"No, I don't mind at all," Claude assured him. "I appreciate your taking the time to leave her a note, actually."

While tracking her down shouldn't have been difficult in theory, he wasn't sure if it would be so easy today. Usually he was lucky enough to bump into her during lunch or by chance, but the schedule could make things tricky. "I'd like to," he admitted. "But she might wind up taking the activities reserved for women today, so I'm not sure if I'll get to see her or not. And anyway, it's not just her. Those kids she told me about sound like they'll be stubborn about it no matter what anyone tells them."

He supposed he could kind of relate. If someone had urged him not to go down the basement before that horrible night in the coliseum, Claude didn't think he would have abandoned all his plans, either. His mother's group had already gone through both challenges, which meant they were probably pretty invested at this point.