"Where did you go to school?" Malcolm asks. Maybe he's heard of it. Or maybe he hasn't. It's another way he can find out if Kyle's world overlaps with his own at all.

"Birds take some time to warm up to people," he says. "Sunshine wouldn't even let me touch her at first. Dogs are a lot more friendly, but they're a bit too active for me."

Sunshine is relatively low maintenance by comparison. At least he doesn't have to walk her.