[Their chin jerks back as though they've been slapped.]
[It was a polite way of saying it. Of saying - you uneducated idiot. That must be what this is. An insult, slid like a knife beneath the skin, something raw and substernal and, and - don't act like you didn't have it coming.]
[Be good.]
[Be better.]
I see. [They're trying to lacquer something unfeeling and cold over the subtle tremor in the words. They're not certain they're succeeding.] If that is how you feel, perhaps you both ought to find someone better educated.
no subject
[It was a polite way of saying it. Of saying - you uneducated idiot. That must be what this is. An insult, slid like a knife beneath the skin, something raw and substernal and, and - don't act like you didn't have it coming.]
[Be good.]
[Be better.]
I see. [They're trying to lacquer something unfeeling and cold over the subtle tremor in the words. They're not certain they're succeeding.] If that is how you feel, perhaps you both ought to find someone better educated.