Chapter 24
Twenty-Four
Scarlett
22 Years Old
The wood backing of the canvas felt sturdy in Scarlett’s hands as she transferred it to the last easel in the corner of the room, away from the others that faced the front. Normally, there was a potted snake plant in that corner because it was by far her neediest plant with its thirst for direct sunlight, but she had to move it every Monday after her evening paint and sip class to make more room. Last night, however, she had moved it earlier than planned because Lucia Diaz had showed up to the paint and sip class with Harper, Saanvi, and a slew of other people. The unusual turnout had Scarlett scrapping for extra space and supplies, dodging her cat skittishly hugging her legs in fear of company. Lucia had brought her own supplies, of course, still packed in the gift bag that Colin had given her. Like always, Colin must have done his research because the supplies were the brands Scarlett splurged on when it was her birthday or a special occasion. In a way, the paints and brushes ended up as a gift for her after all, because watching Lucia smile as she painted, sipped wine, and swayed to an ABBA record was what made teaching so special. Painting had brought Scarlett back to life after the loss of her brother all those years ago, and watching Lucia work through her own grief was a gift. Something about breathing life into a blank canvas made living feel all the more special. The paintings made in today’s class were going to be on the more abstract side, given the developing hand-eye coordination of children, but nonetheless, they would be beautiful.
The color theory lesson Scarlett had planned was prepped, complete with laminated copies of a few different color wheels throughout history dating back to 1704 alongside the bright-colored images she had printed of flowers found in the woods during a search for inspiration. Some of the ones she had taken photos of matched tattoos coloring her right arm: all flowers that could be found in Oregon wildlife. A small thrill settled in her bones as she finished setting out the last of the brushes. Every art class day was a good day. She loved working for the foundation, but there was something special about watching young minds create and express themselves. It was a high like no other.
The station Scarlett created for herself at the front of the class had its own canvas at the ready that she had already toned with a burnt tan color. It was fully dry and the perfect size to finally start her portrait of Tucker. And yet, she had looked at it all morning hoping that excitement would blossom and propel her forward, and all she felt was anxiety. Knowing her, she would probably get within a scary amount of time to finish the project before the gala and kick it out in a hyperfixated deadline trance.
It was twenty minutes before class was supposed to begin when Scarlett heard the studio door open from her office. Her cat, a white Turkish Angora, hopped out of her lap to greet the guest before she could even move her chair out from under her desk. No one usually showed up this early, but occasionally she would get a new student who would come in with their parent or guardian ahead of time to meet her. It was either that or a random walk-in for a commission piece. When she caught sight of sandy blond hair and a tan knitted sweater, she realized it was neither of those options and instead a secret third option that was much worse.
“Colin?” Scarlett almost choked on his name, coming to a grinding halt when she saw him. For the most part, Colin had kept his word to stay out of her life, so she couldn’t imagine why he was showing up to her art studio before a flock of kids was due to come in. The funeral had taken place nearly a month ago, and she hadn’t spoken to him since. Harper had seen him once when the whole Diaz side of her family traveled up to Fletcher University to watch the musical that Leo had directed, the very same play Colin’s sister Piper had starred in. Harper had mostly been quiet about any interactions she had had with Colin other than to make note that she and Saanvi had given him a few more withering looks than normal.
“Hi.” Colin waved stiffly and adjusted the leather tote bag on his shoulder. “Who’s this?” He smiled slightly and pointed down at the heap of white fur rubbing up against his legs like the little traitor she was.
“Pepto,” Scarlett said shortly, bending down to pick up her cat. Pepto squirmed in her hold, no doubt annoyed that Scarlett had prevented her from getting her head scratched by the new love of her life, Colin Hartrick. Typical. “She’s my studio cat.”
“You named your cat Pepto?” Colin asked. “Like peptide bonds and pink Play-Doh?”
“What are you doing here?” The question came out angry, but Scarlett couldn’t help it any more than she could help that her heartbeat was suddenly in her ears. It was her own damn fault for seeing the cat’s cute pink nose and ears three years ago at a shelter and—as Colin had so easily deduced—naming her Pepto after her and Colin’s first-ever chemistry lesson.
Colin’s head swiveled around the room, and Scarlett was suddenly very self-conscious of where she had placed every object in the space, right down to the colorful rug beneath her feet and the abundance of plants lining every available surface, some of which had dead leaves she hadn’t gotten around to removing yet. “I joined the mentorship program you asked me to join, and they paired me with Theodore Whitlock.” Colin pulled a stack of papers out of his bag and held them up as proof. “I’m supposed to meet him today. His foster mom and I agreed that I should come early so that when he arrives, I’m already a part of the environment.”
“They paired you with Theo?” She loosened her grip on Pepto, and the cat happily plopped to the floor and started figure-eighting between hers and Colin’s legs. Scarlett’s heart felt like it was stuck in her throat. She hadn’t realized that Theo was in the program at all, but it made sense. A lot of the after-school programs coincided. A bunch of the kids from her class also attended the Boys and Girls Club and a gardening program run by none other than their old high school chemistry teacher, Ms. Matthews.
“I know you said that you wanted me to stay away, but your aunt seemed to think you might change your mind if it was for Theo. They haven’t been able to get him a mentor yet.” Colin bent down to pet Pepto, and it took Scarlett a second to reboot her brain from the shock of seeing him, let alone him getting along with her cat like he had been here a thousand times. Colin being partnered with Theo meant that not only would she see him today, she’d see him twice a week for however long the mentorship program lasted.
“Okay,” she managed to get out, fighting back tears already. There should be no reason she should have this reaction to Colin still, but at one point, he had been the person to whom she had laid her entire heart bare, and seeing him everywhere was starting to create an ache in her chest that wouldn’t go away. Something must have shown on her face because Colin’s features pinched, and he rose from his crouched position, taking a step toward her.
“Maybe this is a bad idea. I can tell Eden to pair me with someone else. Your aunt just thought I would understand him well,” Colin said, sticking his hands in his pockets only to pull them back out a moment later.
“Why would you understand him well?” Scarlett’s shaky voice asked. He was too close to her. Not quite close enough to touch, but enough to make her head dizzy.
“He’s autistic,” Colin replied simply.
“I’m aware,” Scarlett said. “I don’t even really teach him. He paints to self-soothe in the corner away from the other students with noise-canceling headphones because sometimes the other kids can be a bit overwhelming. Fair warning, you probably won’t like the noise, either.” Colin swallowed, his Adam’s apple dipping in his throat, and Scarlett unnecessarily followed the motion of it down his neck.
“That’s partially why they thought we would work well together.” Colin looked even more uncomfortable than he normally did, and she had the sudden urge to fold him in her arms like she used to. A lingering muscle memory she wished would leave. “And… other things.”
“Other things,” Scarlett parroted blankly, then watched Colin tap his leg repeatedly with his fingers like his own form of self-soothing from this uncomfortable conversation. It hit her as if she had been looking at a painting upside down for years and trying to figure it out just for someone to flip it right-side-up and reveal what had been obvious all along. Honestly, she felt a bit stupid for not seeing it earlier. “You’re autistic?”
Colin nodded. “Yes.”
“Oh.” Scarlett blinked and then bobbed her head resolutely. “Then I guess you would be the best mentor for Theo.”
“I really can ask for a new kid if you need me to.”
“No.” Scarlett shook her head. “Of course not. Theo deserves this.” Somehow, the second Colin said he was partnered with Theo, she knew she would have no objection. Despite the heartache it would cause her, if she was going to sacrifice her mental peace so Theo would have a trusted adult in his life, then so be it. Colin, despite their falling out, was a good person. The fact that he was a good person was what had made everything that much harder when he left.
“Your aunt said that you would say that.” Colin gave her a soft smile that unfortunately did wonders to set her at ease. “I figured you would, too, but I thought I should ask first given that I have a habit of making choices on behalf of both of us.”
“I appreciate the heads-up.” She let out a slow breath, mind whirring. The new information made her want to impulsively backtrack on their entire relationship and see it through the new right-side-up angle, but in the end, it wasn’t as if the outcome would have changed. In every scenario she had ever workshopped, Colin never stayed. She had closed that door a long time ago, and opening it now would be a mistake. “I’ll show you where he normally paints.” She gestured for Colin to follow and showed him to the spot in the corner she had set up earlier by the open window. The art studio tended to start smelling like chemicals if she didn’t air it out every now and then. It was freezing in the studio now, the January chill icing over the window and the tiny flowers she had painted around the edges. She quickly shut the window and turned to face Colin. “I have a space heater I’ll turn on in a second,” she explained. “But this is it. I let Theo do his own thing. I showed him how to start and the proper technique for what he’s doing, but after that, he surpassed me and has become more skilled than I could ever teach him to be.”
“I doubt that,” Colin said. “The head scientist at my job didn’t know about the new study on nano-robots they used in Sweden to kill cancer cells in mice, and he is way more advanced than I am. There’s always something to learn regardless of how good you are.”
“I guess so.” Scarlett shrugged. She wasn’t sure what cancer research had to do with the geology job he must have now, but she figured he must have been trying to make some connection to her so it didn’t go in one ear and out the other.
“May I ask you questions about him? I know a bit from your aunt and his current foster mom, but he hasn’t been there long, so they don’t seem to know much. I know he’s a level two autistic and he’s verbal. What else should I know?”
“He is verbal,” Scarlett confirmed. “But he doesn’t speak much. It’s only out of necessity, and I think he prefers not to speak. He has noise sensitivity like you, so his last foster parent got him noise-canceling headphones, and he usually wears those while he paints. I let him stay an hour past when everyone else is here because he gets hyperfixated on painting, and I can tell he loves it. I usually work it out with whoever his foster parent is at the time to let him stay longer. Since my aunt is his social worker, it’s been a lot easier to connect with the parents. Jessie is still his foster mom, I assume?” Colin bobbed his head yes. “Then she definitely won’t be back to get him till an hour after. She usually has four foster kids at one time, and if they’re all in my class. I let them all stay an hour past to give her a break.”
“She has two others right now, but they’re toddlers, so I think it’ll just be Theo,” Colin informed.
“That’s probably not so great for Theo’s noise issues.” Scarlett grimaced.
“I’m going to find another place to take him, too, so he has somewhere else to go for a break on days he’s not here,” Colin said. “The lookout, maybe.”
“Great.” She nodded. “I positioned him to face the clock so he knows how much time he has left and it’s not a shock when he has to leave.”
“Smart.”
“I hope someday he has his own art studio and he never has to leave. I feel like I’m always watching the clock, too, hoping time slows down or something so he can stay longer. He’s incredible.” It was strange how excited she was to share Theo with someone. Unless they had an extensive background check, no one was allowed to watch classes. The community outreach after-school program was state-funded from a grant, so everything had to follow strict safety guidelines. Even parents tended not to come around because the bus would take most of the kids home after the program anyway. Theo was the exception to that rule. Finally being able to show someone what she did on a daily basis was exciting, and that feeling warred with the one that knew Colin Hartrick was the last person she should confide in.
“Do you feel like you never want to stop painting, too?” The question was spoken in the same way Colin always used to ask her things. His eyes weren’t on her face, but she could tell he was listening intently because his body was rocking a bit. Stimming, she now realized. What she didn’t know was why, considering Theo always did that when he was excited or engrossed in his art piece. Sporadically, he would have more urgent stim movements when he was stressed to calm himself down, but Theo usually wasn’t stressed in this environment if she could help it. Colin wasn’t visibly panicking, and she couldn’t imagine he was excited to talk to her.
“Sometimes I get carried away when I paint, sure.” Scarlett cleared her throat. “Anyway, I guess the other thing you need to know is that he doesn’t like to be touched.”
“Doesn’t like it at all, or doesn’t like soft physical touch or touch without a warning?” Colin asked, his hand fingering the corduroy elbow patches on the tan blazer he was wearing over his sweater.
“I guess I don’t know,” she admitted. Colin’s preference had always been firm physical touch, and he always used to say if she was going to touch him to be sure about it. So much of him made sense now, but she supposed it always made sense to her. She had been shocked to find that other men liked lighter touch at all. “I suppose it might just be lighter touch, but I’m not positive. One of the kids touched his arm once to get his attention, and he didn’t like it. He also had an incident once with the tag of his shirt rubbing him wrong.”
Colin shivered. “I hate that. I always remove all my tags or get clothes with the tag printed on them. Seamless clothes are always better, too, because then you don’t have this raw edge chafing you all day till you slowly start losing your sanity. What else?”
“He really hates fire,” Scarlett noted.
Colin cinched his eyebrows together and looked around the studio. “Are you expecting to light things on fire?”
“Not presently.”
“Good, it’s hot enough in here as it is,” Colin said off-handedly.
She blinked at him for a moment because the statement made no sense at all. She hadn’t yet turned the heater on, and it was probably a brisk sixty-five in the room. “Was that a joke? Or is it really too hot in here?”
Colin looked down at his feet and brushed his hands against his thighs. “It was a joke about temperature and finding you attractive. I’m now realizing I probably shouldn’t have made the joke, considering…”
Scarlett fought the urge to adjust her hair in its loose French braids. Compliments used to flow so freely between them. Now she couldn’t tell if she wanted to impress Colin, or if she wished that he thought she was ugly. The fear that it was the first of those two options was what made her voice come out harsher than she expected. “Considering you never actually wanted me.” Colin flinched, and his mouth dropped open as if he were going to say something, but she cut him off before he could. “I think that’s all you need to know about Theo. Should be a pretty quiet time. I doubt he’ll speak to you, so you’ll probably just keep him company.”
“Okay.” Colin nodded. The rocking from ball to heel had stopped, and he instead fidgeted with the bottom of his blazer, yanking on the fabric. It was strange how much had changed, and yet nothing had changed at all. He was still Colin, but she now had the added benefit of knowing he could easily crush her heart and the knowledge that some or all of their relationship had been a lie. An experiment. “Scarlett, can I ask?—”
“Supplies are by the metal sink in the corner. I usually help Theo get those because he can’t reach the top shelf. But you are clearly capable of doing that. He uses the oil paints because he only does pointillism, and oils have the thickest consistency and don’t easily run.” Scarlett gestured to the lined shelves of paint and turned on her heel to all but sprint across the room to her canvas. She could feel his eyes on her, the way they never were when she was looking directly at him. A gaze that was probably picking apart everything about her. Her choice to wear rainbow pinwheel earrings was suddenly the thing her brain wanted to harp on. The daisy overalls she was wearing with paint splotches everywhere seemed juvenile when paired with her earrings, but they had seemed like a good fit when she had decided on the color theory lesson plan for today.
“I think we need to talk before Theo arrives so this isn’t awkward,” Colin called from across the room.
Scarlett hesitantly turned to face him again. “What is there to talk about?”
“I need clarity on a few things, and I don’t want to avoid asking anymore because it will be all I can think about when I’m here.” Colin took a seat on the stool in front of the easel. “I need to focus on Theo, and I can’t do that if I’m thinking about you the whole time. We can talk from this distance if it makes you more comfortable.” He gestured to the expanse of her studio she had placed between them.
“Fine,” Scarlett released a sigh. She didn’t want to talk about it, but that in and of itself was the childish way to go about this, so she knew she should suck it up. “I guess I have a few questions, too.”
“Do you want to go first?”
“No, because I’ll then be wondering what your questions are the whole time. Just ask what you need to ask.” She brandished a hand in his direction.
“Do you really believe that we weren’t dating?”
The first question slapped her in the face. “What?”
“At the coffee shop, the first time I saw you again, you said that we didn’t even date and it was all just an experiment. That was not my understanding of what happened at all. I thought you were my girlfriend that I was doing an experiment with . I know it started as just an experiment, but I thought we were together together.”
Scarlett’s mouth parted, then closed a few times before she settled on an answer that ultimately was the truth. “We were dating, Colin. We were going to move in together, of course we were dating. You said what you said when you ended things, and I took that to mean you wished the entire thing didn’t happen.”
“I’d never wish that,” he stated evenly. “So, then, you would consider me an ex-boyfriend?”
The title was so lacking for what he really was to her, but she answered with “yes” anyway. “Any other questions?”
“You know I never showed Carter, Piper, or any other family member that picture you sent me, right?” Colin kept setting his feet on the bottom rung of the stool and then on the floor as if he couldn’t quite get comfortable enough until Pepto happily jumped into his lap, and he relaxed, stroking her back.
“Carter and Piper said as much. How many of the charts have they seen?” She wasn’t sure if she wanted to know, but the thought had been plaguing her since she left the Hartrick house in December. The entire Christmas break, she had been haunted by the question, so she might as well free it from her mind so she could move on. Or continue to think about it when she was trying to sleep.
“Just one. Carter found it in my bedside drawer. I should have hidden it better. I’m sorry.”
“Which one?” she asked, walking to the space heater to finally plug it in and to avoid watching her cat bask in her ex-boyfriend’s company.
“The candle wax one,” Colin called out.
Scarlett froze, cord halfway to the outlet. “So, the worst possible one?” her voice cracked.
“I mean, besides the obvious, the rest of the chart from that day wasn’t bad.”
“Why did it have to be that one?” She huffed, jamming the prongs into the outlet, and hit a few buttons on the heater with more aggression than necessary.
The question was rhetorical, but Colin took her question literally. “It was on top of the stack because I was studying it. They found it right before I left for college, so it was after we were already broken up.”
Her mind whirred and sputtered, finally landing on a new question. “Why would you study it after we broke up? For future girlfriends?”
“No, to figure out where I went wrong. I haven’t dated anyone since you, Scarlett. I went on one date with a girl from my math class once, but I didn’t know it was a date, or I wouldn’t have shown up.”
“How do you not know you’re on a date? Was it not obvious?” She knew she shouldn’t ask at all, but her curiosity was piqued.
“She asked me to get food, and I was hungry. She tried to kiss me, and I said ‘no thanks,’ then I think she was angry about that for the rest of the semester. I don’t know where I went wrong there, either, because I shouldn’t have to kiss someone when I don’t want to kiss them. I thought we were just going to eat fries and talk about calculus.”
Scarlett tried to hold back her smile, but it was to no avail. “I agree that you don’t have to kiss anyone you don’t want to kiss. For future reference, though, if a girl is doing things for you constantly or she asks you out to food alone, most of the time it’s because she’s interested in you.”
“Noted. So, the girl in my organic chemistry class my freshman year who offered to help give my wardrobe a makeover?”
“I can’t say for certain, but probably. Did you take her up on that offer?” Scarlett knew exactly what she was doing, and it was insane that she even cared what little dating history Colin had, especially when he had already said he hadn’t dated anyone. It wasn’t as though she needed to compete for his attention.
“No,” he said. “I didn’t really like the way she dressed and didn’t want her to pick out a bunch of black and gray clothes.” The relief Scarlett felt was instant, and she hated the way her body reacted to this news, her shoulders slackening from their hiked position around her ears and her frown subsiding. If there was one thing she didn’t do, it was wear drab colors. “I did think it was a good idea, though, so I hired a stylist I found online. Min still has my measurements, and she knows I’m autistic, so she makes sure to only suggest clothes that won’t bug me. She had most of my jackets and blazers sent to a seamstress to put corduroy patches on the elbows so I have something to touch when I need it.”
Scarlett thought he must need it a lot by the way he was petting Pepto’s back in the sort of rhythmic way he did everything. “That’s nice,” she said. “I wonder if Theo would like that.”
“If he talks to me, I’ll ask him.” Colin nodded. “I’m not going to expect much, though. I’m not a part of his routine yet, so I won’t force it.”
It was simultaneously the worst and best thing ever that Colin was here. He was going to be the perfect person for Theo. That nurturing part of Scarlett that begged for the kids she taught and the ones the foundation sponsored to succeed lit up like the fireworks on New Year’s Day. In the same way he had given new light to Lucia Diaz, he would have the same effect on Theo.
“Hello?” a voice called from the front door, and Scarlett and Colin’s heads both swiveled to the front where Jessie and Theo walked in, two twin girls toddling in alongside them. If Scarlett had to guess, Jessie was only a few years older than her at most, but her sleek black hair was the antithesis of Scarlett’s burnt sienna, and her figure was more that of a yoga instructor with tight black workout pants to contrast Scarlett’s overalls, large hips, and full bosom. They both had similarly charitable hearts, though. Since Scarlett had known Jessie, her home had always been open to foster kids. The twin girls she had today thankfully seemed quiet, but Theo already had his noise-canceling headphones on, so that must not have been the case on the drive over.
“Hi, Jessie.” Scarlett waved and offered a smile to the brown-haired boy who was already making a beeline to his corner spot.
Colin slowly stood up from the stool, Pepto bailing from his lap. Theo barely gave him a glance as he took over the spot and reached out to touch his special paintbrushes, running his hands along the handle and metal ferrules. Colin watched with a curious expression, then made his way over to Jessie and stuck his hand out. “Hi, I’m Colin.”
“Sorry about him.” Jessie shook Colin’s hand, looking a bit rattled, then gestured to the twins holding on to both her legs. “They were both screaming in the car, and there wasn’t anything I could do about it until we were parked.”
“No need to apologize,” Colin said. “I have some paperwork for you with all my contact information and a list of activities I think would be a good fit for the days we meet outside of this class. I have a copy for Theo so he can choose, but if he can’t, I’ll need you to choose one so we can get it on a schedule to prepare him in advance. I also printed out some resources and information on autism I’ve found helpful. Some people take it as an insult when I try to give them information they already know, so you can just toss it if it’s unhelpful.”
“Oh,” Jessie said, taking the stack of papers from his hands.
“Scarlett?” Colin turned back over his shoulder. “Your aunt said you’d need a copy of my background check and mentorship program paperwork to be here. I printed you a copy.” He pulled a manila folder from his tote and stretched it out to her. As usual, Colin was prepared. The spark of familiarity lodged in her chest like an anvil as she moved toward him.
“Thank you.” She took the folder and sifted through the papers inside, unsurprised when everything was ordered, binder-clipped together, and three-hole punched in case she kept this kind of documentation in a three-ring binder. Colin had always despised staples.
“You two know each other?” Jessie gestured with the paperwork in her hand to the two of them.
“She’s my ex-girlfriend,” Colin said with zero hesitancy. Scarlett bit her lip, unsure if that information should have been shared with Jessie. She didn’t want Theo’s foster mom to think that she and Colin couldn’t exist in the same space with Theo.
“You’ve… dated?” Jessie’s tone left something to be desired. She wasn’t directing the question to Scarlett at all, but to Colin, as if he were incapable of having a love life.
“Yes,” Colin said simply. He didn’t seem to get what Jessie was really implying, and Scarlett felt a pang of anger in her gut. He might not have loved her, but it didn’t bar him from having loving relationships.
“He wouldn’t be here if he was incapable of connecting with people,” Scarlett said in irritation. “He’s very close with his family and universally liked.”
Jessie’s mouth dropped open, finally catching on to how narrow-minded she was. “I didn’t mean to suggest he wasn’t.”
“Universally liked is a bit of a stretch,” Colin chimed in. “But yes, autism doesn’t bar me from having relationships with people.”
“Of course.” Jessie cringed. “I’m thrilled you’re going to be working with Theo.”
“I’m very excited,” Colin said, glancing over in Theo’s direction. “I’m mostly just going to introduce myself and sit in his general vicinity.” One of the twins at Jessie’s feet took this opportune time to make a break for it, running toward Theo. Colin backtracked and stepped in between them, blocking the toddler’s path. “I think he wants to be left alone,” he said to the little girl. She looked up at him with wide eyes as Jessie scooped the girl up with one arm and set her on her hip.
“Sorry,” Jessie said. “I—really, you have no idea how much I appreciate this. Both of you.” She turned her head to address Scarlett, too.
“No problem, I’ll try to make it twice a week besides paint days so you have a break,” Colin said kindly.
“God, thank you.” Jessie let out a long breath and adjusted the squirming child on her hip. “I’ll be back an hour past, as long as that’s still the plan?” She turned to Scarlett with a hesitant but hopeful expression.
“Of course.” Scarlett offered her a smile. “We’ll see you then.”
By the time Jessie had left, Theo was already at the supply station, snatching tubes of oil paint in various hues of blue off the wooden shelves. When he couldn’t reach a yellow color he wanted, Colin pulled it down from the shelf and handed it to him wordlessly. He hadn’t yet introduced himself, but Theo seemed at ease in his presence, so Colin’s plan seemed to be working well enough.
The best part of Theo’s pointillist paintings besides the finished product was that Scarlett never knew what the painting was going to be until he had gotten close to finishing it. The last painting he finished of a forest scene was on the wall in Roaster’s Republic, ready to be sold, so that meant he was starting fresh today, and she had zero idea what he would paint next. It was something of a game to her to guess in her head what his next masterpiece would be, and all the blues he had chosen made her think it might be an ocean setting this time.
When the other students started to arrive, Scarlett lost herself in her work, helping kids choose from one of the printed photos she had prepared and gather their acrylic paints from the cube storage at the front of the classroom. But even in her work trance, she was all too aware of Colin and Theo in the corner, slowly making their silent introduction.