Not Enough Red Alerts

(We have a new intern who isn’t the brightest spark.)

Intern: “Why isn’t this pen red?”

Me: *looking over* “Because it’s black?”

Intern: “But I need it to be red.”

Me: “Well, there’s a red pen in front of you. You can use that.”

Intern: “But what if that pen isn’t red?”

Me: “Trust me, it is.”

Intern: “But how do you know?“

(Two coworkers and I then spent close to half an hour trying to explain how a pen that had RED printed on it and was coated in red plastic was an indication that it would write in red ink. I don’t think it sunk in, as when she tried it she seemed genuinely shocked that it was, in fact, a red pen. I should have just said I’d used it previously.)