"Did I ever really know you at all?" he asks, a bit wistful but only to tease. "I've cheated. Would grow my nails out long, you remember?"

He turns his hand over, inspecting his nails. Shorter now, more manageable. "But sometimes I'd write formulas very very small where they'd grown out. I could do the math but I couldn't recall every formula we were meant to memorize. So I thought if I could at least have ten on hand..."