The Game
smile — his best feature. If I hadn’t known him for so long, I would melt. I laugh because despite how long I’ve known him, I almost do melt.
      “So what brings you into my territory today, Raphael? Here for business or pleasure? And for how long?”
      “Business today, Stephanie,” He says. “I’m currently based in the United States. Ward duty for me for the past eight years. My girl is here today on a visit and I just wanted to make sure she stays safe, even though my gut says there’ll be no problems.” He looks over towards the dojo, and I guess she must be inside.
      “Any idea who she is? Your girl?” I ask pleasantly. Sometimes we tell each other, sometimes we don’t. But we always ask.
      Raphael shrugs. It looks like he’s willing to share the info with me. “In here she’s called Danielle Benton. Outside she’s Alexandra Montoyas. I’m hers for now. How about you, Stephanie? You have a ward also?”
      I nod dumbly. My mind is racing. I usually know what to do about a threat, but I can’t see how this is a threat to Trew. My gut tells me it’s fine, so I try to calm down. But something deep down feels… concerned . “We’d better go closer and take a look inside the dojo, Raphael.”
      He sees my look and his brows furrow with concern. I smile reassuringly and pat him on the back. “My ward is a nine-year-old boy named Trew Radfield.” I pause to see if he recognizes the name. He looks at me blankly, still waiting to hear something interesting. “Outside, he’s Zack.”
      Raphael looks at me for a moment in surprise. Then he tilts his head back and roars with laughter.
      As we walk across the street to get a good view of the dojo, he says, “That’s so funny, Stephanie. Word is that Alexandra Montoyas spent everything on her last play just to get a meeting like this and it didn’t work. I bet she didn’t spend one little credit this time, and yet here they are in the same room. Wanna bet they are sitting right beside each other?”
      I shake my head negatively. I bet that’s exactly where they’re sitting.
     
     

Chapter 19
      “What if we are all just turtles?
      A mother turtle lays her eggs on the beach and then swims away. Some time later the hundreds or thousands of eggs hatch and the baby turtles begin their struggle to survive. First they have to fight their way up from under the sand. Some do not make it. Next they race towards the water while predators swoop down to eat them. They are defenseless, slow, and tiny and many of them do not survive this stage. They aren't safe even once they reach the water. Different predators are waiting for them there, snatching them up in the shallow waters and eating as many of the baby turtles as they can. The few who remain head towards deeper water, a bit safer, but it will be many years before they are grown enough to have a chance of living a long life in the sea. Of the thousands of turtles that hatch and begin their struggle for life, only a very few of them will make it. It is the same with the millions of souls born into human bodies. Just like turtles, most of them are lost along the way. Only a few rare souls will learn their lessons and evolve. Until they evolve, they are reborn again and again to play the game of life.”
    Excerpt from Earth book called ‘The Game Is Life’
    George Knight (avatar)
     
    Trew Radfield, age 9
      We wait for our turn to get up and show our stuff. They go through the younger belts first, which takes about an hour. My friends lean over and whisper to me every once in a while, not loud or often because we’re supposed to be polite and quiet. The whole time all I can think about is Danielle sitting beside me. I try not to stare at her, but I don’t think I’m too good at hiding it. I pretend to look at the wall beside her, but she catches me every time and just smiles. I smile back.
      “What do you think so far?” I ask her.
      “It’s as boring as testing back

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