Ganondorf tapped his fingers on the steering wheel and glared at the distorted version of his scowling face reflected on the windshield. He picked up his phone from its groove in the center console and checked the time. It was 6:15, and the little brat still hadn't shown up. What was taking her so long?

He turned the car off, opened the door, and climbed out. Although the sun was still in the sky, the air had already grown chilly. If he and Tetra didn't get on the road soon, they'd be stuck in traffic, and she would grow bored and insist on listening to her idiotic Rito boy band music all the way home.

Ganondorf slammed the car door shut. His Ordona Rover was the only vehicle in the turnaround, and he didn't bother locking it. This was an expensive residential neighborhood, and Tetra's school was one of the finest in Castle City. He walked across the circular plaza spreading from the front entrance, which was paved with colored bricks arranged to form a compass. Each of the four cardinal points was represented by a symbol: a castle, a snowflake, a mountain, and a fish. This design was overlaid with chalk drawings. Even in this neighborhood, open space was scarce, and some of the children must have spent their recess here.

He surveyed the chalk figures, trying to see if one of them might have been drawn by Tetra. The girl was an indifferent student, but she was a skilled artist, albeit more prone to drawing buildings and machines than people. On the edge of the plaza, white lines that resembled a tower caught his attention. This was exactly the sort of thing Tetra was always scribbling in the margins of her homework. He stepped toward it, intending to take a closer look, and –

"Excuse me, can I help you?"

Ganondorf sighed at the sudden interjection of a man's voice. Of course someone would come out to check and see what he was doing here. Even with his immaculately tailored suit and his freshly waxed car, there would always be people who didn't think he belonged in a place like this.

He cleared his throat. "I'm waiting for my daughter."

"I figured as much," the voice responded. "It looked like you were examining the chalk diorama here, and I happened to have watched it being drawn. Why don't you tell me your daughter's name, and I'll see if I can't show you her part of the picture."

Ganondorf glanced up and saw a man holding one of the school's glass doors open. He looked about his own age, but his hair and beard were already white. He wore a fitted red turtleneck sweater and plain khakis, and his loafers were well-worn. Nevertheless, there was something about his poise that made him seem somehow regal. Ganondorf resented the fact that, even though he had never seen this man before, the stranger looked much more comfortable against the backdrop of the imposing school building than he himself had ever felt.

"You're not a teacher here. Why would I tell you my daughter's name?"

The man laughed. "That's a fair point," he said, stepping outside and allowing the door to swing shut behind him. "My name is Daphnes Nohansen. I teach history over at Shadstown University, and I was invited here to give a short lecture to some of the students. Try to make history fun for them, that sort of thing. It was one of the teacher's ideas that the children illustrate scenes from the stories I told them, which is why I was flattered you took an interest in their drawings."

Ganondorf shrugged. Daphnes had a certain smarminess about him, and he looked like a professor. "Fine. My daughter's name is Tetra. She – "

"Is on the tall side, and wears her hair twisted in a bun?" Daphnes interrupted him. "She certainly left an impression on me. You're standing right in front of her sketch of the old Lokomo tower."

"I wasn't aware that Tetra had any interest in history," Ganondorf muttered, noting with pride the artistic skill evident in her drawing.

"I believe my lecture was part of an extra lesson for a certain group of students."

A remedial lesson, then. Tetra had told him she arranged for extra music practice. He knew she was lying, but he needed to stay at work for a few extra hours anyway, and he hadn't felt like calling her out on her story. He'd have to talk to her on the way home, and he wasn't looking forward to it. The girl would most certainly argue with him and try to weasel her way out of taking responsibility. Although he could never admit it to her, Ganondorf couldn't help admire her sheer pigheadedness.

"Tetra is a special girl," Daphnes continued. "I'm delighted to have made your acquaintance, Mr...?"

"Dragmire. Ganondorf Dragmire."

"Of Dragmire Energy? It's an honor."

Daphnes held out his hand, and Ganondorf shook it, somewhat ill at ease. Why would a history professor be familiar with his enterprise?

One of the school doors banged open, and the men looked away from each other to see Tetra striding across the threshold.

"Why are you standing out here holding hands with a teacher?" she called to him, her face twisting. "That's gross."

Ganondorf dropped Daphnes's hand and glared at her. "You know what's gross, young lady. Your flute is sitting on the back seat of the car, and it smells like it hasn't been cleaned in weeks."

Tetra's eyebrows shot up as she realized she had been found out, but then she grinned. "Why don't you ask your friend about my extra lessons, then? I'm sure you two old farts can find something in common, what with all that history you know." She turned to Daphnes. "Did he tell you he's interested in history? Interested in ranting about it, that is." She turned back to Ganondorf. "Toss me the keys if you want to stand around chatting, it's getting cold out here."

Ganondorf exhaled slowly, annoyed that Tetra would speak so nonchalantly in front of someone they had just met. "We should be going," he said to Daphnes. "Perhaps we'll meet again."

With that, he nodded and set off after Tetra. Daphnes stood and watched the two of them walk away.

"Yes," he said under his breath, "perhaps we shall."