smile that sends my heart soaring.
The stocky guy behind me mentally chuckles and his name—Dennis—pops into my head along with his mocking thoughts. I focus on Kira’s clear blue eyes and the tiny freckle on the side of her cheek, like a morning star that only shows up at certain times of the day. The familiar scent of soap and lavender hangs in the air near her, beating back the over baked sneaker smell coming from Dennis.
“Hi.” I hope my whispered voice won’t attract more attention than my thoughts already have. I stow my gear under my seat.
“Hey,” she says, not quite softly enough. The two girls in the next row start thinking about her.
I can’t wait until school is over.
It’s so creepy having her around all the time.
I know, right? You never know what evil things she’s thinking.
I hear she runs through the neighborhoods and peeps in people’s windows. Snooping.
I resist the urge to glare at them, but they hear even that. One scowls at me. Loser.
Praver, thinks the other. Maybe you help her snoop.
Shut up. I focus on Kira, hoping the girls’ thoughts don’t show on my face, where Kira can see them. “Just two more days,” I say. “Then a whole summer of freedom.”
She sighs and glances at the two girls. For a wild moment, I’m afraid she can actually hear their thoughts, but her face settles into a mask of patience. “Yeah,” she says. “I’m in serious need of a break from all the fun , you know? The weekend can’t get here soon enough.”
“Do you have any plans?” I ask. “For the summer, I mean.”
She lifts an eyebrow. I spend a lot of weekends at Kira’s house, when the team isn’t travelling or competing in tournaments, but this Saturday everyone’s going to the Fuse Games. Everyone except Kira, because she wouldn’t exactly fit in at a mindware tournament. Although I would love to see her in one of the Game suits that the girls wear, all skin-tight silver interface cloth and not much else. I squelch that image and focus on Kira’s lips.
They’re moving—she’s said something and I missed it. “Sorry?” I ask.
“You okay, there, soccer stud?” She pretends to inspect my head. “One too many headers in practice yesterday?”
Mental laughter from Dennis rings in my head and I’m glad Kira can’t hear it. “Sorry, just ... a lot on my mind.” Which is true. Because I want to ask her to the Gamesdance, but I can’t imagine any way of asking without bringing a look of horror to her face. “So, what are you doing this summer?”
“Hanging out at home, most likely,” she says. “Trying to keep Seamus out of trouble and taking care of Gram.” She traces the non-slip pattern of her desk. “I have a lot of reading to catch up on. How about you? I’ve got some old sim-casts I want to watch. Maybe you can help me get through the backlog?”
She smiles up at me, and I’d like nothing more than to spend the summer with Kira watching old sim-casts. Or pretty much anything else she’d like to do. But I’m leaving, which makes my chest pull tight. “Actually, I’m going away to a camp in Indiana for the summer. I’ll have a chance to practice with the Twisters, and…” I swallow. The fading smile on Kira’s face is ripping me up inside.
“Oh,” she says. “Um, wow. That’s ... great. The Twisters, huh? Is that one of your new synchrony bands?”
I laugh, a strangled release of breath. The Twisters are World Cup champions three years in a row. She knows this. “Yeah, they’re an amazing band and they’re letting me play. They heard what a great guitar player I am.”
“Right,” she says. “Like you could actually play a musical instrument.”
Her slim fingers are well-practiced in playing the saxophone, nothing like my clumsy mitts. “Hey, I’m not bad at the Sync Rock Games.” I regret it as soon as her face shadows. I had to mention the Games. What is wrong with me?
She puts on a fake smile, the kind I can see right through.
The stocky guy behind me mentally chuckles and his name—Dennis—pops into my head along with his mocking thoughts. I focus on Kira’s clear blue eyes and the tiny freckle on the side of her cheek, like a morning star that only shows up at certain times of the day. The familiar scent of soap and lavender hangs in the air near her, beating back the over baked sneaker smell coming from Dennis.
“Hi.” I hope my whispered voice won’t attract more attention than my thoughts already have. I stow my gear under my seat.
“Hey,” she says, not quite softly enough. The two girls in the next row start thinking about her.
I can’t wait until school is over.
It’s so creepy having her around all the time.
I know, right? You never know what evil things she’s thinking.
I hear she runs through the neighborhoods and peeps in people’s windows. Snooping.
I resist the urge to glare at them, but they hear even that. One scowls at me. Loser.
Praver, thinks the other. Maybe you help her snoop.
Shut up. I focus on Kira, hoping the girls’ thoughts don’t show on my face, where Kira can see them. “Just two more days,” I say. “Then a whole summer of freedom.”
She sighs and glances at the two girls. For a wild moment, I’m afraid she can actually hear their thoughts, but her face settles into a mask of patience. “Yeah,” she says. “I’m in serious need of a break from all the fun , you know? The weekend can’t get here soon enough.”
“Do you have any plans?” I ask. “For the summer, I mean.”
She lifts an eyebrow. I spend a lot of weekends at Kira’s house, when the team isn’t travelling or competing in tournaments, but this Saturday everyone’s going to the Fuse Games. Everyone except Kira, because she wouldn’t exactly fit in at a mindware tournament. Although I would love to see her in one of the Game suits that the girls wear, all skin-tight silver interface cloth and not much else. I squelch that image and focus on Kira’s lips.
They’re moving—she’s said something and I missed it. “Sorry?” I ask.
“You okay, there, soccer stud?” She pretends to inspect my head. “One too many headers in practice yesterday?”
Mental laughter from Dennis rings in my head and I’m glad Kira can’t hear it. “Sorry, just ... a lot on my mind.” Which is true. Because I want to ask her to the Gamesdance, but I can’t imagine any way of asking without bringing a look of horror to her face. “So, what are you doing this summer?”
“Hanging out at home, most likely,” she says. “Trying to keep Seamus out of trouble and taking care of Gram.” She traces the non-slip pattern of her desk. “I have a lot of reading to catch up on. How about you? I’ve got some old sim-casts I want to watch. Maybe you can help me get through the backlog?”
She smiles up at me, and I’d like nothing more than to spend the summer with Kira watching old sim-casts. Or pretty much anything else she’d like to do. But I’m leaving, which makes my chest pull tight. “Actually, I’m going away to a camp in Indiana for the summer. I’ll have a chance to practice with the Twisters, and…” I swallow. The fading smile on Kira’s face is ripping me up inside.
“Oh,” she says. “Um, wow. That’s ... great. The Twisters, huh? Is that one of your new synchrony bands?”
I laugh, a strangled release of breath. The Twisters are World Cup champions three years in a row. She knows this. “Yeah, they’re an amazing band and they’re letting me play. They heard what a great guitar player I am.”
“Right,” she says. “Like you could actually play a musical instrument.”
Her slim fingers are well-practiced in playing the saxophone, nothing like my clumsy mitts. “Hey, I’m not bad at the Sync Rock Games.” I regret it as soon as her face shadows. I had to mention the Games. What is wrong with me?
She puts on a fake smile, the kind I can see right through.
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