Writers 
There is this strange tradition among students and it is that nobody admits to studying.
Ever!
You can spend six hours in the library, finish two chapters, solve past questions and even watch three lectures videos on YouTube.
But the moment somebody asks, “Have you read?”
The answer is almost always NO. You suddenly become a victim of academic neglect.
I remember this one afternoon when a friend walked up to me after class.
“Have you started reading for the test?” I hesitated and then responded, “Not really.”
She nodded sympathetically and said “Same. I haven't even opened the book.”
“Me too”, I said.
We both looked at each other, then she asked, “So what have you been doing?”
“Nothing.”
“Same”, she said.
We walked away both feeling strangely comforted.
The next day, I got to the library early. I mean very early. I found a seat, brought out my books and started reading. About an hour later, someone walked past my table. It was the same friend I met yesterday.
She stopped. Looked at my books. Looked at me and then smiled.
“You said you haven't started.”
I looked up, “I haven't.”
She pointed at the book, “Then what is this?”
“This?”
“Yes.”
“I'm just looking”, I said.
She laughed and replied, “Looking at what?”
“The book.”
She shook her head and walked away. I continued reading.
About thirty minutes later, I saw her at another table. Three textbooks, a notebook, a past-question booklet and earphones.
I walked over.
“Ah.”
She looked up, “What?”
“So you haven't started?”
She stared at me, “I haven't.”
I looked at the books.
She looked at my books.
We both started laughing.
“You're a liar.”
“You too!”
That was when I realized something.
Students don't actually answer the question “Have you read?”
They answer a completely different question.
“How much do you want me to know about how prepared you are?”
And the safest answer is almost always, “Nothing.”
Even when “nothing” means you've been studying since Monday.
A few days later, the question came up again.
This time, it was a group conversation.
Someone asked: “Guys, have you people started reading?”
Silence filled the air.
Then someone said, “Me? I haven't read anything.”
Another person nodded, “Same.”
“I just started yesterday”, said another.
“Which topic?” “I haven't even opened that one”, a girl said.
I just sat there listening.
Then someone asked me, “You?”
I was about to give the usual answer, “No, I haven't really—”
Then somebody interrupted, “Please, let's stop lying.”
Everybody laughed.
She continued, “I saw three of you in the library yesterday.”
Someone defended themselves, “I was not reading.”
“ But you had a textbook.”
“I was looking for something.”
“Ah! For three hours?”
“I like the library.”
That nearly finished us.
Then another person confessed, “Okay, fine. I've read.”
Everyone turned.
“How much?”
She immediately became defensive, “Why are you asking me?”
“Because you just said you've read!”
“I said I've read. I didn't say I've understood.”
That shut everybody up.
Because that was the real issue.
Sometimes you don't want to admit you've been reading because admitting it creates another problem, which is people now expect you to know things.
If you say you've read five topics and the lecturer asks you a question tomorrow and you don't know the answer, suddenly you feel like you've disappointed everybody.
So it's safer to say: “I haven't read.”
Nobody expects anything from you.
And if you actually do well? Well, Wonderful! You've surprised everybody.
We eventually started comparing what we had covered to what we haven't.
Someone had read one topic.
Someone had done three.
Someone had watched lectures but had not opened the textbook.
Someone had read the textbook but had not touched past questions.
Someone had done absolutely nothing and was somehow the most relaxed person at the table.
Then somebody asked the question again.
“So, have you people read?”
This time, nobody answered immediately.
We looked at each other.
Then someone laughed.
“Apparently, everybody has been reading.”
And that was the funniest part. We had spent days pretending we were all equally unprepared. Meanwhile, everyone had been quietly doing something. Not because we wanted to deceive each other, but we just didn't want to be the person who admitted they were trying.
Maybe that's another strange thing about being a student. Sometimes we hide the effort almost as much as we hide the struggle.
We don't want people to know we've been studying in case we still don't understand. We don't want them to know we are worried. We don't want to sound too serious.
So when someone asks, “Have you read?”
we instinctively say: “No ooo.”
Then go back to our books and read.