The void darkened. The Curator grew twice as tall.

Leo counted on his fingers. Ratio 3:2 means for every 3 primes, 2 squares. 15 primes means 5 groups of 3. So 5 groups of 2 squares = 10 squares.

“Last question. The one you always skip. The one about the trains.”

Tonight was the final night. The deadline: midnight. His current score: 31%.

He stared at Question 7. “A train leaves Paris at 14:00, traveling at 90 km/h. Another train leaves Berlin at 15:30, traveling at 120 km/h. The distance between Paris and Berlin is 1050 km. At what time do they meet?” Leo’s eyes glazed over. He typed “11:47 PM” as a joke. The screen buzzed red.

The door marked glowed green. The Curator nodded, almost impressed. Leo pushed it open. Safe.

Leo was not a bad student. He was, in fact, quite clever. But his brain worked in pictures and stories, not in x’s and y’s. Numbers slipped through his fingers like sand.

Leo closed his eyes. He stopped trying to calculate . He started telling a story.