People you meet at a house party

Somewhere in Brooklyn: I was at a house party not too long after I moved to New York. I was chatting with a tall gangly guy, mop of black hair and glasses.

“What do you do for work?” I asked the tall gangly guy I was standing next to, nursing our red cups.

“I’m getting my Ph.D.,” he said.

“What in?”

“Geometry.”

“Woah, cool. So, like, what do you work on?”

“Shapes.”