She laughed, colouring slightly (curses, betrayed by her own hide!) and turned her hands up helplessly. "Thanks, but if I'd made a real effort at getting out as soon as possible? I would've been out maybe an hour earlier." And learned a lot less.

Sam abandoned any additional elaborations as Hiro took the little robot in hand, leaning over to give it an interested eyeing. "You can't pay rent; you're fourteen. And if you could cough up, I'd have no good place to put it, so this simplifies things all around. Speaking of things, though, we are going to have to go get you things... after you tell me all about that thing you have, here."