human
Please go on, he said.
gpt
Don't mind me.
human
No, she said, with her funny little downright way.
gpt
I shan't sing any more.
human
But why?
gpt
You have provoked me. I can't sing when I am provoked.
human
What have I done?
gpt
The mere sight of you provokes me,
human
I'm sorry, said Evan.
gpt
You're so different, so unusual, I don't know how to handle you.
human
Handle me! she cried.
gpt
I like that!
human
That's not the word, he said quickly.
gpt
I mean I study how to please you, and only seem to get in wrong.
human
Don't 'study', she said with a superior air.
gpt
Just be yourself.
human
But I am myself, and it only provokes you.
gpt
Oh, you're too conceited for words!
human
No, he said at last,
gpt
I don't think I am. At least not offensively conceited. But it seems to me you are so accustomed to having men bow down before you that the mildest independence in a man strikes you as something outrageous.
human
I'd like to bow down before you too, Evan went on smiling.
gpt
But something tells me if I did it would be the end of me. You would despise me.
human
I feel better now, she said.
gpt
One really cannot take you seriously. I'll sing.
human
Mighty lak' a Rose.