Wil," said Barry with a weight of sadness that only a parent can know, "I tried as hard as I could. - Paul Jenkins

Ignoring the old man, Wil reasoned, was the first step to figuring him out.

The next morning, Wil Morgan awoke from a fitful night’s sleep and a rather disturbing variation of his anxiety dream in which he’d arrived too late to register for the World’s Biggest Failure competition and had been disqualified.

I see where you're going with this, Wil. Bravo!"
"Do you?" replied Wil. "Because honestly, Mr. Dinsdale, if you know where I'm going, perhaps you'd be kind enough to give me directions!