Teddy from Taiwan

For tonight, a few of the students from the student accommodation where I’m staying in Sydney prepared a Halloween trivia. An excessive number of snacks get served at these events. I have no food, so I will definitely attend.

Before the quiz begins, I check to see if I have received any grades. Feedback has been added for two assignments. The first assignment reads:

“I see what you were trying to do here Onno, but it’s not executed well enough. Your story is simply too vague and repetitive.”

The grade is a six. The feedback on the second assignment is:

“You did a nice job, some truly interesting compositions! Well done!”

Also a six.

Before the quiz begins, one of the organisers strictly announces that you can only eat snacks if you participate in the quiz.

“We see too many times at events like this that you don’t participate at all and only show up to stuff yourselves with free food!”

I grab a can of energy and a muffin and drop myself on a couch. One of the other residents waddles in while holding up his pants. A Singaporean student sits down next to me and asks if I know someone named Teddy.

“No, why?”

“Last week I went to take a shower at two in the morning, and when I finished there was a very tall guy standing at the sink. He introduced himself as Teddy, from Taiwan. But the next day, I asked the receptionist about a new resident named Teddy from Taiwan, and there is no one named Teddy from Taiwan living here at all. There’s not even someone named Teddy here. And no one from Taiwan either.”

“I’ll pay attention to it”, I respond.

The quiz proceeds slowly. Every question has to be repeated because the quizmaster has a thick Indian accent. It gradually starts to irritate the student with the loose pants. When question 15 has to be repeated, he can’t hold it in anymore.

“There are twenty more questions, I don’t want to sit here all night! Just listen to what she says!”

During the rest of the quiz, the atmosphere is quite uncomfortable. In the end, the boy with the loose pants is the winner. I accept his prize, a bag of candy, at his request. After all, he has to hold up his pants with both hands.

“Maybe you should buy tighter pants,” I say.

“No, I just need to lose weight.”