Conversation Crumbs
The SRU is a mystery, among many other things. Part of that means that crucial details are frequently obfuscated or outright withheld until a critical point in the narrative. These details are occasionally communicated through dialogue and, rather than completely hiding these conversations from the reader, the writer (ahem) instead dangles a piece of the incriminating chitchat out, just enough to provide some context while leaving the reader eager to learn more.
This page serves to document all of these fragmentary bits of dialogue as they crop up throughout the narrative. As a rule, dialogue fragments are always recalled by characters: that is, they don’t happen “live” during a scene, and come up in retrospect.
Is this frivolous? Maybe! Do I need this resource more than you, the reader, just to keep me from contradicting myself as I work? Probably!
Troubleshooting (Riley and Tyler)
Context
Riley recalls sitting with Tyler at the Wren Lake Overlook the day the kissing video was recorded. Just before that drama unfolded, she was helping Tyler troubleshoot some code he’d written on his tablet.1
Riley: “You forgot the colon here. That’s why it didn’t execute.”
Tyler: “Shit. Do I need glasses?”
Riley: “You might need an assistant. But I don’t come cheap.”
Significance
Riley recalls this moment the following evening, in conversation with Noah, who’d made a casually disparaging (and not undeserved) comment about Tyler. Riley stopped short of defending Tyler completely, but noted that he wasn’t all bad, reminding Noah that, at the very least, he was at least as smart as they were.
Inciting Incident (Nina, Jake, and Emma)
Context
Emma recalls the moment she and her friends noticed Audrey and Rachel making out in the former’s car at the Wren Lake Overlook, presaging Nina recording the kissing video.2
Nina: “Either we just stumbled upon a cannibal colony, or a lot of people are gonna win a lot of bets.”
Jake: “Yo…Jensen?”
Emma: “Shh! Jake!”
Significance
Emma recalls this moment the following evening, after Nina reminds her she had ample opportunity to stop her from filming Audrey and Rachel, if she’s so determined to be moralistic about it now. Notably, Emma reflects her reprimand to Jake, shushing him, made it less likely they would be spotted, and enabled Nina to film the video in the first place.
Life and Death (Will and Jake)
Context
The same day as the kissing video was filmed, Will and Jake had a fight over text.3
Will: you have to stop acting like this is a game man […] this is my life
Significance
Jake reviews Will’s last text a few days later, and nearly apologizes to him, instead merely asking where Will’s been.