- "All I could think about was getting out of this place as fast as I could! It never even crossed my mind that it could kill you! God help me, even if it had, I don't think I would have cared! See?! I'm horrible! You hate me, don't you?! Just do it! Kill me! Get it over with!"
- — Alice, to Sigma after almost killing him
Alice is a character in Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward. Alice is a mysterious woman who claims she was abducted and forced to play the Nonary Game: Ambidex Edition.
Despite the similar naming and ethnicity, Alice asserts that she is unrelated to the supposed Egyptian mummy of the same name. Alice claims the theory that all the water in her body is ICE-9, a special sort of water with the ability to preserve organic material, is bogus.[1]
Appearance[]
Alice is a tan-skinned woman of mixed ethnicity (French-Egyptian). She has straight dark hair falling just below her shoulders which obscures her round earrings. She wears blue eye shadow, pink lip gloss, and blue nail polish.
She wears an exquisite golden necklace resembling an infinity symbol with an aquamarine gem that is meant to be a scarab which were regarded as holy in Ancient Egypt. She wears a gold bracelet on her right wrist. Her top is a short beige jacket with gold shoulder plates and yellow lines around the front and back. Her jacket only covers her upper arms and back, showing her torso. She has a black skirt with an aquamarine design along the waist that she wears low on her hips. Around her skirt is a thin gold belt with an eagle symbol on her right hip. Her lower legs are bare and she wears tall golden high-heel sandals.
It is mentioned that those employed by Alice's agency wear unique choices of clothing to deter suspicion away from being members. If Alice dressed like a super secret top agent, it would blow her cover.
Like the other players, she wears a bracelet on her left wrist.
Personality[]
- "I want to wear lots of gorgeous clothes... I want to eat tons of delicious food, and fall in love..."
- — Alice on her reason for living
Alice is independent and focused, although she can be cold, mocking and strict. She also hides her feelings about things sometimes, and only tells them to people she trusts. She is quite an experienced woman, having worked her way to the top to become a field agent in SOIS, the Special Office of Internal Security. She is also very determined to accomplish her goals and will sacrifice almost anything to achieve them, having spent most of her life trying to find her father, years after his disappearance. She is also vengeful and focused on finding her father's killer. She cares deeply for those she's close to, and always has their best interests in mind.
Alice chooses ally in certain routes, showing she can trust sometimes. However, she is not one to give second chances if she is betrayed. She is not afraid to confront her betrayer, look at them directly in the eye, and slap them on the face with enough force to send a clear message. She explicitly avoids anyone who betrayed her in the first round. The only exception she has to this is Clover, who she considers her best friend.
She may have a "survival of the fittest" attitude, as she almost/does kills Sigma Klim in one route, betraying him and Luna when he had only 1 BP, claiming her self-defense is worth more than his life.[2] However, she is not cold-hearted and feels remorse about almost killing him and as she later explains, she only voted betray out of fear and panic. Despite her composed attitude, Alice admits she was so terrified of being abducted and put in the Nonary Game, perhaps more than everyone else. She may have been subconsciously fighting her fear by masking it with her demeanor, fooling even herself in the process. She also wants to pair with Quark because he is unconscious and will default to ally.[3] In one route, she even attempts suicide to escape the fear of playing the Nonary Game, showing her desperation to escape.[4] However, she was infected with Radical-6 during her suicide attempt, though it is possible the disease overlapped with her strong desire to escape.
Alice also seems somewhat hypocritical, flip-flopping on her opinions to suit her needs. For example, if she allies Sigma and he betrays her, she mentions the Prisoner's Dilemma and is furious at him for choosing betray. If she betrays Sigma and he allies her, she says that only an idiot would choose ally in this situation.[5] In another scenario, she proposes a "people with lowest BP should have the say".[6] However, when she has higher BP, she disagrees with this.[7] It is unknown what Alice's true feelings are about these scenarios, leading to ambiguity of her character. However, it suggests she is morally inconsistent and will play situations to her advantage.
Alice is intelligent and very skilled (almost inhumanely) at mathematics, especially memorizing prime factors and working with large numbers in her mind. An example is when she calculates that "78153 61098 83809 42419 90551" is "198449351" to the third power using prime factor decomposition. This skill assists Sigma and Alice while decoding the large series of numbers in Alice END, and also helps Sigma figure out who set the antimatter bombs. She passes it off as being "better at math than most people" and claims it's "simple mental arithmetic", which Sigma calls her out for.[8] She also seems to have much general knowledge, especially in science as seen when discussing the bombs as they are first discovered.[9]
Although it may be just part of her facade to keep her true identity and profession secretive, Alice seems quite proud and pleased in her own appearance. In one of the routes, she lists off her best features one by one. She also makes narcissistic conceited comments about how beautiful and good-looking she is, like "Can I really be blamed if people think I'm an Egyptian queen?"[10] and "Does this beauty look like something infected with an awful disease?"[11] Furthermore, in the post-Round 1 conversations in the Cyan route, Alice claims her interests are to wear "lots of gorgeous clothes, eat tons of delicious food and fall in love", apart from avenging the death of her murdered father.[12]
Background[]
Alice is the daughter of a French woman and an Egyptian man. When she was three years old, her family moved to the United States. Her father was a researcher in the genetics and cloning field and was recruited by an American lab, which was the reason they moved. Alice's life was good until her father was mysteriously kidnapped when she was nine years old and was raised by her mother. However, she did not learn that her father was kidnapped and his lab was attacked by terrorists until she was older. Although Alice's mother was devastated and cried, she raised Alice as a single mother, a difficult task since all of their relatives were a trans-Atlantic flight away. Alice also deeply missed her father.
Alice earned a full ride scholarship in high school and went to a university, studying for several years. She also became extremely skilled at mathematics, able to mentally calculate complex equations. After graduating, she took a job in the Department of Defense and was hired by the SOIS, hoping they would have the resources to help her locate her father. She was tasked with finding Free the Soul and the Myrmidons, the organization that kidnapped her father.
After Alice received a tip from someone that some Myrmidons were hiding in a building in the Nevada Desert, she went to investigate the building: Building Q. She was dressed in ancient Egyptian clothing to deter suspicion away from being an SOIS member. However, her car broke down.
Luckily, she was found by a passing car driven by Clover, accompanied by Junpei Tenmyouji, Hazuki Kashiwabara, Seven, Light Field, and a restrained Gentarou Hongou, who had just escaped from Building Q. Alice brought the people in the car to a SOIS facility for questioning, but ultimately released all of them, except for Hongou, whom she put in jail.
Several months passed and SOIS decided to find the original players of the First Nonary Game. All of the First Nonary Game participants were recruited, except Akane and Aoi. Clover and her brother Light were recruited under Alice and worked for her, although Alice had to contact Seven and ask him to motivate Clover and Light in order for this. They trained them to become Espers, due to their abilities to access the morphogenetic field, which they needed to fight Free the Soul.
Clover was sent to a Free the Soul base, but it turned out to be fake and she was captured. Upon arriving to the false base, Alice rescued Clover. However, off to the side was a corpse, heavily covered in bruises. It was Alice's father, who was beaten to death. According to Clover, his last words was "I love you... Alice." and he had carved them on his chest. These words fueled Alice's desire to avenge her father and end Free the Soul. When Alice visited the morgue, she broke down and cried seeing her father's corpse.
After saving Clover, Alice learned the real location of Free the Soul's headquarters from her father's carvings which were latitude and longitude: a chemical factory disguised as an abandoned building in Los Angeles, California. Alice planned to attack them on December 25, 2028, but on December 22, Alice and Clover were attacked by a person in a gas mask and knocked out with a large amount of Soporil. Both Alice and Clover were immediately put in Treatment Pods.
On April 14, 2029, the Moon shuttle arrived on the Moon with Sigma, Alice, Clover, and Phi on board. They all went to Rhizome 9. Phi, Alice and Clover were still in Treatment Pods, and were stored away for 45 years.
Virtue's Last Reward[]
When the Nonary Game: Ambidex Edition begins, Alice wakes up alone in one of the AB Rooms. She discovers that she is a red solo. After solving the puzzle, she escapes from the AB Room and finds no one around in Warehouse A. Soon after that, she meets Luna, Tenmyouji, Dio, Quark, Sigma, and Phi. After investigating each others bracelets, Alice figures out that someone is still in the AB Room on the furthest left. Dio says there may not be anyone in there, but Sigma isn't so sure. Dio then asks him how he knows.
The hatch on the AB Room opens and K jumps from the roof of the elevator, carrying an unconscious Clover. Alice asks K what he did to her and he answers that he found her in the AB Room unconscious. K then says that he cannot remember who he is. Luna realizes that he has amnesia. Despite Dio thinking K is lying, everyone believes that he is in the same boat as everyone else. Eventually Clover wakes up, and asks Alice what is occurring. She tells her that they are trapped in a Nonary Game, which causes Clover to panic. Alice tells Clover everything will be okay.
When Zero III appears, he explains that solos must go through a Chromatic Door with a pair depending on which door they choose, meaning Alice can go with any pair. After Zero finishes his explanation, Luna begs Sigma to choose a door, saying it will decide who goes into each door.
Alice END[]
On this route, Alice goes with Sigma and Phi to the Crew Quarters. After investigating that area, Alice betrays Sigma and Phi in the AB Game. She says that she would gain more by choosing betray and called him "tender-brained" for picking ally. If the player chose to betray Alice previously, Sigma remembers her choosing ally in another timeline and confronts her about it. Otherwise, Sigma is merely annoyed by Alice's selfishness. Alice's betrayal of Sigma and Phi brings her BP to 6. After Zero III explains how the bracelets change after each round, Alice discovers that she is a yellow solo. After the nine participants split up, Alice heads to the Infirmary to speak with Dio and Tenmyouji.
When Sigma stops by, she reveals that her father was murdered and that she wants to punish her father's killer. She thinks it might have something to do with the Nonary Game. Soon after, Bomb 3 is discovered in the Crew Quarters. Alice explains how they need the password input device to deactivate the bomb. K points out that there might be other bombs. Dio suggests moving the bombs and begins to do so. Alice then yells at Dio for almost killing everyone. Phi suggests keeping away from it because it might explode at any time. Soon the Chromatic Doors on Floor B open. Alice goes with Sigma and Luna despite Sigma's protest.
They find themselves in the B. Garden, which Luna says might be an indoor garden for plant research. They solve the puzzles there and escape. Next, Sigma, Alice, and Luna meet up with Phi, Dio, and Tenmyouji. The second group takes the first group back to the room they searched: the Treatment Center. While discussing cold sleep, Tenmyouji suggests that Alice would not need to freeze her body since it is composed of Ice-9 rather than normal water. Alice tells Tenmyouji that Clover, the one who first told him about that story, was just joking around. She mentions that people do however confuse her for the mummy All-ice that was supposedly found on the Titanic when it sank. Alice recalls one time when somebody asked if she was the mummy, to which she joked that she might be, but perhaps has amnesia. The conversation concludes with Alice explaining how the mummy eventually vanished, but that the entire story is an urban legend. Tenmyouji remains convinced Alice is the mummy.
The group heads back to Warehouse A. When they arrive, K explains that Quark collapsed while his group was searching their room and that Clover is looking after him. Everyone rushes to the infirmary where Luna scans Quark with the ADAM and states that he has Radical-6 and that they need to find the cure, Axelavir.
Quark awakens suddenly. He immediately attempts suicide due to the effects of the disease. During the struggle, Alice takes the scalpel from Quark, but soon starts to succumb to the effects of Radical-6 as well. She tells the others that they will all die regardless of the circumstances, claiming that Radical-6 will destroy humanity. She then says that she would rather die there and runs off.
- "We're all going to die... We're all dead already... All of humanity is going to DIE! The virus will spread! Adults! Children! Everyone! EVERYONE! There won't be anyone left! I... I'd rather die here!"
- — Alice, before running away with a scalpel
Everyone searches for her around the facility. At some point Alice loses the scapel. Alice later loses consciousness in the B. Garden and is found by Phi, followed shortly by Sigma. Phi and Sigma carry Alice to the infirmary where Luna concludes that Alice has also contracted Radical-6. The group decides the best option is to take Quark and Alice to the Treatment Center to stave off the symptoms of the virus while they search for the Axelavir. However, as Tenmyouji lifts up Quark's body, a bottle of Axelavir falls out of Quark's pocket. The group wants to split up the dose so both Alice and Quark can be cured. However, Luna explains that the amount of Axelavir in one bottle is insufficient for curing two people. She also reveals that the injection gun used to administer the drug would use the whole bottle anyway. The group finds itself in a dilemma: Should they cure Alice or Quark?
Sigma utilizes his memories of the "IG = immunoglobulin" note he found in the B. Garden and the IG Replicator he saw in the Laboratory in Quark's timeline to solve the dilemma. He connects the dots and realizes that the IG replicator can duplicate the Axelavir. The group runs to the laboratory to perform the duplication. Afterward, Phi discovers Bomb 2 under the table. Clover finds a memory card underneath the bomb and speculates that it might reveal who planted all of the bombs due to the card's proximity to one of them. After the group returns to the infirmary, Luna uses the duplicated Axelavir to cure Alice and Quark. Tenmyouji volunteers to remain in the infirmary to watch over Alice and Quark even though he has only one BP left. The others move to Warehouse A to vote. Alice soon wakes up and finds out from Tenmyouji that the second round of the AB Game is almost over.
Alice runs to Warehouse A, opens the second AB Room from the left, and chooses betray. Sigma and the others are shocked that Alice is awake. She notices that Sigma also picked betray. She tells them that the reason she recovered from the Soporil so quickly is that she is resistant to anesthetics. Her kidnappers used a lot on her when she was taken. This could explain why Clover woke up last out of all the players, since they were kidnapped together. Alice notices that everyone voted betray in the AB Game. She rants that the game only benefits the individual and that everyone merely looks out for themselves. She then tells Sigma to stop treating her like she is the only bad guy. She explains that two groups, Phi and Dio/Tenmyouji, just tried to kill each other. Also, K and Clover attempted to trick one another into allying, which would have given the other nine BP and the opportunity to escape.
She walks off with Clover following her and finds Tenmyouji in the Infirmary. Sigma arrives soon after and puts the memory card from the Laboratory into the computer. Alice and Clover recognize the letters on the screen. Alice explains to Sigma, Tenmyouji, and Luna that she has been fighting the Myrmidons, which she explains is a terrorist organization. The letters on the screen are an encrypted message from them. Alice leaves after refusing to reveal any more information because she needs to continue thinking things over.
Alice retreats to the B. Garden to reflect on the situation alone, but Sigma follows her. Alice apologizes to Sigma for betraying him and wonders why he doesn't just kill her. A single tear rolls down Alice's cheek -- then another, and another, leaving shining lines across her face, and Sigma brushes his thumb across her cheek, taking her tears with it. After Sigma comforts Alice, she reveals how she has felt ever since the game began. She promises to tell him her story if he promises to keep the conversation a secret which he agrees to. Alice explains about her life, her father's disappearance, and joining the SOIS. She talks about Free the Soul and how she met Clover. Alice tells Sigma about the Nonary Game ten years ago, explaining that Gentarou Hongou planned it with the help of Free the Soul because he believed in their cause. Alice requests Sigma's assistance to decode the message on the memory card. Sigma searches through his memories for any possible clues he might have seen.
Sigma remembers the transmitter from Dio's ending and is able to recite the number on it perfectly because of his excellent photographic memory. Alice uses her exemplary mental arithmetic skills to convert the 25-digit number to its prime factors: a nine-digit number to the third power. She explains how each digit can be used to decipher the code. Sigma figures out the encrypted message, "COMPLETED," and relays it to Alice. Before they can make use of it, Clover arrives and instructs them to rush to the Floor B warehouse because a fight between Phi, Dio, and Tenmyouji has broken out and that K can't hold them off.
They arrive and witness Phi, Tenmyouji, and Dio arguing. Sigma tries to calm them down by revealing that he knows who planted the bombs. He uses his memories from other timelines to trick Dio into admitting that he is the leader of the Myrmidons and serves Free the Soul, implicating him as the one responsible for the bombs. Alice threatens to kill him. Before she gets the chance, Dio pulls out the detonator and demands everyone stay back. He reveals that he planted four bombs.
Alice and Clover conspire to take the detonator from Dio. After Clover grabs the detonator, she throws it to Sigma. When Sigma catches it, it activates. Dio explains that a safeguard had been implemented that engages the bombs when the detonator is taken more than 1 meter away from him. Alice interrogates him about the passwords to deactivate the bombs. He manages to trick Clover into giving him a poison pill he had hidden in his pocket by telling her that's where the input device was. Before he dies, he gives them the code for Bomb #3. Everyone fruitlessly searches for the other codes and bomb #2. Unfortunately, time runs out and the bombs explode, killing everyone, destroying the facility and forcing Sigma's consciousness to make a jump.
Phi END[]
After Sigma finds the Axelavir to cure Alice of her Radical-6, all of the players except for Dio go through the Number Nine Door, although she wanted to take him back to the SOIS for questioning. Upon reaching the surface of the Moon, Tenmyouji reveals what had happened on Earth over the past 45 years. He states that 6 billion people died because of Radical-6 and that 18 antimatter reactors were detonated to destroy the disease, but the explosion caused the Sun to be blotted out, causing a nuclear winter.
Soon after hearing this, Sigma remembers the key Akane gave him and all of the players follow him to the B. Garden. Once there, K reveals to Alice that she was chosen for the AB Project in order to decode the Myrmidons' (Dio's) 25-digit integer code, which she can crack with her mathematics and prime decomposition skills, even though Alice doesn't understand what K means by this since it never happened in this timeline. Because of Alice's feat in this other history, the group was able to discover that Dio planted the bombs, and Alice was able to use force to get the password for the number 3 bomb, stopping the detonation and saving everyone in the timeline she is currently in.
Another Time END[]
After speaking with Tenmyouji and Quark, ? runs into Clover and Alice in the Treatment Center. Clover laments that they will never see their families again in the future and that there is nothing left for them in Rhizome 9. Alice mentions that Akane told them they could send their bodies back in time by a method connected to Schrödinger's Cat.
Zero Time Dilemma[]
D-Team Game Over 5 - Don't Press the Button[]
Alice is not mentioned but her fate is alluded to in this game-over.
Diana and Phi arrived in the Lounge and see a bleeding Sigma on the ground, who was stabbed by a hooded person. Diana tries to comfort him but the blood loss makes him confused, such as thinking Diana is Luna. He apologizes to her because he failed and his SHIFT connection has been cut, making Luna, Kyle and Lagomorph never exist in that world and leaving Alice and Clover stuck in the future.
CQD-END: 2[]
Alice and Clover are "maybe" released by Akane from their Treatment Pods after the end of the game.[13]
It is also likely they would be warned of another possible terrorist attack threatening all of humanity. It is also possible an alliance between SOIS and Crash Keys could be formed to combat this threat.
However, the above is merely a probable theory.
Quotes[]
- "Now just look at this soft, lustrous skin... This perfect, shapely face! Does this beauty look like something infected with an awful disease? You want to touch it, don't you, boy? I can see it in your eyes... Go on. Try."
- "Haven't you ever heard of the prisoner's dilemma?! Then WHY, FOR FUCK'S SAKE, DID YOU CHOOSE "BETRAY"?!"
- "What the hell! This is important stuff! Why didn't you tell us about this earlier!? "Sorry"'s not going to cut it! I thought you were supposed to tell us the rules, not hide them! Is there anything ELSE you've conveniently left out?! It's not fair to make people play a game without explaining all the rules!" (to Zero III)
- "NO! DON'T TOUCH IT! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?! Have you got a DEATH WISH or something? This bomb is here because somebody planted it! Do you really think they didn't rig it to go off if some IDIOT tried to move it?" (to Dio about the bomb)
- "Well, it is true that I am both beautiful and elegant. Can I really be blamed if people think I'm an Egyptian queen?"
- "Remove these shorts of obfuscation and let us gaze upon it-this so-called "hose"!"
- "You honestly think a voice that coarse could come from a throat as fine as this?"
- "Dick move." (after Sigma pretends he burns his hand in the pantry)
- "Look, Luna, it's Sigma's house!" (pointing to a tool shed)
- "Hey, that's a great idea! Why didn't I think of that? Oh, I know. Because it's idiotic!"
- "We're all going to die... We're all dead already... All of humanity is going to DIE! The virus will spread! Adults! Children! Everyone! EVERYONE! There won't be anyone left! I... I'd rather die here!"
- "Are you DENSE?! I don't pair up with ASSHOLES." (to Sigma after he betrays her)
- "What in God's name is wrong with you?!"
- "Nooo! Let me go! I have to do this! I can't take it anymore! This whole thing is like a nightmare I can't wake up from! The only way I'm going to get out of here is to DIE!"
- "Why am I the ONLY one getting the third degree here?! Look at those results! Two other people just tried to KILL someone! ...See? There's your answer. In the end, everyone's just thinking about themselves. So I would appreciate it if you could NOT treat me like I'm the only villain here!"
- "You don't hate me? I... I tried to kill you. I was so scared. Who wouldn't be? Kidnapped and locked up, forced to play some sort of bizarre game... And then we found that bomb. I know I probably sounded calm, but as soon as we found that thing, all I wanted to do was run away from it as fast as I could. Things just went downhill from there... I remember hearing that Quark had collapsed, and running to the infirmary with everyone else... When I got there, I realized I couldn't understand what anyone was saying. And everything looked... I don't how to describe it. It was like watching a video on fast-forward, only it was real. Then I started to feel like... It's hard to explain. I guess you could say I didn't feel like I was myself, and it only got worse."
- "Bastards... I'll never forgive you... I... am going... TO KILL YOU!" (to Dio)
- "DIE YOU BASTARD! YEAAAAAAAAA!" (to Dio)
- Dio: "Yeagh! Fuck! Stop! You're gonna break my arm!"
Alice: "Of course. That's the plan." - "SHIT... Damn... How could I be so STUPID..."
- "I don't have any use for another braindead man!" (after Sigma fails to decode)
- "Wait... This is crazy. That can't possibly be Earth out there. Look at it... I've seen photos of Earth, and it's blue, and green, and beautiful! That thing is just... RED!"
- "In the end, Clover and I were just pawns. Pawns to be used and then gotten rid of. Still, it's not like we're completely resentful. We had to be here to help change the past. That part's easy to understand. But..."
- "Even if it is for the greater good... Yeah... It's a little bit much." (after learning all of her friends and family are dead and Earth has become a post-apocalyptic wasteland)
Trivia[]
- At the end of 999, before one would play VLR, they would likely presume that Alice was actually the Egyptian priestess allegedly frozen in ice-9 referenced at several points in the game. However, Alice's appearance and role in VLR disproved this theory. Alice is occasionally asked about the theory that she is the Egyptian priestess known as "All-ice" in VLR, and each time she rejects the theory, though there is still some speculation by fans on this subject. In addition, it wouldn't make sense that an ancient Egyptian woman would know modern English, and Alice's backstory is also a major discrepancy, although Alice admits she omitted some details, and it is possible she lied to a degree.
- In an interview, Uchikoshi essentially admitted All-ice and Alice are the same: "That's Alice. The Ice-9 melted, and she's in the desert. Alice's ice melted in a time prior to nine years ago. Lord Gordain purchased the Gigantic around 1920, and Ace subsequently opened the coffin nine years before the events of the story, so she must have broken out in the interim. I presume Alice breaks out just before Ace opens the coffin - about several months to a week before - and I suppose she learned about hitchhiking culture in the nine years since then."[14]
- However, this goes against Alice's backstory in VLR, making it likely this was all retconned.
- Alice makes a Dragon Ball reference in the Rec Room, when you examine the billiard ball poster. She will say, "They're those balls from that kid's show, right? If you collect seven of them then you get a wish." She even knows the right amount (seven), hinting she's watched some anime or Dragon Ball before.
- If the player fails to decode the Myrmidon password, a frustrated Alice says, "You WHAT?! Are you serious? What? Ugh. Just forget it. I'll figure it out on my own." She then calls Sigma "braindead", says she doesn't have any use for another braindead man, and angrily walks off in a huff.[15]
- Alice dies in every good ending except Phi END.
- Like Tenmyouji, after any first round of the AB Game, Alice's BP will always be 1 outside of the scenario where Sigma chooses Ally against her.
- Alice knew that Dio blackmailed Sigma and Clover on Quark's route because Clover told her. This is revealed in Quark Game Over.
- Alice may be interested in Sigma. When Sigma tells Alice that he is curious about her, she blushes. In the GAULEM Bay, she tells Sigma, "You can be cute when you're embarrassed" and offers to dress in a doctor's coat for him - just in case he's into that kind of thing.
- When the players were split up at the red, blue, and green Chromatic Doors, Tenmyouji told Alice that there was something he had to tell her. That something was, of course, his identity, and that he already knew all about Alice and Ice-9, and not because he'd heard about it from Clover.
- Her nervous expression is meant to look like she is biting her nail, as it's a trait some nailbiters have.[16]