A New Friend (3.4)

#

After school, Rivi met Dan at the edge of the town park.

"So, what are we doing today?" Dan asked, as they walked along a stone path into the park.

Rivi gestured to indicate that they should sit on one of the benches. She set the plastic box she had been carrying on the bench between them.

"Actually, before we continue our project, I was wondering if you know what these items are," Rivi asked, as she opened the plastic Tupperware box.

Inside, there was an assorted collection of brainteaser puzzles. Try-to-get-the-square-through-the-smaller-metal-hoop type puzzles. These puzzles were especially designed to frustrate and upset a person. They often have a tendency to make a person feel inferior, especially when someone else can figure it out, and you can't. Rivi knew that making someone feel inferior is something on which bullies thrive.

Dan must learn to have confidence in himself, Rivi thought to herself.

Dan picked up one of the puzzles and studied it.

"Yeah, I know what these are. They were a fad among students a few years ago."

"Miss Tate really enjoys them. When I found her collection, I asked if I could borrow a few. I thought it would be fun to try to figure some of them out," Rivi said.

"I've never been very good at them, but I'll try," Daniel answered with a smile and a shrug, and began inspecting the first puzzle.

Rivi smiled inwardly. She had deliberately not told Dan that this was part of the project. If Dan was ever going to get out from under the heel of bullies, he would need to start letting his mind help him out of sticky situations.

Rivi allowed her mind to wander into memories of Ankh and Enuet, giving her similar lessons to help her get over her fear of the Aruk. They had slowly helped her to realize that if she didn't give up, she would never be truly defenseless. Rivi also remembered Ankh telling her that, one day, she might meet the Aruk again. Rivi told herself that, when that day came, she would no longer cower from them like a child. Yes, memories of her past were still very painful, but the fear that ruled her when she first met Ankh no longer held her hostage. She would face the Aruk bravely and perhaps ask one simple question: Why?

"Why?"

Rivi was pulled back into reality.

"Why what?" Rivi asked.

"Why can't I figure this out?" Dan asked, frustrated.

Rivi looked at the puzzle he was holding. It was a wooden triangle pegboard. Every hole except one held a peg. Each peg was a different color.

"I need to get all of the pegs out but one, and I can't!" Dan explained, frowning at the puzzle as he ran his fingers absently through his short brown hair.

Calmly, Rivi took the puzzle from him and inspected the problem carefully. She then turned the board upside down, holding only one peg in its hole. All of the pegs but one fell out and into the Tupperware box.

"There!" Rivi exclaimed in triumph.

Dan laughed, which, to his surprise, relieved quite a bit of his stress.

"No. You have to jump over each of the pegs in turn and take them out one by one," Dan said, still laughing.

"Yes, but even though I didn't follow the rules, I still showed you that it could be done, right?"

"Yep," Dan answered with a smile.

"No need to feel inferior to a puzzle just because the solution eludes you. Don't let it bother you, and try even that much harder to outsmart it."

Dan closed his eyes in thought.

"You're referring to Bill and his sidekicks, aren't you?" Dan asked.

"Well, that is our project, is it not?" Rivi asked receiving a chuckle from Dan. "I do see that even though the triangle confused you, you have managed to outwit most of the other puzzles."

"Yes. You've been sitting there quietly for a long time," Dan began.

"Sorry, I was concentrating on some memories from my early days with the Aunantet," Rivi explained.

"That's all right. Hey, do you think you could help me figure out the rest of these?"

"They are a bit addictive, are they not?" Rivi answered, laughing.

"Yeah, I guess so!" Dan replied with a soft chuckle.

Rivi picked up one of the remaining puzzles, and before they tried to figure it out, Rivi showed Dan how to hypothesize the solution by inspecting the puzzle's design and not just the problem the puzzle created. She taught Dan how to think like the creator of the puzzle itself—to analyze why the designer created certain situations within the puzzles. Figuring this out enabled Dan to solve the remaining puzzles quickly.

"Wow, we finally finished them!" Dan exclaimed, as Rivi packed the puzzles away into the box.

"Yes. With a little perseverance and knowledge, it is amazing what a person can do," Rivi replied grinning as she lifted her head to smile at Dan, who smiled back.

"We should head home. It is getting late," Rivi answered with a tilt of her head. "Would you like me to walk with you?"

Dan's smile faded, as he turned forwards and looked at the gravel in front of the bench where they were sitting.

"Uh, no. I'll be fine. I could walk with you 'til you get to your house, though," Dan replied in a cautious tone.

Rivi narrowed her dark brown eyes and considered his reaction then and decided to back down for now.

"No, that's all right. Miss Tate will not worry about me if I'm out late, but your parents might."

"My parents have no worries where they are," Dan said, in a barely audible mumble.

Dan got up and with a quiet "See you tomorrow," he left, walking toward the direction of his home.

#

"Miss Tate?" Rivi called, as she entered the house.

"I'm in the computer room, Rivinaig," Miss Tate called back.

Rivi made her way past the living room and into the small computer room.

"Here are your puzzles," Rivi answered.

"Thank you. By the way, how is the project going?"

"We still have a few things to do, but we're close. Do you know where Dan lives? I was hoping to meet him before school tomorrow."

"Yeah. He lives at the end of Oak Street," Miss Tate answered, as she finished typing on the computer and closed the program.

"Thank you," Rivi replied with a smile. "I'm going to go upstairs for the night."

"Okay. Goodnight, Rivinaig," Miss Tate said as she opened another program on her computer and Rivi turned toward the stairs.

Suddenly, Miss Tate's computer froze. Sensing the machine's confusion, Rivi stopped at the foot of the stairs and went back to Miss Tate's computer room.

"Oh, come on!" Miss Tate said in frustration.

"I believe I can help," Rivi answered.

"You can try, but it has been doing this all afternoon."

Rivi smiled, "Never try. You either do it or don't do it."

She then closed her eyes and amalgamated with the computer, linking her mind to its systems.

"Virus," Rivi mumbled, as she followed the trail and destroyed the culprit file.

She then gave its description for further reference to the anti-virus program installed on Miss Tate's computer.

"Perhaps I need to get a new anti-virus program," Miss Tate suggested, as Rivi pulled out of the computer.

"No. You could update it more often, but there would still be a few that would slip by. It happens with every anti-virus program. However, your computer will tell me when there's a problem. It did earlier, but my mind has been preoccupied."

"Thank you," Miss Tate said, slightly dazed and confused.

"You're welcome. Goodnight," Rivi answered, retreating to her room.