(no subject)

[gone_byebye]

The door, as is usual, opens on an alleyway in New York City. Overhead the sky is grey. The air is unseasonably warm; Ray wrinkles his nose. "It'd be nice if the planet could remember that this is November," he says. "Okay, Matilda. This is where I came in."

Comments

[gone_byebye]

"You haven't had to read about real estate law," says Ray.

"We can skip that at first," Ecto says. "Unless Louis says it's important for learning to invest."

[precocioustilda.livejournal.com]

"If you say so." She giggles. "I'll reserve judgment until I've read some myself."

Which of course means she's going to be looking up real estate law at the first opportunity just to see what all the fuss is about.

[gone_byebye]

"Patent law's better reading," says Ray. "At least then you have an excuse to go through other people's inventions and see if they've had any interesting ideas, even if you have to avoid stepping on their toes afterwards as a result."

"I get some really neat stuff from the Patent Office's computers," Ecto agrees. "Since they all have to be on public record and all."

[precocioustilda.livejournal.com]

"Brilliant." Tilda beams. "What sorts of things?"

[gone_byebye]

"Everything," says Ecto. "Designs for reflective armor for laser surgery patients and doctors, funky new ways of sewing up down comforters, devices for carrying spent nuclear reactor fuel rods safely, metal things that chefs rub on their hands to remove the garlic smell- all kinds of things!"

[precocioustilda.livejournal.com]

"I'd love to read through some of those sometime. It sounds fantastic. All those different inventions!"

[gone_byebye]

"Check the Patent Office's databases in your world," suggests Ecto. "'Cause the paper files are huuuuuuge."

[precocioustilda.livejournal.com]

"I will!" Possibly even before she investigates real estate law!

[gone_byebye]

"Okay," says Ecto. "Hey, are you hungry? I think Dad is."

"I just ate, Ecto."

"Cereal doesn't count."

[precocioustilda.livejournal.com]

"Cereal does too count. But yes, I am. It's been a while since breakfast."

About six hours, in fact. ...She was doing calculus. It was fun. She lost track of time.

[gone_byebye]

"'kay. Because there's some leftover Chinese food upstairs from the other day."

"Ecto, Matilda's a guest," says Ray. "We'll get her something new."

[precocioustilda.livejournal.com]

"I have no particular objection to leftover Chinese food," she says, giggling. "But thank you!"

[gone_byebye]

"Slimer's probably gotten into the leftovers by now," Ray says. "We'll go out for something. He's been on a rampage today."

[precocioustilda.livejournal.com]

"Slimer?"

No, she hasn't heard of him. Or if she has, she forgot. Possibly her ability to forget things like Slimer says something about her.

[gone_byebye]

"The first ghost we ever busted," says Ray. "I'm reasonably sure that he's actually a spiritual personification of the concept of appetite rather than the ghost of somebody dead. Those happen sometimes. He's a class five free-roaming non-terminating phantasm, more simply described as a green flying booger with arms and a bottomless stomach."

[precocioustilda.livejournal.com]

"Charming. Yes, I think you may've mentioned him before. It must have somehow slipped my mind."

She tilts her head.

"So. Food?"

[gone_byebye]

"Food," Ray says. "Pizza sound reasonable? We can usually distract the spud by ordering a sacrificial pie."

[precocioustilda.livejournal.com]

"Pizza sounds entirely reasonable!"

Matilda lived off waffles for several months straight. The concept of nutrition is one with which she is extremely well acquainted, but only in the most theoretical of senses.

Also the idea of sacrificial pie makes her giggle.