#rivervale_lodge

"I don't know what to do."

Sylvi thinks, "Okay, hang on...I tend to get annoyed as soon as I hear his name, now, but let me think..." A pause. "He wasn't snarky when I brought him over. He was...I mean, we're not buddies or anything, but he wasn't being mister sullen like he sometimes does."

"So maybe something did happen before you saw him, Gerd."

"Dagmar, are you still teaching him? I mean, I know you've been away, but what did you two arrange when you got back?"

"Nothing new yet. He seemed mad on the phone, so I figured I'd wait"

Gerd shrugs "Maybe it's me. I mean... ah who knows"

"It seems like it's everyone but me and Zane..."

A glance at Gerd, then back to Dagmar. "Did you tell him you were going? I mean...oh...oh, wow, I just realized...I didn't really check up on him at all while you were away. And if you didn't tell him you were going...." A sigh. "Wow. He must have felt totally ditched."

"I was just so busy with everything else...." A guilty look.

"Sylvi, you are not responsible for every person we know getting a memo on a secret mission" Gerd says

"No, but he's just so fragile."

"I didn't tell anybody..."

"Like, step wrong, and crunch goes his ego, or whatever."

"I mean, they would have... well, Tove wouldn't have..."

She pulls a frown. "And then he gets mean, yeah."

"Hey, I've totally left without warning, too. You gotta do it, sometimes. I just should have remembered to cover for you with him."

Then a wry look. "He'd love this, though. Ladies, we are totally failing the Bechdel Test."

"...the what?"

Gerd laughs

"The Bechdel Test? It's this thing...." And she explains.

I don't do well on tests...

"Oh.. man, I don't think.. I mean.. don't MOST movies fail that?"

"Yup. More recent ones are starting to do better."

"Yeah, some of them good too, but I get it. Uncle Olgar told me about it" Gerd says "of course, if you have it be lesbians, it's just as shallow but passes says Uncle Vali"

Sylvi nods, looking down at the table top.

BLUSH.

"But what can we do? I mean.. huh.. I bet Jonas or maybe even Siv can turn him female for a time. Then we'd pass"

"Um."

"Um, I don't think we should..."

"No, it's...." A sigh. "I just mean, it would probably thrill him to know that we're talking about him, even if it's because we're annoyed by him."

"Not unless it was praise. Maybe we're asking the wrong folks? Who haven't we asked for advice about Adam? Not the Chief. We've asked. "

"...Kerri?"

"Yeah, I don't know how much Mom's talked with him. Maybe. I mean...don't take this wrong, Dagmar, but she was pretty good with you when you were at your prickliest."

"How about olgar?"

"Exactly. She knew the right thing..."

"NO."

"Why not Dad?"

"No, we saw Olgar and he got all... " She shakes her head. "Like... like he had to front, you know?"

"I mean....maybe Adam needs to talk to a guy?"

"Yeah, kind of where I went with it... we need a guy brain." A pause "They have brains right?"

"Really? Geez...."

Sigh. "That's how he was with Dirk the first day of school. Had to step to him."

"Exactly."

"But, like... why? I don't get it. We all know he couldn't take Olgar, so what?"

Sylvi frowns. "He's not....his dad doesn't abuse him, right?"

"I .. really you think it's that?"

"Seriously, I'm spitballing here. Grabbing at straws."

"And he's not a bully ....he just doesn't take stuff well."

"No way." She frowns.

"Forget I said it."