Read the excerpt from The Number Devil.

"And besides . . . I hate everything that has to do with numbers."

“And why is that, may I ask?"

“You sound as though you never went to school. Or maybe you are a teacher yourself?

"'If 2 pretzel makers can make 444 pretzels in 6 hours, how long does it take 5 pretzel makers to make 88 pretzels?'"

"How dumb can you get!" said Robert. "A colossal waste of time if you ask me. So get going! Scram! Shoo!"

What is Robert trying to accomplish?

He is trying to persuade the number devil to leave him alone.
He is trying to help the number devil solve a math problem.
He is trying to find out if the number devil is educated.
He is trying to prove that the number devil is imaginary.