Firestone Hot Springs hanging in my infant air, waiting

cam followed a very specific social code—that of 'wwld': what would lily do? or, rather, in this case, what would lily say? that was silly in itself; lily would know exactly what to do and say here. in fact, she'd be the one taking the girl home with her, not the other way around! still. . .cam reached back into his mind, trying to find. . .the perfect. . .

all right! her chipper voice floated through his mind, as if she were suddenly there by his side, and he brightened a bit. cam lifted his chin, giving ibis the ghost of a smile, and chirped, all right! in a near perfect imitation of his mother's tone.

it was hollow, and it made him feel weird. but he didn't know what else to do, otherwise. he had never been in this situation before and only grasping onto mummy's wisdom, even if it was far away now, was helpful. he stared at the girl expectantly, the intense look of his gaze at odds with the pleasantly placid set of his mouth.