They keep walking.
Sun on shoulders. Envelope flat. The store behind them belongs to other people now. Lawns open; air asks for nothing.
"Dining?" Max says.
"Walk-and-water," Jace says.
A student with a backpack like a second spine hears "tutor" and pivots. "Do you do Calc II?" she says, bright desperate. "Quiz at four. I can transfer. I need a brain that isn't mine."
"Rails," Jace says, gentle. "$80/hr. Ninety minutes = $120. Transfer upfront. Public table. We do concept, one worked, one you, no cheating."
"Yes," she says. "I'm Eva. Zelle?"
"Carter," he says. "Send, then we sit."
Buzz.
[SYSTEM PROMPT] Income detected: $120.00.[SYSTEM PROMPT] Evaluating Talent…[SYSTEM PROMPT] Money Welfare: ×2.[SYSTEM PROMPT] Disbursement today: +$240.00.[SYSTEM PROMPT] Total money crit disbursed today: +$6,730.00.[SYSTEM PROMPT] Daily cap remaining (Money): $93,270.00.
"Received," Jace says. "Let's make soup into sauce."
Picnic table. Graffiti honest. Notebook sideways so Eva owns the page. Quiz @16:00 in the corner; Focus: IBP, chain, product, trap signs.
"∫ x·e^{x} dx," he says.
"IBP," she says. "u = x, dv = e^{x} dx… (x − 1)e^{x} + C."
"Trap?" he says.
"Minus," she says. He boxes the − and draws a tiny jail; dumb; it works. She laughs and you can feel memory form.
Chain rule. Product rule with hidden chain. ∫ x\cos x dx with the sign flip. She cages constants. Color returns to her voice.
Noise drifts: a drumline warming up. Dog deciding kingship of grass. Sun making the table warmer than it looks.
He slides the page. "Your turn," he says, and writes ∫ e^{2x} \cos(3x) dx in the middle like a dare. She IBPs twice, closes the loop, solves for the original integral, earns (e^{2x}/13)(2\cos(3x) + 3\sin(3x)) + C like a magician who practiced.
"You're a math EMT," she says.
"I keep the patient breathing," he says. "You walk to clinic."
Footsteps. Jordan (roommate) hovers. "Can I throw $60 and listen?" she says, phone in hand. "No questions. I'm drowning in series. I'll be quiet."
"Policy," Jace says, dry but kind. "Mid-session add-on is $60, listen-only, transfer upfront. No questions until Q&A block. If it derails, I refund $30 and book you later. We stay public."
"Yes," she says. "Carter, right?"
"Carter," he says.
Her thumb hovers over the transfer button, waiting for his nod. Max taps his watch, mimes two and a slicing motion: split attention, cut time.
Jace looks at Eva's page—the little 1/2 in a cage. He looks at Jordan's I will be quiet eyes. The Money panel purrs like a cat that doesn't decide.
His thumb hovers between accept and not now.
The drumline throws a clean ta-ka-ta across the grass.