Teresa has someone interesting in most classes that she's trying to figure out, and in two of her classes it's still the same guy it's been since day one. He's hyperaware but at people, or something, and it's a puzzle. She wants to solve it. So, after Roman History:
"Hey, Theun. Walk with me to lunch?"
"Why would I walk with you? I do not actually like or trust you. I told you this already."
"You don't like anyone in this class. And it's not big enough that you can tag along with a blob of students headed lunchwards. And I'm offering."
That's... all true. Dammit.
"...I guess. Why do you keep pestering me?"
"You're a puzzle. People aren't often puzzles to me."
She starts walking, and gets a yard or two from the door before continuing.
"Like, you enter a room and you're assessing all the people in it for threats, or something. Why?"
"I literally have no idea what you're talking about." He is maybe checking people for whether they seem like enclavers? Not consciously most of the time, though?
Wow, he's either a great liar or believes that. And he gives away a lot when he's looking over the room, she'd be shocked if he's a good liar. Has he not noticed?
"You do, though. I saw you when you walked in today - you scanned everyone sitting, and were twitching with little reactions as you did."
"So, you think you know what I'm thinking better than I do. For some reason."
He tries to picture it in his head, with minimal success. She could be right?
"Well, I am very good, and very well trained - my family needs to read the room, politically, and Uncle picked me out to be this generation's expert. Some people I can tell what they're thinking easy, but mostly only very boring people. My cousin Marino, Rebecca the Pajama Girl, Orion Lake. Not you, I'm noticing some things you aren't but you're still a puzzle."
"Well, psychologically boring. He really likes fighting mals, and finds everything else tedious. He doesn't mind being a hero, but I don't think he particularly likes it either. Simple man."
"You know what, sure, if you say so. Didn't pajama girl, like, immediately seduce a New York boy and then right afterward make an alliance with Sacramento? She seemed incredibly innocent but that was a master manipulation right there."
"I'm pretty sure, but yeah, that was impressive. I think she half got lucky and half was just so innocent that nobody could fake it on purposes, and 'not a threat at all' is hard to get in here and what both of them wanted."
"So she manipulated people masterfully by... not being able to manipulate people?" Pull the other one.
"It's kind of like being terrible at lying. It's a disadvantage, but if it's obvious enough, it creates an advantage as well. And she did get lucky - the boyfriend is a guileless sheltered boy who was happy to acquire a pretty girl and trusting enough to take her innocence more or less at face value. And with Sacramento, she loves music, and Sacramento's damaged goods is a lump but I hear music is his affinity and his favorite thing - and he can still muster some interest in it, and she drew him out of his shell. So for both, she was both safe and valuable."
"I can... sort of see it. You seem like a pretty good liar yourself."
"Well, I haven't lied to you yet. I don't lie often, and I never break promises or deals, it's not worth it long-term."
"True enough. I've broken... one promise since I was eight, I think. And it was one my brother didn't actually expect me to keep, polite lies."
"Seriously? Fuck you. I bet I can figure it out, grill your whole enclave until I work it out. Embarrass the shit out of you in the process, too."
Okay, taunting her is kinda fun.
"Maybe. Explain your boring cousin to me and I might save you the trouble."
"Hmm. Okay, a condition: you don't go spreading it around. Enclave solidarity, right, because he's not like Lake, it's not going to be complimentary, and I don't want to hear "Calloconti's been badmouthing her cousin to randoms." anywhere else. You can act on it, maybe even pass it on as long as you pass it off as something you figured out yourself. And you tell me the fake promise, this is worth it."
"...Don't spread mine around, either. No one's going to ask, it has no practical consequences, it's just for your curiosity, so I promise it doesn't need the qualifiers. But if you add that? Then, deal."
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