She left without any last words or even common goodbye, let alone an explanation.
Just stood up and left.
At first he, albeit somewhat disturbed, didn' t pay much attention to that fact, believing it to be just a female moodswing and nothing more.
But time went by, and Jonathan Crane waited (and waited and waited ...), but still she never came.
He grew restless ( even more than ever), then moody ( that was nothing new, but this time even Jervis could hardly endure it), and then, all of a sudden, dejected and ,to his own shock, wistful.
What could have he possibly said or done wrong?!
( well,he admitted; actually quite plenty, especially to those who weren' t Molly Randall, but still , surely it wouldn't hurt to elaborate a little?)
Days came and went, and once, during one of his so- called therapy sessions with Dr. Leland ("so-called" being the keyword) he was given a small folded note by the aforementioned doctor, her face, for once, unreadable.
" What' s that, Doctor Leland?", he asked, puzzled.
"The securities gave it to me at the main entrance doors. I believe, according to them, it's a word from the young lady that used to visit you, Professor Crane."
Curious, he almost snatches the note from Joan' s hands, and unfolds it right there and then, being not exactly in character.
There's but a single line :
" RTFM, Professor ! ( Sorry, but you had it coming. )When you're ready, we return to the subject again.M.M.R"
"This abbreviation- what could it possibly mean?"- Jonathan heard himself asking ( and has he just read the note out loud?!)
Joan Leland looked down, clearly uncomfortable.
" Well... in fact , it's a slang word, meaning the person in question should ,er... study the subject more thoroughly, and it is used by modern young people..."
" Is it short for something?"
" If you insist, it's actually short for...( she grew even more uncomfortable) " Read the ...freaking manual".
He was at a loss for words, and for emotions as well.
Molly Randall never used bad words. Ever.
" She must have been really angry when writing it", Crane finally managed to utter, because the silence was already as awkward as it could be.
" No, Jonathan, I don' t think so", Joan Leland looked at him with somewhat unbearable compassion. " The last time I saw her out of here she didn' t seem angry to me. More like... disappointed, I' d say. And sad."
Jonathan, looking paler than an Apocalypse horseman, gathered the note from the table and rushed out of the study, nearly knocking down Edward Nygma, who had evidently been waiting for his session near the doors.
" What the hell was that, Doc?", Nygma asked ,not quite happy with having nearly been stepped upon. " Sounds as if our esteemed Professor has finally lost it!"
" On the contrary, Edward," Joan answered thoughtfully, before letting Nygma in, " I dare to suggest he is closer to finding it than ever."