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Dark Silver Sea
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(Upstairs ... and ... end of the hallway ...)
(This must be it.)
Ms. Gaochao!
Please come in and have a seat!
(Somehow I expected a fancier office.)
Hello ... um ... ?
Dee Linmo. Dr. Linmo, please, if that's alright with you.
I — yes, that's fine.
I'm the head administrator here.
I'm sure you knew that already, of course.
But I won't do my formal introduction to the students until orientation, so I thought I should mention it just in case.
Anyway, let's get down to business, Ms. Gaochao.
I'm sorry I had to call you in here on such short notice, but there's a certain ... time pressure, here.
("Time pressure" ... ?)
And because of — the nature of the situation ...
... well, it's important that we have this conversation in person.
Am I — in trouble for something?
What?
I was trying to think of why I'd need to come here, and —
Oh, no, no, no. Nothing like that!
What would you even be in trouble for, Ms. Gaochao?
You've only been here a day, after all.
That's what I thought, too, but ...
Don't worry about it! You're fine.
No, the reason you're here is that I need to ask if you can ...
Let's call it a favor.
(That sounds ...)
A favor?
... Oh, that came out a little strange, didn't it.
No, just ... helping out another student.
Oh.
I shouldn't go into —
— in fact, I can't go into all of the details, for multiple reasons, but —
One of the students this year, a late applicant, is coming from an ...
... a bit of an ... unusual background.
She was educated entirely outside of the normal school systems.
(Does she mean ...)
You're probably thinking I want you to tutor her, from that look?
It was the first thing that came to mind.
Don't worry about that, Ms. Gaochao!
Her performance on the entrance examinations was excellent.
It's not her academics that are the issue.
Again, there's a lot I'm just not allowed to say, but ...
(She's said that twice now ... ?)
... what you would need to know is, this girl ...
Well, I'm not sure how best to put it.
She's been living under the care of the state for her entire life, it seems.
No family that I'm aware of.
My understanding is that it's been just her and various appointed caretakers.
(... They can do that?)
That's ... weird ... ?
Shouldn't she have been adopted, or ... something?
As I said, it's an unusual situation.
I was told that there were very good reasons for things being this way.
But, to be completely honest with you, I don't even know more than that.
(I have a strange feeling about this ...)
So ..
What do you want me to do, exactly?
I'm getting to that, Ms. Gaochao.
This morning I received a request from her current caretakers.
There's a bit of a worry that, because of the circumstances of her life up to this point, she might not ...
That is, she might struggle to thrive in this environment, if she's left alone.
So you want me to be her —
— her friend, or something?
Not exactly like that!
But something along those lines, perhaps.
Maybe think of yourself as her "buddy."
Someone she can feel comfortable being around, and who can help ease her into the lifestyle here.
This could be a very big shock for her, after all.
And they were very insistent that she not be allowed to completely isolate herself.
Okay ...
Wait. Dr. Linmo, why me?
I'm not sure I — I don't want to sound like I'm down on myself ...
Am I really the best person at the school for this, though?
I'm not sure I'd call myself that friendly.
I'm sure you'll do fine!
It's true that I can't unequivocally say you're the best student for this in the entire school.
(That's a little ...)
But you are available, and as I said, there's a bit of a time pressure with this situation.
Her caretakers want to have her moved in here as soon as possible.
As soon as I find someone to match her with, essentially.
So you picked me just because — I'm here?
It's not just that, Ms. Gaochao.
Back when I was a lecturer here, your aunt was one of the best students I ever had.
But more than that, she was one of the best people I ever met.
(My aunt ...)
(Aunt Mei? She knew Aunt Mei?)
(I guess she did go here ...)
So, naturally, when I looked at the list of students who were already on campus, and saw your name —
Well, obviously, I had to ask you first.
Okay ...
(I'm really not sure how to feel about all this.)
But —
I hope I'm not coming across the wrong way.
I'm very sorry to be dumping something like this on you with no warning.
You're not going to get in any trouble or anything if you say no.
... I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't be disappointed ...
But it would be irresponsible of me as an administrator to coerce a student into something like this.
It makes my life a little harder, but I'm sure I can find someone else if I have to.
Alright?
I understand.
Thank you.
So, just so we're on the same page!
All I need to you to is to be willing to at least try rooming with this girl, and helping her adjust.
If you're okay with that, I'll make the call and she should be here by this evening.
If you're not, I ... well, I'm sure I can figure something else out.
And if you have some questions for me, go right ahead.
I know I haven't been very detailed about this ...
... but there's some things I just can't say or don't know.
I can tell you a little more if you say yes, but I understand that's not very helpful right now.
I would offer to let you sleep on it, but ... I really do have to find someone today.
If you'd like to call your parents or think about it, I can give you some time, though!
Okay ...
(What should I do ... ?)
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