As the silence stretched out, Dale finally made up his mind. He could review the words Cheerilee had taught him while they were still fairly fresh in his head, and maybe even figure out something else from the book. Hopefully, Lyra would come back today, and they could work together some more. He already missed her—her unconventional method of teaching and learning might not have been as effective as Cheerilee's classroom manner, but it was a lot more fun, and she wasn't bothered when their lessons went off on a wild tangent.