Robin,
Mouse decided, knew everything worth knowing. She didn't make him feel stupid,
or that he wasted her time when he asked questions. She got him in to see
symposium exhibits that almost everyone else was prohibited from seeing. He was
impressed when she pulled out a gold plastic card with her name on it and
flashed it at the guards at the doors, then gestured Mouse in with her. At one
place, she even introduced him to a man in a white lab coat as her friend,
Arthur. That was when he told her that his friends called him Mouse. Robin
smiled wider, eyes sparkling, as though he had given her a wonderful present. As
they walked through more exhibit halls, she explained anything he wanted to
know. He hung on her every word, as breathlessly eager as when Father read
aloud.
"How
do you know all this?" he asked, when she paused for breath.
"I just do. I read it, or I hear
people talk about it." Robin looked around the hall. Dismay crossed her
face when she found the clock.
"What?"
he blurted, sure something terrible had happened.
"I
was supposed to check into my hotel an hour ago. If I'm late, I could lose my
room, and I'll probably miss Dr. Maximovich's lecture." She rubbed her
eyes, like Father did when he had a headache. "The story of my life -- always goofing up somewhere."
"Then
run." Mouse couldn't understand why she was so worried about time. To his
delight, Robin laughed.
"Mouse,
I am so glad I met you. Will you save me a seat, if I don't get back in
time?"
"I'll go with you."
No comments:
Post a Comment