no, no, no, no!” Pat shouted, pointing at Keith. “You were much more red-headed when you came in before. Do it again ,and give me intensity. ”
“So, vhat do you think?” the Master asked. Over the teacher’s head, Marcy gave Keith a frantic look not to mention what they had been talking about.
“It’s a great present,” Keith said, giving her a calming nod. “You’ll have to let me know how it works out for you. Pretty soon I’m going to have to think about replacing my old car. For the time being, though, it’ll have to last me.”
“What if something comes out of this Chicago call?” Enoch asked.
“What Chicago call?” Diane wanted to know.
Keith explained the conversation he had had with Dorothy.
“Oh, no,” Diane said unhappily. “So you’re going to be up in Chicago now? When did this happen? We were going to have so much time together this year.”
“It’s only a potential opportunity,” Maura said placatingly, “not an actual one.”
“It’s just one meeting,” Keith added. “I get a chance to show off. Maybe I can cadge a lunch out of Dorothy, and I’ll be back before Wednesday morning. Don’t worry! The whole thing will probably go nowhere. I’m just glad they’re still thinking of me at PDQ. That means there might still be a door open for me after graduation.”
“I hope it will work out for you, Keith Doyle,” Holl said. “Harnessing that hyperactive imagination of yours to work for a living would be good for you.” But Keith could tell Diane didn’t like the idea.
“And since you will be back among us do you intend to continue in your instruction under my tutelage?” the Elf Master wanted to know.
Keith was delighted. “Can I? That’d be great. But I thought you said I had graduated.”
“And you haf. From the first lefel of unifersity education. There are many to go, and many subjects you might study. Hmm? Vould you like to continue?”
“Yes, I would,” Keith said at once. “You bet.”
“Gut. Perhaps you vould like to explore the history of the field in vhich you are so interested, eh? Eight to ten pages. In light uf your travel plans, three veeks until it is due.”
Keith’s face fell. “Homework again already?”
Marcy came over to break it up between her father-in-law elect and her friend. “Let him enjoy what he’s earned, please, sir.”
“Uf course, my dear,” the Master said, the suspicion of a smile lifting the corners of his mustache. “I am too eager to teach, it seems.”
“It sounds as though you’ve filled every moment of the coming year, Keith Doyle,” Orchadia said. “Do you never dream of a time of peace and quiet?”
“No time for it,” Keith said. “There’s still so much I want to do. For instance, I’d still like to get all the supernatural beings in the world together for a big party—that is, all the ones who can get to it.” He looked hopefully at the Folk.
“If I ever see any, I’ll tell them you’re looking for them,” Holl said sourly. He and Keith had an ongoing argument about whether the Folk could claim a supernatural origin. Holl felt they were perfectly natural beings; humans were the ones who had lost touch with nature.
“No, it’d be great,” Keith exclaimed, waving his arms with enthusiasm. “The air sprites already showed me they’ve seen all kinds of creatures. If they come, it would be the most amazing party ever. It’d be a chance for everybody to get to know one another, maybe work out differences, settle ancient feuds. I mean, look at all the legends for which there’s still no really good explanation. People still think you’re legendary.…”
“And with good luck they always will,” Enoch said, alarmed.
“… Yeah, but think of all the other beings like you who fall just under the radar. You would have a lot in common with them. Maybe you could work out strategies for dealing with us Big Folk. And maybe they’d figure out that there are some of us who would treat
“So, vhat do you think?” the Master asked. Over the teacher’s head, Marcy gave Keith a frantic look not to mention what they had been talking about.
“It’s a great present,” Keith said, giving her a calming nod. “You’ll have to let me know how it works out for you. Pretty soon I’m going to have to think about replacing my old car. For the time being, though, it’ll have to last me.”
“What if something comes out of this Chicago call?” Enoch asked.
“What Chicago call?” Diane wanted to know.
Keith explained the conversation he had had with Dorothy.
“Oh, no,” Diane said unhappily. “So you’re going to be up in Chicago now? When did this happen? We were going to have so much time together this year.”
“It’s only a potential opportunity,” Maura said placatingly, “not an actual one.”
“It’s just one meeting,” Keith added. “I get a chance to show off. Maybe I can cadge a lunch out of Dorothy, and I’ll be back before Wednesday morning. Don’t worry! The whole thing will probably go nowhere. I’m just glad they’re still thinking of me at PDQ. That means there might still be a door open for me after graduation.”
“I hope it will work out for you, Keith Doyle,” Holl said. “Harnessing that hyperactive imagination of yours to work for a living would be good for you.” But Keith could tell Diane didn’t like the idea.
“And since you will be back among us do you intend to continue in your instruction under my tutelage?” the Elf Master wanted to know.
Keith was delighted. “Can I? That’d be great. But I thought you said I had graduated.”
“And you haf. From the first lefel of unifersity education. There are many to go, and many subjects you might study. Hmm? Vould you like to continue?”
“Yes, I would,” Keith said at once. “You bet.”
“Gut. Perhaps you vould like to explore the history of the field in vhich you are so interested, eh? Eight to ten pages. In light uf your travel plans, three veeks until it is due.”
Keith’s face fell. “Homework again already?”
Marcy came over to break it up between her father-in-law elect and her friend. “Let him enjoy what he’s earned, please, sir.”
“Uf course, my dear,” the Master said, the suspicion of a smile lifting the corners of his mustache. “I am too eager to teach, it seems.”
“It sounds as though you’ve filled every moment of the coming year, Keith Doyle,” Orchadia said. “Do you never dream of a time of peace and quiet?”
“No time for it,” Keith said. “There’s still so much I want to do. For instance, I’d still like to get all the supernatural beings in the world together for a big party—that is, all the ones who can get to it.” He looked hopefully at the Folk.
“If I ever see any, I’ll tell them you’re looking for them,” Holl said sourly. He and Keith had an ongoing argument about whether the Folk could claim a supernatural origin. Holl felt they were perfectly natural beings; humans were the ones who had lost touch with nature.
“No, it’d be great,” Keith exclaimed, waving his arms with enthusiasm. “The air sprites already showed me they’ve seen all kinds of creatures. If they come, it would be the most amazing party ever. It’d be a chance for everybody to get to know one another, maybe work out differences, settle ancient feuds. I mean, look at all the legends for which there’s still no really good explanation. People still think you’re legendary.…”
“And with good luck they always will,” Enoch said, alarmed.
“… Yeah, but think of all the other beings like you who fall just under the radar. You would have a lot in common with them. Maybe you could work out strategies for dealing with us Big Folk. And maybe they’d figure out that there are some of us who would treat
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