I had a good thing going - everything was chugging along nicely, I was coming across as confident, and as though I knew what I was talking about. That isn't to suggest that I didn't have a clue or anything like that, but maybe my confidence in my sales pitch was a bit exaggerated. I wasn't selling anything more than the very same confidence I possessed, of course; my mentor needed something to justify having me as a pupil. But anyhow, it is fairly obvious to the astute reader that the good thing was all too soon gone, and the balance of power shifted. It was all at the hands of an anonymous toddler.

Yes, this little fellow had captured my mentor's attention, and caused him to laugh. Being seated where I was, I couldn't see out the door, and had to rely on the cute wailings that drifted through. I couldn't help smile, and it was a nice moment that I would ruin by trying to make a joke. "An early start to computer science", I believe I said. If I made a movie about this (I'm a narcissist), I'd feature a copy of myself drinking something, only to splutter "What?" at this monstrosity. It is a terribly common affliction, no doubt, to lose control with a joke gone astray, but surely since it was borne out of someone who has just learn to walk, I would be spared the injustice? Ah, the find minds who wrote the paper I had in front of me, not even they would be able to fathom this.

My mentor only gave a weak laugh, but I could sense that I had lost the upper hand. In the brief discussion that followed, I merely listened, for I knew that I had to abide by the ancient rules handed down by my forefathers. What might have been had I kept control? Perhaps I would be pupil no longer. But it was not to be - and who knows, maybe the toddler was only in my mind.