January 26: Day of Absolution
Today I got an e-mail from Luke.
Dear Francesca,
I believe I have complied with my end of our
arbitration (in spades),
without so much as a thank you from you. But so be it. I will assume
that I’m absolved of
all guilt. Let’s fast forward to the matter of our hang-out session.
Perhaps it would work better for you if I
exhumed some tangible motive
for us to hang out. Which segues nicely
into the following question: Did you ever get around to taking a
practice exam? Because one of the things I’d been meaning to tell
you was, the SAT is less about how much vocabulary (or math) you
know. It’s a game, and you have to play the right way.
See, America thinks it’s meritocratic—that
people gain access to schools and cultural capital because of intelligence and
hard work. But the truth is, rich kids from big cities and the suburbs
are taking courses for $800 that prepare them for the SAT, while
penurious kids from the
South Bronx don’t have that option. But I
digress. The point is,
since you have the option of getting an advantage for free, you
may as well take it. I can show you things that will improve your
score. That provides, in my opinion, sufficient motive
for you to rationalize hanging out with me. Do you agree?
Luke
