"- well, the school doesn't care if I cheat, so that is why the cheat sheet," she says, tapping it. "And they are in the book, so they might be important, and if I use them a lot then it might help to memorize, like knowing how to add is better than needing to count."

"Adding and counting are literally the same thing but I see your point."

"Mm-hm!" Geometring geometring.

Geometring!

Eventually he will have to go do the other things on his not-really-a-schedule-yet. Perhaps after they've geometered they can set a time to meet up again.

"Sure, when is good?" she asks, producing her planner again.

That is totally a question he has an answer to.

At the time when is good, Nia can be located doing one of "break: flop!" or "mana: meditate!" depending on your interpretation of her current repose in the Montréal area of the reading room.

"Hi, Nia! I have things in writing with hour amounts now."

"And does this help you do things enough?"

"Well, it helps me figure out that the problem is all the things that need more than a day of work and need to be done as soon as possible but without a specific firm deadline other than 'the sooner the better' - or graduation, I guess - and the fact that I sleep, that also seems like a problem."

"Yes, terrible, very bad design about the sleep. What are the so many things you have to do?"

"Well, I expect to need to put another hundred hours of work into my spellbook, and another, I don't know, fifteen or so on one of my secret extra credit shop projects, and probably less than that on my other secret extra credit shop project but I'm less able to estimate how long that one is going to take, and - you know, homework and stuff."

"...how do you have, already, two secret extra credit shop projects. Also what is so complicated in your spellbook?"

"I am an overachiever!" He winks. "But seriously, one of the projects is building toward my secret plot to organize a talent show. The spellbook's just really long and old."

"Talent show! Delightful. I can do stage hypnosis, I learned from Dad's most peculiar friend. Is the spellbook very good?"

"Yes! It's mostly weird shields and partly weird things that aren't shields. So, stage hypnosis, huh, you figure you'll have anyone who wants to try that here?"

"With plenty witnesses as a whole show perhaps! Helpful for being less anxious, they say. How many weird shields does a Val need?"

"Well, probably not more than one book of them, if only because by the time I get through with this book I think I'll have exhausted all of the things a shield could possibly do. Or at least it feels like that."

"You can throw it back if you need only, oh, forty."

Shrug. "Maybe I will. That's what you'd do?"

"If they were TREMENDOUSLY good spells perhaps I would keep at it, but you do not have to learn the whole book by heart. What were you asking for?"

"I wanted to double-check my affinity by seeing what I'd get if I didn't ask for anything too specific. I suspected, before, but now I'm sure."

"If it is your affinity it taking a hundred hours is... a lot. How big a book is this?"

" - Big enough that I'm going to build some mana throwing it back, honestly, I think I'm about sold on doing that."

"Do at least look at titles, make sure you are not skipping the best spell."