The Budding Metalinguist

III

Lillian didn't feel the need to continue knocking on Dr. Hests' door. She knew from footsteps inside the office that the chair of the thaumaturgy department was on her way.

Dr. Hests opened the door wearing yet another of her infamous hats. For a moment, Lillian wondered if hats were a trend among thaumaturgy department professors, given Professor Kern's ever-present beanie, but then recalled that she didn't know of any other professors who followed the pattern.

"Lillian!" Dr. Hests greeted warmly. Lillian was glad to see that the professor remembered her from a session they'd had the previous month, yet another of her unsuccessful attempts to practice thaumaturgy.

Lillian returned the greeting and, after invitation, stepped inside. She began to explain how she had failed again in her appointment with Professor Kern and how the results of a recent DNA test had come back to show that, unfortunately, she had Ryan's syndrome. The general idea was the same, but almost all of the specifics were lies.

"I'm sure we can get you an override," Dr. Hests said sympathetically once Lillian was finished with her story. "I can speak to the head of thaumaturgy labs."

"I already skipped my class," Lillian said anxiously. "It was supposed to be today, but when the results came back, I figured it was pointless for me to go." She had the sudden realization that she'd left her lab partner Brandon to do all the thaumaturgy and write the group report on his own.

"That's fine," Dr. Hests replied. "What section are you in?"

"THAUM 101L with Amandi Liu."

"Do you remember the section number?"

Lillian shook her head. "I can look it up and let you know later."

"I'm pretty sure Amandi only teaches one section. I'll email you if I need the section number." Dr. Hests began taking notes in neat handwriting.

"You don't need my test results?"

Dr. Hests looked up at her. "I worked with you. Your difficulty with thaumaturgy surprised me a great deal; I thought teaching you would be easy. Typical symptoms of Ryan's."

Lillian nodded, grateful. She didn't want to show Dr. Hests the papers; she would have had to ask Diane to send her a copy without the DIAO letterhead. "Do I need to explain this to Amandi?"

Dr. Hests narrowed her eyes, evaluating the situation. Her expression sharply contrasted the foolishly thoughtless aura emanating from her dramatic blue hat. "No, I'll take care of it. You're still going to have to take THAUM 101, just not the lab."

Lillian nodded, replying with a vague affirmative to ensure that Dr. Hests knew she understood.

"I'll send you the override form tomorrow," Dr. Hests said, in lieu of a goodbye. Lillian closed the door respectfully and slowly behind her.

She stared for a few moments at the end of the hall, towards Professor Kern's office, before descending the stairs to the first floor.

☙❧

Dakota could hardly stop congratulating himself for his success. Or, at least, what he considered to be his success.

I don't think she trusts you yet, the voice in his head reminded him. You still have to be careful.

"Well, she doesn't completely trust me, but it's definitely a start," Dakota argued. "She's curious enough to keep coming back."

I don't fully trust her yet. What if she finds out something important and discloses it to the DIAO?