[Allie is reviewing an arts school application and is reading about the Dance Dept.]
“…All children study creative modern, theatrical jazz, and national dance. Ballet is an optional program.”
[Looks up in horror]
OPTIONAL BALLET????!?
[Allie is laying out clothes before bedtime.]
By now, you see, most kids will have established a routine, and I want to do that, too.
Mum. You know that I want to attend Cambridge University.
Yes.
I feel like I need to take some steps to make sure I get there. Would you help me with that?
Absolutely.
Do you have any advice for something specific I can do right now? It’s very important that I get started.
[Steve was talking about how the US’s natural enemy switched from the Nazis to the Soviet Union after World War II, and then I mentioned something about the nuclear stockpiles/deterrent.]
[Affects a serious look.]
Ahhhhh, the Cold War. Yes.
Mum, you know what?
What’s up, kid?
I wish I had a Kenneth Branagh stuffed animal. You know, just to squeeze.
MUM. I’ve been trying to surprise you every morning, but you keep noticing me.
YOU REALLY NEED TO BE A LITTLE LESS ATTENTIVE.
[Allie is gently squeezing clementine pieces and then moving certain ones from the pile to a neat stack on the other side of her plate.]
What are you up to, kiddo?
I am palpating each segment, and then filing them. These ones [indicates the tidy stack] require further attention because they contain seeds.
Whither Earthlings 