SUE: Still need to Study...(open)

[Miles Daugherty]

Miles actually didn't know what an engineer was or what they did, so he was glad when Neo explained it too him. Why couldn't more people just explain things without having to be asked? It made everything so much easier. Of course people rarely did that. And half the time they didn't even really mean what they said, or said it with sarcasm. That was even more confusing. At least an engineer he could have looked up later, but sarcasm translations weren't in the dictionary.

Miles nodded. Of course Neo would be a great teacher. Not that Miles was upset if Neo wanted to be something else. He didn't have to control people. And as long as they didn't mess with him, he didn't really mind what they did.

Miles was silent for a bit. Of course, he was silent a lot. But this time it was because he really didn't know how to answer the question. He didn't know what he wanted to be. All he knew was that he wanted to be a grown up so then he could make his own rules. And if he wanted he wouldn't have to ever touch anyone or any metal or deal with any of the other things he didn't like. Beyond that, he didn't know. There were too many options. And when Miles had too many options, he found it impossible to make a decision.

"I want..." he said, his face scrunched up in thought. "I want to be a grown up." He glanced up at Neo quickly, hoping that answer would be okay.

Suddenly a thought occurred to him, he ran back to were his stuff was spread out on a table, grabbed something out of his book bag and returned to where Neo was. "For the pencil. And the fixing," he said, holding out his hand to the older boy. In his palm was greenish yellow star shaped clothes button. His mom had sent a plastic baggie of buttons in his last care package and he still had some in his bag he'd yet to sort into his collection. Though he hated to part with any of his buttons, this one was enough on the yellow side that it would be okay. Besides, he had to thank the boy somehow. And he didn't really have anything else to offer.

[Neo Harris]

Neo looked at Mile's seriously when he answered, taking in the unintentional depth of the small boy's simple answer. "Yeah..." Neo finally said after a moment's thought, "Yeah that's a good thing to want to be," he agreed. Maybe the kid was actually smarter than Neo though. He sure was strange though - proven further by the way he got up and ran off without warning, only to come back a moment later after Neo had gotten up out of his chair to return it to the desk where he had found it.

When Neo turned back to face Miles once more, he saw a small, star shaped button in the boy's palm, held out for Neo to take. The older boy hesitated, wondering if Mile's was just trying to show him some button he found on the ground or something. But when Miles explained it was some sort of 'thank you', Neo reached down and took the offering between two fingers. "What's this?" he asked, knowing... yes... it was a button... he should probably re-word that question quickly. Before Miles could answer he amended the question. "Where did you get this? And what should I do with it?" he asked, feeling the two questions better represented his confusion about the small gift.

[Miles Daugherty]

Miles didn't understand that he was being deep. And if anyone had tried to explain that they would have probably failed. Deep meanings, along with sarcasm and metaphors, were far to complicated. People should just say what they mean, in his opinion. Still that didn't mean that Miles was dumb, just different.

The side of Miles' mouth twitched upward briefly, his usually version of a smile, when Neo took the button. He didn't like to be in anyone's debt. Especially people who saved the day by helping him with his flashlight. Still, not everyone's definition of paying people back was to give them a button. But buttons were important to him. Almost like tiny extensions of himself. Sharing them with someone else, even just letting them see his collection was a big gesture for him.

"I collect buttons," he replied. "You should keep it." Maybe Neo could start his own collection. Or maybe he would need it one day if his shirt broke. Miles wasn't too sure what other people did with buttons, but he was sure they could do something with them. After all, buttons were awesome.

He rocked a bit back and forth, unsure if they were done now. Unless he had a reason to be somewhere else to offer as an excuse, Miles often had trouble understanding if a conversation was over or not.

"Are we done now?" he asked. Because his teachers had always told him if he was unsure, he should just ask.

[Neo Harris]

Neo nodded as Miles explained, rolling the button between two of his fingers. Sure, Neo didn't really understand the significance the button held to Miles, but he had a slight idea based on how excited the small boy seemed when he was explaining his collection to Neo. "Alright, cool," Neo said, tucking the button into the pocket of his jeans, "I'll make sure I don't lose this then," he added, patting his pocket as if to signify the button's safety within its new container.

There was a bit of silence where the boy stood rocking back and forth, looking around a bit as if he were lost or confused again. Of course, Neo wasn't sure exactly what he was lost or confused about, and didn't know how to ask either. Luckily though, Miles finally spoke. "Uh..." Neo starting, hoping he understood the question, "Yeah... we can be done, if you want," he answered, hoping it was a response the boy was looking for and understood. He didn't just want to dismiss the boy, but also didn't want to make him feel obligated to stay. After all, his flashlight was fixed, so he could run off and do his own thing now, leaving Neo with his History books once more.

[Miles Daugherty]

Miles was glad to see the older boy slip the button into his pants pocket. In his mind they were even now. Of course he would have no way of knowing if Neo would actually hold onto the button. Miles took him at his word that he wouldn't loose it. While Miles understood what a lie was and knew that other people did that sometimes, he still had no clue how to tell when someone was lying or not.

He gave Neo a short nod, once again glad for the older boy's easy to understand answers. "Bye," Miles said, before turning and shuffling back to where the rest of his stuff was and leaving Neo to himself. He patted the pocket on his shirt, feeling the golden pencil through the fabric. He was already planning to show it to his tutor the next day as proof of his human interaction. Maybe he'd get a reward.

((wrap for Miles))