Caleb wanted?” Mira asks. “And where you’ve been?”
“Chill, people. Don’t all talk at the same time.” They look confused for a moment, so I tell them, “Please, sit. I’ll tell you what happened.”
“Shouldn’t we wait for Bert?” Hillary asks. “He was just as worried as the rest of us.”
“Actually, no,” I say. “Quite the opposite. This involves Reader and Guide stuff.”
“Well,” Hillary says, looking at her phone, “you only have a few minutes before he gets here.”
“I’ll make it quick,” I say and swiftly tell them everything, only stopping when my pizza arrives. Eugene’s eyes look like they’re about to pop out of their sockets when I get to the ‘making a baby with Julia’ part. Mira’s expression is harder to interpret, but she does rudely cut off her brother’s attempt to ask me how Julia is doing, as though Julia and I had the chance to bond on that level.
“So your grandparents on your father’s side are just as fucked up as my mom and dad,” Hillary concludes when I finish.
“I guess,” I say between frantic bites of pizza.
“So you believe this Mimir being?” Eugene asks. “You think your mother is in trouble?”
“Yes. I found him very convincing. So I have to get back to New York, and I’ll need Bert’s help to get there. I’m getting this really bad feeling about my mom.”
“Need my help with what?” Bert asks, startling me. I didn’t notice he’d arrived. “What’s wrong with your mom?”
I phase out and the bustling Miami street stops in its tracks. I pull Hillary and the others into my Quiet session.
“What do I tell him?” I ask, pointing to frozen Bert. “How do I spin it?”
“Just say you were on the phone this whole time, because your mom is sick and you need to go to New York,” Hillary suggests.
“That makes no sense,” I say. “He’ll never believe that horseshit.”
“I can make it so he does,” Hillary says. “Since time is of the essence.”
“Maybe, but he’s my best friend. It feels wrong doing that to him. Does Pushing leave any permanent damage?”
“I don’t think it does. But that’s more his area of expertise.” She nods toward Eugene.
“I doubt it causes brain damage,” Eugene says in his most pedantic tone. “But I think we should tell him about us.”
“What, why?” Mira gives her brother one of her most derisive looks.
“For starters, his girlfriend is a Push–I mean, Guide. I, his new friend, am a Reader. And more importantly, his oldest and best friend is both,” he says. “On a more selfish note, I need someone with his skills to help with my research. And I could use someone without our abilities to act as a control group of sorts. There is only so much I can do with the neighbors without their cooperation.”
Now I know why Eugene got all excited when I mentioned my friend is a hacker.
“It’s tempting,” Hillary says, a hint of a smile appearing on her face. “If he knew about us, going out with him would feel more honest.”
“I can’t believe this,” Mira says. “Isn’t telling them forbidden?”
“Good question,” I say, finally getting a chance to speak.
“In our society, it’s not forbidden so much as frowned upon,” Hillary says. “When you tell them, you’re responsible for making sure they don’t blab.”
“Oh, right,” Eugene says. “I hadn’t thought of that. You can prevent people from talking. This settles it, then. If you and I combine our efforts, we can be pretty secure in telling Bert everything. I can Read him from time to time to see whether he would expose us, and if he would, I’ll tell you.”
“Sounds lovely,” Mira says sardonically.
“It’s not as sinister as it sounds,” Hillary says defensively. “If things go that way, he’ll only find that he keeps forgetting to talk about this subject.”
“Bert wouldn’t talk,” I say, tired of the back and forth. “Not if we deliver this to him with proper finesse,
“Chill, people. Don’t all talk at the same time.” They look confused for a moment, so I tell them, “Please, sit. I’ll tell you what happened.”
“Shouldn’t we wait for Bert?” Hillary asks. “He was just as worried as the rest of us.”
“Actually, no,” I say. “Quite the opposite. This involves Reader and Guide stuff.”
“Well,” Hillary says, looking at her phone, “you only have a few minutes before he gets here.”
“I’ll make it quick,” I say and swiftly tell them everything, only stopping when my pizza arrives. Eugene’s eyes look like they’re about to pop out of their sockets when I get to the ‘making a baby with Julia’ part. Mira’s expression is harder to interpret, but she does rudely cut off her brother’s attempt to ask me how Julia is doing, as though Julia and I had the chance to bond on that level.
“So your grandparents on your father’s side are just as fucked up as my mom and dad,” Hillary concludes when I finish.
“I guess,” I say between frantic bites of pizza.
“So you believe this Mimir being?” Eugene asks. “You think your mother is in trouble?”
“Yes. I found him very convincing. So I have to get back to New York, and I’ll need Bert’s help to get there. I’m getting this really bad feeling about my mom.”
“Need my help with what?” Bert asks, startling me. I didn’t notice he’d arrived. “What’s wrong with your mom?”
I phase out and the bustling Miami street stops in its tracks. I pull Hillary and the others into my Quiet session.
“What do I tell him?” I ask, pointing to frozen Bert. “How do I spin it?”
“Just say you were on the phone this whole time, because your mom is sick and you need to go to New York,” Hillary suggests.
“That makes no sense,” I say. “He’ll never believe that horseshit.”
“I can make it so he does,” Hillary says. “Since time is of the essence.”
“Maybe, but he’s my best friend. It feels wrong doing that to him. Does Pushing leave any permanent damage?”
“I don’t think it does. But that’s more his area of expertise.” She nods toward Eugene.
“I doubt it causes brain damage,” Eugene says in his most pedantic tone. “But I think we should tell him about us.”
“What, why?” Mira gives her brother one of her most derisive looks.
“For starters, his girlfriend is a Push–I mean, Guide. I, his new friend, am a Reader. And more importantly, his oldest and best friend is both,” he says. “On a more selfish note, I need someone with his skills to help with my research. And I could use someone without our abilities to act as a control group of sorts. There is only so much I can do with the neighbors without their cooperation.”
Now I know why Eugene got all excited when I mentioned my friend is a hacker.
“It’s tempting,” Hillary says, a hint of a smile appearing on her face. “If he knew about us, going out with him would feel more honest.”
“I can’t believe this,” Mira says. “Isn’t telling them forbidden?”
“Good question,” I say, finally getting a chance to speak.
“In our society, it’s not forbidden so much as frowned upon,” Hillary says. “When you tell them, you’re responsible for making sure they don’t blab.”
“Oh, right,” Eugene says. “I hadn’t thought of that. You can prevent people from talking. This settles it, then. If you and I combine our efforts, we can be pretty secure in telling Bert everything. I can Read him from time to time to see whether he would expose us, and if he would, I’ll tell you.”
“Sounds lovely,” Mira says sardonically.
“It’s not as sinister as it sounds,” Hillary says defensively. “If things go that way, he’ll only find that he keeps forgetting to talk about this subject.”
“Bert wouldn’t talk,” I say, tired of the back and forth. “Not if we deliver this to him with proper finesse,
Similar Books
