perception that none could foresee! Do you realize the
magnificence, the elegance, the sheer genius?"
Einstein, of course she was talking about Einstein. The
woman is half in love with him, and making us all
uncomfortable with fear that she might just one day fall to
the ground in an ecstatic fit of epilepsy that will finally
send her to the institution in which many believe she
belongs. Not I, I though. But I was glad, that day, not to
be one of the really uncomfortable students, those in front
who got spit on at more than one occasion that lesson. Today
I regret it. I have the sneaking suspicion that right behind
Mara's magnificent braids laid the answer to this problem.
Still, even at this moment of truth, I cannot say that the
choice between succeeding on this test and spending a whole
hour and a half with full view of Mara's magnificent braids
is clear-cut. She was at the sea too. But she only joined us
after she had studied, that clever girl. Where is she
sitting now? I didn't even notice. No, I'll look later.
Test.
The electron.
Ok, just a quick glance and I'll go back to the test; I
won't be able to concentrate otherwise.
My view changed abruptly as I tear my eyes from the form,
walls, windows, door (oh precious door), teacher, students.
Each fills me with quick, fleeting associations 'till one
connects to all the joy and beauty in the world in the form
of Mara. Exchange looks, raise eyebrows, a quick grin, and I
find myself staring back at the form.
Electromagnetic waves. They exist. Electro, electron. Hmm.
Elimination process!
"The electron is a particle."
Well, it goes around the nucleus. And it's very light. Light
means it has weight, which makes it a particle.
A sliver of intense light cuts my desk. I look to the
source: the sun has come out! Beautiful day. It's a
Beautiful Day, U2's song, fills my head. I wonder if I can
get Mara to go with me to the sea again today. Where is she?
She's finished already??? Damn! Test!
"None of the above."
"All of the previous."
Damn it. I'll tackle it this way: if this question's answer
holds genius and it is a question in modern physics, this
means that it is contrary to any intuition and logic one
would normally presume to use. Like the advice my dad always
gave my mom: when you're trying to find your way and one
direction seems logically correct to you, go in the opposite
direction. She's one of those people who if when entering a
place they turned right, on the way out they'd turn right
again to return to where they started out.
So let's see. Either the electron is a particle, the
electron is a wave, the electron is neither a particle nor a
wave, or, what the fuck? the electron is a particle,  a
wave, and neither a particle nor a wave.
Not much dilemma here, I mark "4" and move on to question
number two. I look around for a second; the class is almost
empty, except for a few deadbeats like myself. I look at the
clock, SHIT . . .
1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . .
Like clockwork, the bell rings.
I hand in the form, and finally, finally, salvation, I walk
out the door. "Mara! You wanna go to the beach?"