Skin condition

The only thing that distinguished Pronek in school was that he never, ever volunteered to do anything: no question was worthy of a voluntary answer; no task was challenging enough for him to step out of his daydreaming. In parent-teacher conferences, the teacher told Pronek's parents that he had potential, delivering her verdict with a grimace of mild disgust, as if potential were an odorous skin condition.

Nowhere Man, Aleksandar Hemon, 2oo2