After night of some restless sleep, the boys reconvenened in the morning for breakfast. The recruiter was there to guide the students around the outside to a cafe-style restaurant. There were seating for hundreds, although only a dozen seats were occupied.

"Time to taste this 'great academy's' food," Barrot challenged, smiling while licking his lips. Liz followed closely behind, skipping happily in anticipation.

Samson followed behind, skulking since he didn't want to leave the room.

"Where's Christina?" Goddard asked.

"She left this morning," Liz answered.

"Did she say where she was going?"

"No."

The kitchen was set up like a buffet, with a line for serving dinner that got progressively less healthy farther down. The children all got their food and rushed through the line, sitting together at a table.

"So, where's this Fred character you keep mentioning?" Paxton asked, looking around and noticing no star students present.

Goddard pointed to a table behind them where a guy was sitting, slumped over the table with his face in his tray. He was a skinny fellow, lanky to the point of malnourishment, but he was dutifully eating his meal. Stubble protruded like spikes on a cactus, signifying his age as beyond their own.

"What's gotten into him?" Barrot asked as he scowled at the morning's gruel.

"He's just lazy," Goddard said, "nothing otherwise."

"Let me see," Paxton said, then he stood up and stepped out from the table.

Paxton walked around the outdoor cafeteria to the table where Fredrick was calmly slumped over. As a test, Paxton poked the total stranger in the ribs, elliciting no response except a groan. Without any negative reaction, further probing was initiated; pulling the hair, examining the eye, checking the gums, pressing his ear to his back to hear the beating heart and breath.

Finished with his examination, Paxton walked back over to his table with his brother and friends giving him the crazy eyes.

"What was that for?" Samson perked up.

"He's not lazy," Paxton ruled, "he's just apathetic."

"What's the difference?" Liz asked.

"Laziness is more about shirking responsibilities to do something you percieve as more fun. Apathy is boredom to the point of complete neglect to the outside world."

"What does that mean?" Goddard asked, a little peeved that his setup plan had just been ruined.

"It means, if we can find something that interests him, perhaps we can ignite some passion and get him on his feet."

"Books," came a low, rumbling voice from across the cafeteria. "I like books."

"He sounds like a fog horn," Barrot critiqued.

"What kind of books?" Paxton asked.

"Mystery," answered the fog horn.

"Wasn't the library massive?" Paxton asked Goddard, thinking back to when they had bargained with the angel.

"They only have books about magic," Fred said, producing enough energy to slap his face and look at the person he was talking to. "They don't have story-based novels. It's aaaaallll magic."

"Well," Paxton said, suprised that the answer was so simple, "we just have to get him some books."

"I've tried," Fred remarked, showing more life, "the faculty don't want to get regular books because it might distract from learning."

"I hear there's already enough distractions to go around," Paxton said with a naughty grin. "Well, we can work on getting books around, but what about a riddle?"

There was a loud flop as the sin of sloth lifted his head, then slapped it down again to get a better view of Paxton. His face didn't look pained, it looked confused yet intruiged.

"What's a riddle?" Fred asked.

"You don't know what a riddle is?" Paxton seemed shocked. He then looked at his friends to confirm, only they didn't seem shocked, they seemed confused yet interested.

"Okay, uuuuaaaaammm, there's a train that runs from Nerolk to Danburry," Paxton began. "A man boarded the train at Nerfolk and road it to Danburry. He then went about his business and road the train back. During the train ride, there's a tunnel that goes under a mountain. The man enters the tunnel perfectly fine, but when they come out the other side, the man is dead. If he had been in the smoking car, he would have lived. How did he die?"

"I don't know, how?" Fred asked.

"That's what you've got to figure out," Paxton told him, seeing that his apathetic target was starting to move. "Ask me some questions, like a detective."

"How did he die?"

"Slit throat."

"Was there anyone else in the car with him?"

"No, it was just him."

Fred sat up, suddenly intruiged by this murder mystery.

"Why the smoking car?"

"Because people smoke in there."

"Did he have any enemies?" Barrot asked, intruiged as well.

"Yes, although they weren't on the train."

"Was he killed by a ghost?" Liz asked.

"No."

"Was the crime scene dirty?" Goddard asked, also confused as to the plot of the murder.

"Not a bit, except for blood."

"Why did he go to Danburry?" Fred asked, standing from his seat and leaning against the table.

"To have an operation," Paxton answered.

"What kind of operation?" Fred continued questioning.

"To have his eyes fixed."

"Was he stupid?" Mini asked, getting an estranged reaction.

"No, why would he be?"

"My daddy said 'Only stupid people die without reason,'" Mini explained.

"His eyes fixed?" Fred continued, unabated.

"Yes, he went to Danburry to see a surgeon and get his eyes fixed."

"Was the operation successful?"

"Yes it was."

"Hm," Fred puzzled, putting a fist over his mouth and working his weary mind to come up with an answer.

The others continued to pound questions away at Paxton, but Fred remained silent while listening to the flow of theories. There were lots of guesses, but none of them were satisfactory enough to solve the riddle.

"Was it a suicide?" Fred guessed.

"What makes you say that?" Paxton inquired with a knowing smile.

"Cut throat means intention, no accident. No scuffle means either self-inflicted or a professional," Fred pieced together. "His enemies weren't on the train, which I assume means an assassin wasn't present. He died in the tunnel after getting his eyes fixed, which would probably cause a recently cured blind person to panic. If he was in the smoking car where people were lighting up their cigars, he probably would have survived from seeing the flames. Am I right?"

"Ding ding ding," Paxton cheered, "we have a winner!"

"Was that a riddle?" Fred asked, looking over at the group sitting together.

"Indeed," Paxton declared, which caused Fred to smile.

Turning around, the lanky guy grabbed his uneaten tray and moved it across from Paxton. He wiggled his way between Samson and Goddard, then awkwardly smiled around before asking:

"Got another one?"