slow progress

[keep_busy]

Eventually Annie goes home for the day. Her mother lives a long but doable walk from campus, but Annie makes the trip by tricycle for speed and safety, or bus when the ice is too bad to allow riding. This is a trike day.

She tells her mother as straightforwardly as she can what has happened.

Her mother wants to meet the boy, but accepts that this should probably wait until the situation with Zevaia changes one way or another.

A few hours after Annie gets home, she gets a call from the Dean's office. There are results in; she can go hear them at the office. Apparently they're not supposed to release them over the phone for some obscure reason of policy.

Coat goes back on Annie, Annie goes back on trike, trike goes back on campus.

Comments

[kindestgarden]

"You must be Aldaras. She's in the shower - is it important enough that I should barge in? I don't know how this works..."

[touchedinthehead]

"I am! We can probably manage you yelling it. Yell that I don't see invisible people, please?"

[kindestgarden]

"All right. Annie! Aldaras says he doesn't see invisible people!" Pause. "I think I heard her say 'okay'."

[touchedinthehead]

"Mmm. Tentative pass. I'll try not to think about it too much. Anyway, sorry about that. Artifacts do strange things."

[kindestgarden]

"I'll make sure she heard when she comes out, anyway. Call back if you need to."

[touchedinthehead]

"Thank you very much, ma'am."

[kindestgarden]

"Call me Rinty, dear."

[touchedinthehead]

"Sure. You're Annie's mom, I take it?"

[kindestgarden]

"That's right!"

[touchedinthehead]

"It's nice to - well, this isn't exactly meeting you, but talk to you."

[kindestgarden]

"Likewise, I'm sure. Annie had nice things to say about you."

[touchedinthehead]

"... Did she?"

He sounds delighted by this fact. Not fishing for compliments, just - genuinely happy that Annie has nice things to say about him.

[kindestgarden]

"She did! Not terribly detailed things, but nice ones."

[touchedinthehead]

"Aww. I'm flattered, I hope I live up to them."

[kindestgarden]

"Annie's sharp as a tack, I think she has your number."

[touchedinthehead]

"She is," he agrees, "pretty wonderful."

[kindestgarden]

"Are you likely to be visiting her here at all? Should I be taking note of your food preferences?"

[touchedinthehead]

"If she wants me to?"

[kindestgarden]

"Well, just in case, then - allergies, aversions?"

[touchedinthehead]

"None, I'm pretty easy to cook for."

[kindestgarden]

"How convenient."

[touchedinthehead]

"I try. If all else fails and it turns out to be unfavorably comparable to charcoal, I can always just cook something for myself later."

[kindestgarden]

"My cooking has never been compared to charcoal before."

[touchedinthehead]

"See, there you are, we'll get along just fine."

[kindestgarden]

"Certainly more convenient than the alte- Annie! Did you hear what I shouted?"