The Budding Metalinguist

XXIV

"And you didn't tell me."

Lillian stared back defiantly into Daria's eyes. "No, I didn't tell you. I'm sorry."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Daria asked in confusion, pacing back and forth. "Is it even true? Are you just trying to fix my relationship problems?"

"It's true," Lillian responded, trying to sound convincing. "I know who was in the Reading Room, and it wasn't Brandon. I swear."

Daria still didn't seem satisfied. She paced back and forth like a trapped animal. "Why didn't she just reveal herself and leave?"

"She probably didn't want to admit that she was there," Lillian responded quickly. "She was probably embarrassed. If it was me, I wouldn't want to seem like I was spying on you. So she just tried to leave quietly."

"And the door creaked," Daria finished.

"And the door creaked," Lillian confirmed. "I know it wasn't Brandon. I know him and I know he wouldn't do that. I talked to him about it, and he was so glad to hear that I knew who it was. He was worried that you would be upset."

"He was worried that I would be upset?" Daria queried cautiously.

"Yes. He didn't want to upset you."

Daria's initial frustration seemed to be abating. "That's nice of him."

"Yes, it is," Lillian said quietly.

"I'm going to the café," Daria cut in abruptly. She slung her backpack over her shoulder and paced out the door.

Lillian smirked. "That was quick," she muttered to herself.

❧☙

Dakota reminded himself that it was absolutely absurd to miss someone after not seeing them for one day. But now that he was teaching Lillian again, he felt so amazingly glad he was able to see her. He once again missed her too much. It was probably getting unhealthy.

She, on the other hand, looked more intrigued by the possibility of learning something than she was to see him again.

"Today is for a shortcut," Dakota explained. "I'm going to teach you about the Idea of Activation."

Lillian's eyes brightened in anticipation while she waited for Dakota to explain.

"For anything you need to turn on or off, you can use this," he explained. "If you were planning on using the Idea of Motion to flip a switch or close a window or unlock a door, it's easier to use the Idea of Activation." Dakota demonstrated by taking his phone out of his pocket. But instead of turning it on via the typical method of pressing the home button, he held it out in front of him and used the Idea of Activation to turn it on and unlock it. Lillian watched with interest.

"Is it all right if I try with your phone, Kern?" she asked with a tinge of nervousness in her voice.

"It's fine," he responded carelessly. "Please stop calling me Kern."

She nodded, though Dakota was sure she had no intent of changing her behavior. Instantly, the phone in his hand clicked off. He tapped the screen to turn it back on.

"You turned it all the way off," he accused.

She nodded. "You said it was all right."

Dakota was suddenly worried. How much power did she have? The first time he had used the Idea of Activation, he had not been able to use that much energy. Even though he cared deeply for Lillian, she made him nervous. Especially with her constant displays of metalinguistic competence.

With a sigh, he set his phone on the slipstone floor and gestured for Lillian to begin practicing.

❧☙

Galena strode purposefully into the DIAO building the next day. She noticed Evan standing aimlessly in the hall and accosted him with unusual resolve. Carefully, she dug in her pocket and removed the cat collar, pinching it between her thumb and finger. "Can you test this for fingerprints?"

Evan nodded, and beckoned for her to come back to the lab, where he indicated for her to set the collar on the counter. "Why do you need a cat collar tested for fingerprints?" he asked suspiciously.

Galena sighed. "Would you mind?"

Evan nodded mechanically and hurried away to get the tests ready. Galena exited the lab and headed down to the end of the hallway, to Derek's office. She swung her head inside the doorway.

"Morning, Derek. Would you mind getting me some information on Robert and Greta Howell?"

In a flash, Derek opened a new document and was typing down the names. He confirmed the spelling and then nodded. "Who are they?"

Galena pursed her lips. "I think they might be helpful with the investigation, but I'm not sure. If you can get me some information about them, I can check them out and see if they might be connected." She felt bad lying to Derek, but quickly justified herself. She needed to find out what happened to Rolf.

It was lucky for him that he'd told her the names of his parents, she mused. Otherwise she would never have been able to find out anything about him.

"I'll get back to you later today," Derek confirmed, with a clear implication of dismissal in his voice.

"Sandy, you damned cat," Galena muttered to herself in triumph. "You made all this happen."