Re: dock: atticus and mal
Wasn't bothered by the cavalier comments. Wasn't bothered by much, really. Had learned young that quietly accepting the ghosts in the room was better than histrionics. Histrionics never amounted to anything. Better to be still and wait. Things worked out eventually, for good or ill, if you just waited. Was good at waiting. "Might. Don't like absolutes." Another life lesson. Knew better than to be tethered to absolutes. Absolute ideas. Absolute needs. Absolute expectations. Were all bad. All allowed for too much disappointment. "Probably fine?" Chuckled. "You're terrible at lying."
Didn't actually know what a solid state drive was. No point in making that known. Also knew that the key to lying was the absence of words. People assumed acceptance of whatever they were saying if you said nothing in return. Worked with other people's claims too. Was silent. Listened. Listening was also good. Life lessons. "Sure. Will buy a Walkman off you. Have been meaning to order one, but haven't gotten around to it." No real reason why. Had nothing but time on his hands, but he had always been prone to putting things off to do later. Just turned the boombox up when he was around the house. Had made procrastination easier. "Look young to own a shop. Story to go with that?" Assumed that, yes, there was a story. Hooded guy staring at a dark house on a lake? Felt like the beginning of a novel. Almost glanced around looking for a green light at the end of a dock.
But then Shakespeare made a sound. A click? Looked down at Mal's fingers. "Look at that. What's inside?" Had no clue. Knew it was supposed to help with the radio waves, but that was the extent of his knowledge. "Going to have to tell Janus I cheated," he said of getting the puzzle open. Grinned a lazy, self-satisfied grin, as if cheating was something to be proud about. Was almost smug.