Dr. Milner tried to return the young man's handshake, but he wasn't quite prepared for the energy behind it. He took a few moments to recover himself, glancing between his notes, the young man, and the front door all the while. He reached up under his cowboy hat and subconsciously rubbed his head, inadvertently exposing the bald spot he was rubbing to anyone behind him.

"Well, you see, I'm afraid that music is not exactly my specialty, you see," he explained apologetically, before catching himself and adding, "b-but to be sure, music has always been a huge part of life in that time. I know more about how music brought people together than the sources of those songs." He thought for a moment, before adding, "But, I suppose I could point you in the right direction. Rutherford in particular wrote a great on the, the folk music, I shan't be surprised if she didn't have some useful research on that."

Dr. Milner paused a moment, glancing again at the front door, then over at the clock. "I... cannot promise I'll be in town for very long, but if I have time, I would be obliged to see your notes, Mr....?

"Lively," supplied Anthony. "Anthony Lively--of the musical Livelys. You name it, one of us sings it or plays it. I'm here in Ditto Town interviewing for a job in early musical education."

He'd caught the doctor's glance at the clock, and realized he probably ought to be as professional as possible. "Let me give you my contact info, Dr. Milner, and we can follow up when you have a few more minutes. I'd love to hear more about music bringing people together, that's the heart of the subject, don't you think? Everything else is just technique, which is fascinating, of course, but it's the people behind the technique..."

Reaching into a pocket, Anthony brought out a card and pen. He scribbled a few extra notes and handed it over to Dr. Milner with a friendly grin. "Here you are, sir! Name, address, email, phone, where we met and our topic!"

Dr. Milner was visibly astonished by Anthony's efficiency and attention to detail. "Yes, thank you s-so much, Mr. Lively. I will have to get in touch with you, though I'm afraid it may have to be by phone or e-mail." He cleared his throat and glanced again at the clock. "Well, I'm afraid I have some... business to attend to, but it was wonderful to meet you, Mr. Lively. B-best of luck on your interview."

With that, he carefully slid his papers - including Anthony's card - into his briefcase, making sure to put the card in its own pocket where it wouldn't be hidden or crumpled. After that, he gave him a polite tip of his hat and walked away. Shortly after leaving Mr. Lively, he quickened his pace considerably, before disappearing out the front door.

Zale never liked big gatherings, having pretty bad social anxiety he hated human interaction, but his parents insisted that he go and try to make some friends. Of course he listened to his parents, he would do anything for them, so he came to the mansion with his father Marcus Kolten and mother Eliza Kolten. They wakled in a bit late as the lecture was over and people were all over finding old friends and making new ones. Tying his almost shoulder length black hair into a ponytail Zale decided to go to the emptiest corner he could find to be alone.

After a few minuets he decided that he should probably find his parents so that he would be near them if anything happened. 'Of course' he thought, 'of course they would be in the middle of a crowd of people'. After about a minuet of looking around Zale saw a boy that everyone called 'Cody'.

Zale thought he should maybe walk over and talk to Cody. Although he looked kind of strange Zale kind of wanted to talk to him. As he started to walk over he kept having many doubts about what Cody would think of him, and after getting a few looks from other people Zale decided it was best if he just gets some food and to sit out of the way of people.

As Miss Brixton continued chatting it up with the others, Cody noticed that there was someone else here about his age, after all! He didn't recognize him, and he thought he knew everyone in Ditto Town under the age of 18. Then again, every time he thought he knew "everyone", he was immediately proven wrong, so he should probably stop assuming that to begin with.

Cody quickly side-stepped becoming part of the conversation behind him and walked over to the other young man. He was just sitting down with a plate of food. Cody couldn't help but notice his unusually long - well, long for a guy - hair tied into a ponytail, and some immediate ideas came into his head about what kind of person this guy might be. Cody felt embarrassed and tried to ignore them all - they weren't fair, Cody knew better than anyone the power of a bad first impression. Besides, friends his age were hard to come by, so better to go into it with an open mind.

Cody approached him and cleared his throat. "Um, hey. I'm Cody."

While "Molly" made her way over, Faye turned to the Baxters and commented, "Sorry we didn't say hello before - the lecture started a bit too quickly. It looks like the girls stayed home tonight?"

"No problem, and hi," Angie replied. "Yes, Cody's sister Melissa is helping us out with the kiddos."

Dan faked a yawn (which wasn't too much of a stretch). "Yeah, we figured they wouldn't be terribly interested in this lecture."

Angie and Dan were too busy talking to their friends to catch what was happening at the front of the lecture hall, though she wondered if they were going to get any violin music after all.

Zale had been eating for a while when tue boy that many called Cody walked up and greeted him. Zake just froze and slowly look up at him obviously nervous.
"Uh h-hello," Zale softly muttered. His green and blue eyes trying not to make eye contact with Cody. Zale thought nervously to himself 'hopefully he won't notice my eyes and maybe things will be fine'. Almost as soon as that thought came to his mind he started to think of all the possible ways that this conversation could go wrong.
"M-my name i-is Z-Zale."

Once Molly had said hello to everyone she knew, she began looking about. She just couldn't help feeling sleepy and a bit bored. Maybe if she went outside, it would be better. There seemed to be no reason to stay inside on such a nice day.

About to mention the idea to the others, she hesitated. Dr. Milner had just gone out the front door, and, unlike Anthony, Molly had no desire for further conversation with the lecturer. If he was out the front, she wasn't going that way. I wonder if there's another door. There ought to be, she thought, examining the walls casually.

Never one to pass up free food, Anthony shifted the carrying strap to his other shoulder so his violin case rested comfortably and securely at the small of his back, and headed for the refreshments table.

Starting at the snickerdoodles and sugar cookies Anthony wandered back into the coleslaw and cold baked beans territory, humming The Streets of Laredo. Having piled his napkin high with various treats he looked around for a likely spot to sit. He nodded and smiled at the red-headed woman who seemed quite interested in the architecture. "Do you mind if I borrow a bit of wall?"

Delia grimaced as the lights came up. She knew that headache--that awful headache--the one that warned her that the lights would soon be dancing (and not in a good way) all due to an unnecessary spasming of blood vessels.

She was about to have a migraine.

She sat for a moment, thinking, then got up and made her way to the door with as much purpose in her step as possible. She had caught sight of a new kid, who apparently didn't want anyone to notice him, but was quite stand-outish, and wished she could stop and say a word, but no, the clock was ticking. She needed a dark room and a pillow, stat. Out the doors she went into the cool evening air, just on the heels of another departing attendee. Wait, no, that was...Dr. Milner? Whatever was he doing, leaving so early, and going around the Mansion like that for?

Delia considered going after him, then changed her mind. Whatever he was up to, it was probably harmless. She needed a rest.

Faye glanced at Cody at the mention of his older sister, but he hadn't stayed in their circle of discussion. Deciding now wasn't the time to try to rope him back in, she just decided to add, "Well, I'm glad to hear that. I actually haven't met Melissa yet, though I've heard... stories." Most of them exaggerated, she imagined - Cody had a tendency to paint her as a tyrant, but what younger brothers didn't?

Molly said hello briefly, but she dismissed herself from the conversation almost as quickly as she'd entered. Faye decided not to chase her down - she seemed tired, and perhaps distracted. She hoped that Molly didn't in any way feel that she was unwelcome around town. Faye knew there were some... lingering feelings over what had happened on the cruise last summer, but Faye, at least, had completely put that behind her. As far as she was concerned, it wasn't Molly's fault. What was Molly doing now, she wondered? Perhaps she would have to track her down....

But later. Right now, she couldn't ignore the Baxters. "Well, I learned some interesting things tonight." Faye said. "Admittedly, I didn't know much about the period going in, but I have a certain admiration for adventurers of all kinds. Those who settle the frontier are no exception." She subconsciously fiddled with her sketchbook, silently thinking about all the interesting vistas she'd added to that as well.

----------------

Cody certainly thought it was strange that Zale wouldn't look him in the eyes, and he suddenly felt very awkward. Was Zale trying to get rid of him? He sounded more nervous than rude, Cody thought. But now Cody thought he must feel equally nervous. Cody bit his lip for a minute, trying to think of something to say.

After several uncomfortable seconds of silence, Cody finally blurted out the only thing he could think of: "So, uh... you enjoy the lecture?" He'd thought about asking if Zale came with his parents, but after what happened with Kaelin at the holiday party... ugh. Never again.

"Fine by me," said Molly, shuffling down an inch or two. "There's plenty to spare, and nothing like a good solid wall behind your back. I mean, even just for eating." She looked at his handful of goodies with a flicker of interest. "I suppose I should grab something to eat--maybe in a bit, though. Your name is Anthony, isn't it?--I don't think we've met before. Have you been playing violin for very long? And do you specialize in Western music, or do you like all kinds?"

After what felt like forever Cody asked Zale if he had enjoyed the lecture.
"I- uh w-wasn't here f-for it. M-me and my ,parents c-came after i-it was over."
'Great Zale your blowing it. Your one chance at getting a friend and your stuttering! Now how am I ever going to get anyone to like me, ugh.' Zale now sitting a bit more uncomfortable than he was before was getting more frustrated with himself by the second. Just then he realized he should probably say something back.
"Uh s-so how old a-are you." Zale asked hesitantly.
He hoped that the question he asked didn't sound stupid but it was the only thing he could think of and be able to say it out loud. Zale shifted his position a bit so he could hold himself back from running away and hiding in a corner, and because he was clutching the yo-yo in his pocket. It's not like he wanted to hurt Cody but it was just another way that his body told him that he was nervous.

"Anthony Lively, of the musical Livelys," confirmed Anthony. "I've been playing violin since I was two years old. There are stories about how I'd sneak behind a chair with my sister's instrument and try to play a violin that was almost as big as I was. My uncle joked I ought to take up the double bass. Fortunately, my father got me a 1/8th size violin and the rest, as they say, is history."

He fished a snickerdoodle out of the pile on his napkin and nibbled at one edge. "As for my musical tastes, I specialize in bluegrass fiddle, but I've dabbled in most genres."

The cookie was the perfect mixture of soft and chewy, lightly seasoned with cinnamon sugar. Anthony hummed approvingly. "Mmmmm, quite good! I can recommend the snickerdoodles. And you? Do you follow the family profession or did you strike out on your own? What brings you to the lecture tonight? The lure of the gold rush or the majesty of the far off mountains?"

"Oh, well you didn't miss much. It was soo boring." The words had already escaped Cody's mouth before it occurred to him how rude that might be. Maybe Zale had been interested and gotten locked out when the lecture started. He couldn't see any obvious reaction - but, then again, it was hard to figure out what Zale was thinking at all. Cody felt like he was standing over a scared animal, and couldn't decide whether it was more rude to stay or to excuse himself.

"Well, I'm almost 15." For some reason, there was such a huge distinction between "14" and "almost 15". He felt a little awkward for just repeating the question, but at the same time he'd yet to get a good look at Zale's face and was still guessing. "So... yeah, it's nice to see someone else around here that's about my age. Grownups get really boring really quickly. I came here with my boss, and she's chatting it up - "

Cody decided now was a good time to stop. A sentence earlier would've been a better time. Great, now how was he going to explain that situation in a way that didn't sound weird?