Glasses
Author's Notes
((NOTE: What follows is unedited manuscript from back when I wrote this in high school. Please don’t make too much fun of it.))
Marco noticed that after a while, Mr. Chien was more at ease. “He’s probably gotten used to being around in my house,” Marco thought.
But he noticed one thing. Mr. Chien removed his glasses every time he settled down somewhere in the house. It seemed like a strange thing to do. What was the point of taking off his glasses anyway?
He ignored Mr. Chien’s strange ritual until one day he saw Mr. Chien reading a small book without glasses. The book was in Chinese with very fine print, and he wondered, “Why would he be reading the book without glasses? Doesn’t he need them to see and read?”
Mr. Chien glanced up and raised an eyebrow.
Marco realized what just happened. “Um. Did I say that out loud?”
Mr. Chien nodded. “Well, it is a valid question. You see, I’m myopic. I wear glasses when I go out for convenience.”
“… Huh? What?”
Mr. Chien quickly reworded his reply. “I’m near sighted and I can’t see far away things. So when I go out, it’s difficult for me to read signs and see fine detail on far away objects. That’s why I wear glasses.”
“Um. Oh. Ok… So why don’t you wear glasses or contacts all the time then? What’s the point of taking them off?”
Mr. Chien shrugged. “I don’t like wearing either for too long anyway. First impressions are very important, and as a negotiator, we manipulate people’s expectations. In China, glasses have always been a sign of intelligence, and this holds true for most cultures.”
Marco stared blankly back.
Mr. Chien flipped a page and looked back up. “It means I wear glasses to look smarter.”
“Oh.” Marco wasn’t expecting such a blunt answer. “You know, you still look pretty smart even without glasses.”
Mr. Chien returned back to reading the book. “Well, glasses are used as an intimidation tactic. It is difficult to read a person’s true thoughts and feelings when something obscures their eyes.”
More blank staring.
Without even glancing up, he replied, “It means that it’s harder to tell what people are thinking when they wear glasses.”
“Even without glasses it’s hard to tell what you’re thinking.”
“Heh. Well you’re the exact opposite. I could read you like a book. It’s actually quite refreshing to talk to someone who has nothing to hide. Is that how all you Americans are?”
Marco didn’t even try to hide his confused annoyance. Mr. Chien hid a small smile and continued to read while Marco left the room.