‘That’s nothing,’ said Nadya. ‘Alka Postoeva told me, “Your papa’s become a genius.”’ ‘No,’ said Viktor, ‘I’m not yet a genius.’ He went off to his room. A moment later, however, he came back and said: ‘I just can’t get this nonsense out of my head. Two dozen eggs for Svechin! It’s amazing what ways they find to humiliate people.’ To Viktor’s shame, what hurt him most was being put on the same level as Sokolov. ‘Yes, they should have recognized my merits by allowing me at least one extra egg. They could have given Sokolov fourteen – just as a symbolic distinction.’
