"Time's up," Nifty said at 4:00. Surprisingly, Cassidy already had a good grasp of the models he was so miserable at before. "You can leave, and I want to get home.

"Uh," he added as he stood to collect his bag. "You picked up on those quickly. Good job." The compliment didn't sound quite so awkward this time - he was getting better at the lie. Although it wasn't technically a lie, he realized.