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the Duke of Normandy, was played by Obi Wan, and Lando Calrissian was cast in the part of King Harold.  But I couldn’t concentrate.  No big surprise.  Now that I’d decided to help Harrison, and now that he’d already paid me, I was fixated on getting answers.    
    Once I was back in my room, it was actually Harrison who made it easier to wait.  Though the problem was his, and though he, frankly, seemed to have little to no sense of humor during class, he kept me entertained through the walkie-talkie. 
    â€œI’m watching reality TV,” he told me, around eight. 
    â€œI don’t have a TV in my room.”  I wasn’t sure why I told him that.  He neither needed to know, nor likely would care. 
    â€œYou’re really missing something.  These people are fighting over a horse.”
    â€œIs that some kind of code?” 
    He laughed, and I heard knocking on his side.  Momentarily he came back and said, quieter, “My Sharona told me to shut up.  It isn’t a code.  It’s a competition.  These women are all trying to win a horse.”
    â€œWhy would they want a horse?”  I was sincerely perplexed.   
    â€œWell, at this point I can’t actually tell whether or not they’re trying to run a horse farm or, like, Who Wants to Marry a Thoroughbred .  It’s pretty unclear.”
    It was my turn to belly laugh.  The rumbling sensation was foreign and confusing for a moment.  I couldn’t honestly remember the last time I’d genuinely laughed.  “You’ll have to keep me updated about who wins.”
    â€œAre you kidding?  I love this show.  I’ll tell you.  This is my new favorite show.  Three women are beating each other with miniature bales of hay inside a wind tunnel.  I don’t know why they’re doing this.  I have the sound off.  But, seriously, you should be sad you’re not seeing this with me.”
    Actually, I kind of was. 
    After Who Wants to Marry a Thoroughbred was over, he started watching a Mexican soap opera on Telemundo.  “Here’s one where it doesn’t matter if the sound is off.  It’s in Spanish.  I don’t speak a word.”
    I wasn’t certain how a person could fail to learn even a small amount of Spanish living in New Mexico.  Spanglish was pretty much the official language.  “What are they doing?”
    â€œI’m not sure.  The horse show was clearer.  There are two women staring at a magazine.  Both of them are wearing yellow tube tops.”
    â€œWell, sure.  Why not.”
    â€œOh, wait.  Now they’re fighting.”
    â€œThat’s because they’re both wore the same tube top to a party.  Do you know how embarrassing that is?”
    It was the first time in my life I’d ever watched TV without actually watching it.  And I enjoyed myself.  Harrison walking me through two hours of television was considerably more entertaining than literally watching two hours of television.  And before I knew it, it was after ten. 
    For a second, I found myself wishing that I could kill time like this every day.  Maybe he would let me keep one of the phones.  Then I would know what happened to the horse women.
    Then I hated myself a little just for thinking that. 
    Now that I realized the direction my brain was going, I wanted to turn the phone off, but that would be ridiculously stupid.
    I would just ignore anything he said.  It was already ten.  How much longer could it take before the demon started telling him to rage against the man and we could bag this whole thing up?
    My determination to ignore him lasted for about thirty seconds after Harrison clicked on again.  “Hey,” he whispered, “My Sharona just told me I need to go to math camp.  Then all the girls will love me.  Tell me the truth,