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Mallard shook his head and waved a hand. He said something about winning and a prize. He must be turning down the drink. Dale shrugged and said “Another time.”
A few of the people at the table stood, bantering back and forth. Dale deciphered a few words: dorm, tomorrow, early. One of the men hoisted a glass, but one of the standing guys shook his head.
They must be heading back. I think.
“I think it’s time I go to bed,” Dale said.
LaCroix said bzzt brrt “good idea.”
One of the people waved for Dale to follow, and they left as a group. Somehow Dale managed to trail them through Ottawa’s Monday night traffic back up to the Byward University residence hall. The churning mass of science camp junior high school kids rampaging in the lobby felt like a whirlwind of noisy flying bricks, b
