Ten.
Helen frowned as
Agnes tried to lead her through the multiples of eight. Helen
scribbled down her answers to Agnes’s questions in what looked to
be a sloppy hand. Agnes must have noticed my stare, because she began
addressing me.
“Those are Arabic
numerals. Once you get used to them, they are far more convenient
than the Old Roman system. “Why don’t you try it out?”
She took a second
piece of canvas and charcoal and carefully wrote the numbers out.
She flipped turned the piece of cloth toward me.
I studied the
numbers quickly. They looked familiar, except for the five, which
looked more like a long letter ‘y’. I held the angular piece of
charcoal similar to how Agnes had held it, between the middle finger
and thumb, while supported by the middle finger. It was the first
time I had something like that, but the grip felt natural.
When I began
writing, the process was awkward. The charcoal spread unevenly, while
the canvas moved and pulled oddly. Also, my hand wasn’t used to
writing, so it quickly cramped up.
“You write with a
neat hand,” Agnes said approvingly.
She showed me how to write the tens places, then went through the products of eight. It all seemed familiar enough, so that I passed her quiz on the first try. Partway through, Agnes left the table to answer a knock at the door with light steps. One of the neighbors had come by for some herbs.
In the meantime, a glare bored into my side. I glanced to see Helen glaring at me.
"I'm surrounded by traitors," she grumbled. "I don't get why this is wrong."
Intrigued by her question, I looked over at her sail cloth. She had gotten up to four by eight well enough, but the problem started with five by eight. Instead of the expected 40, she had written 15.
I scribbled the roman numerals XL on the canvas before me.
"That's right," Helen said. "I'm doing the same thing with these funny numbers. Oh, why couldn't they just use the same numbers?"
I wrote out XL into 50 less 10. She seemed to get it then.
"Show me the others," Helen said.
After Agnes came back, she quizzed her daughter. With a sigh of relief after she had completed her lesson, she waved us outside to play. Helen grabbed me by the arm and dragged me after her.
She showed me how to write the tens places, then went through the products of eight. It all seemed familiar enough, so that I passed her quiz on the first try. Partway through, Agnes left the table to answer a knock at the door with light steps. One of the neighbors had come by for some herbs.
In the meantime, a glare bored into my side. I glanced to see Helen glaring at me.
"I'm surrounded by traitors," she grumbled. "I don't get why this is wrong."
Intrigued by her question, I looked over at her sail cloth. She had gotten up to four by eight well enough, but the problem started with five by eight. Instead of the expected 40, she had written 15.
I scribbled the roman numerals XL on the canvas before me.
"That's right," Helen said. "I'm doing the same thing with these funny numbers. Oh, why couldn't they just use the same numbers?"
I wrote out XL into 50 less 10. She seemed to get it then.
"Show me the others," Helen said.
After Agnes came back, she quizzed her daughter. With a sigh of relief after she had completed her lesson, she waved us outside to play. Helen grabbed me by the arm and dragged me after her.
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