by Gwenda Bond
“She has an online date with her mystery boy,” Maddy said. “That’s what she means.”
“I could tell by her air of glazed euphoria,” James said. He and Maddy grinned at each other.
“I need to hit my locker before we go,” Maddy said.
I heard my name and turned to see Devin at the end of the hall near the main exit.
“That’s my cue. I’ll see you guys later.” Leaving the others behind, I walked toward Devin.
Of my fellow Scoop staffers, Devin was more like me than James and Maddy were. Except unlike me, he had crazy good tech skills. I hoped he’d have some info on TheInventor.
“I got him this time,” Devin said. He pushed open the door and held it for me. He had on a slouchy gray T, jeans, and cool sneakers. “Fifth time’s the charm.”
“You really think so?” I asked Devin as we left school. As usual, I wore jeans and my boots.
I kept my voice down, because we were still surrounded by our classmates. Not that anyone was listening. It was the post-last-bell exodus and no one was much in the mood to linger. School buses pulled away from the curb.
“I know so,” Devin said. “And this worm’s so sleek, he won’t even notice it’s there. It should capture his activity so we know who he’s in contact with and what he’s sharing.”
“Excellent,” I said.
“You going to tell me what we’re looking for?”
“You’ll know it when you see it,” I told him. “We’re looking for anything suspicious.”
“That’s… nonspecific,” he said.
I shrugged. That was as specific as I was willing to get for the time being.
Devin was a good enough friend to agree to help me out without knowing the full story. We stopped on the sidewalk down the block from school, the post-bell exit traffic starting to thin out.
I almost did a double take when I spotted a guy on the other side of the street watching us. The thing was, he looked an awful lot like the boy outside the theater last night. Skinny, check. Floppy hair, check. But he turned away before I could get a good look at his face.
Weird. But it didn’t seem possible the same guy from last night had turned up at school.
I shifted to face Devin. “You coming to the office?” he asked.
“Not tonight,” I said, biting my lip against a smile.
“Oh, I get it. You have a date,” he said, teasing.
“Sort of.” Apparently I was that transparent. But I was also grinning.
“Go on,” he said, serious again. “I’ll ping you if I see anything… unusual.”
I should have taken off, but I hesitated.
“What is it?” Devin asked.
“Just… speaking of unusual, any sign of Donovan lately?” I mentally crossed my fingers.
“Nada on that front,” he said. “I’d have led with it if there was. Why?”
“He can’t ghost forever,” I said, hoping it was true. “I think we need to come up with a plan to track him down.”
Devin nodded. “Okay, but why the sudden rush?”
“It’s not sudden. I just feel like we’ve been a little lazy about it.”
“If you say so,” Devin said with a small frown.
“I do.” I thought he might argue, and I didn’t want to explain that Nellie Bly had opened my eyes anew to what I should be doing. So I waved. “See you.”
He opened his mouth, but then just shook his head and lifted his hand in goodbye.
We headed off in separate directions, my boots thudding on the sidewalk as I hurried to catch the subway home. I wove through bodies on the sidewalk like a native Metropolitan.
“Ow!” Someone knocked into me hard, sending my breath out of my lungs and forcing me to the sidewalk. Dad’s lesson about safe landings during his self-defense training was the only thing that kept me from catching myself with my hands and destroying my wrists. Instead, I redirected, and my butt collided hard with the concrete.
I looked up to see who’d knocked me over.
It was the boy who’d been watching me. And he was definitely the same one from yesterday. He paused on the sidewalk ahead, his head crooked back toward me. He was so thin that his cheeks had hollows.
He winked at me.
I blinked at him in stunned confusion. Then the backpack he wore caught my eye. It—unlike the rest of him—was in perfect condition. There was a symbol on the back, a round logo that struck me as familiar. I squinted to get a better look, and noticed another odd thing as he started to move away. His feet—they appeared to be coated in some kind of silver armor. Also in pristine condition.
Then he really took off.
I scrambled to my non-armored feet as the boy put on a burst of speed. It was some burst. Whatever the armor was, it did the opposite of weigh him down. He ran so fast he almost blurred as he dodged between people on the sidewalk.
The passersby reacted with startled steps back and exclamations. So I wasn’t hallucinating this.
I went after him as fast I could, which wasn’t anywhere near fast enough. The speed he used didn’t seem… possible. No one ran that fast.
I lost sight of him as he hung a right at the corner. When I reached the end of the block, I turned and saw him at the next intersection. Then he was gone again, taking a hard left.
Was he letting me follow him?
“Not such a quick thinker, if you are,” I said, jogging ahead.
When I reached the end of that block, though, I really had lost him. The next street was quieter, and I scanned it hard in case I was missing something. There were awnings over shops, some buildings that seemed unoccupied, and trees dotting the sidewalk. A repurposed payphone booth covered in mural art sat near the corner. There were only a few people out on the sidewalks.
None of them was the floppy-haired silver-foot with the backpack.
“Is everything all right?” a woman’s voice asked. Outrageously glam, she stood next to the Don’t Walk sign, seemingly comfortable in skyscraper heels and perfect makeup with her hair piled on top of her head and a high-necked dress that I’d bet cost a thousand dollars if it cost a penny. There was a musical lilt to her voice, an accent I couldn’t place.
News story alert. He wasn’t just leading me. He’s a lead.
“Everything’s perfect,” I said.
“Glad to hear it,” she said, then crossed the street, though the light hadn’t changed yet.
I considered continuing up the street to see if I could find any trace of the rude speedy dude. I even gave it a few more steps. But he was nowhere to be seen. I was alone, and I was in a hurry to get home. Continuing this way would move me in the opposite direction.
Still, I unearthed my phone from the outside pocket of my messenger bag and tapped out a group chat to Devin, James, and Maddy: Got a lead on a story. Let’s talk at school.
The boy had showed up and drawn my attention on purpose. I was sure of that. I had his scent now, and I wanted a closer look at that backpack decal. I also owed him for knocking me down.
And I had a feeling he’d be back soon enough.
*
I unlocked the front door of our brownstone and swung it open just as my phone buzzed. I fumbled for it—though I was almost certain it’d be SmallvilleGuy teasing me about being late, as usual—and barreled right into Dad.
“That’s my girl,” he said, catching my arms to steady me. “Always in a rush.”
He wore his dress uniform and Lucy was behind him, also in fancier clothes than normal. Where he was shiny medals and ribbons, she was sedate baby-goth in a black dress.
Mom came down the stairs and was wearing a dress too. Though hers wasn’t fancy. In a slate gray sheath with a jacket over top, she was the height of professionalism. Her blond hair was smoothed back into a low ponytail.
“Wher
e are you guys going?” I asked. It would be just my luck to have blanked on a family obligation.
Mom answered. “They’re going to an airfield just outside the city for a reception. I’m going to teach my first class. Do I look okay?”
She stood for inspection, nerves apparent in the slight trembling of her arms as she held them out to each side of herself.
Oh, right. This was Mom’s first night teaching at a local college. She’d picked up a double masters before she and Dad got married, intending to teach college classes on English and/or Art History. But we’d moved around too much for her to do more than pick up a session here and there over the years. She’d always longed for the front of a classroom.
Dad smiled at her. “You look great, Professor Lane, and you’re going to do great.”
“I hope so.”
“Yeah, knock them dead, Mom,” I said. “Or whatever the teaching version of ‘Break a leg’ is.”
“I think it’s just ‘Break a leg,’ sweetheart,” Mom said, but she sounded less nervous. She shouldered her purse, and then glanced down at my clothes. Okay, so my jeans were a little the worse for my tumble on the street. “Are you okay?”
“Fine. I, um, tripped leaving school.” It wasn’t a complete falsehood.
Dad shook his head. “Try not to break anything while we’re out.”
“I’ll be back in a couple of hours,” Mom said, heading off any bickering between me and Dad.
“But lock up behind us anyway,” Dad added.
As if I wouldn’t have.
Things were strained between me and Dad these days. Well, more strained than usual. The weird undercurrent traced all the way back to my last big story. Whether it was my fault or his didn’t really matter. We were both aware of it, but neither of us had mentioned it or tried to address it. We just sniped at each other more than usual. Christmas had been particularly awful. I guessed he thought the weirdness would eventually go away on its own and normalcy would make a triumphant return. I worried more that things between us wouldn’t ever feel normal again.
The three of them left together, and, as directed, I locked the door behind them. My phone was buzzing again. And my stomach growled. But that could wait.
I checked my phone. It was SmallvilleGuy messaging me in our app.
SmallvilleGuy: ETA soon, or did something come up? Or did you forget about me?;)
SkepticGirl1: Be right there. Race you to the game.
SkepticGirl1: (Never.)
I bounded up the stairs and went straight to my desk. In smooth sequence, I picked my holoset out of my desk drawer and then tucked it over my ear with one hand while I stretched out my other arm to close and lock the door. A little paranoia never hurt anyone. Much.
I settled on my bed and pressed the button to power the holoset on, finally taking a breath. A spray of lights focrused into the familiar, if ever-changing, landscape of Worlds War Three. Currently there was a storm-gray sky with scudding orange clouds above Devin’s newly reconstructed castle. The turreted tower known as the Lois Annex, where SmallvilleGuy and I usually hung out, loomed in front of me.
A pretty, red-scaled dragon flew overhead.
A familiar form split off from the dragon and flew down to land by my side. This was one person I’d never mistake for another, here in the game or anywhere. Lanky, with black hair and light green-tinged skin, he was my favorite resident glasses-wearing alien: SmallvilleGuy.
“I see how it is,” I said with a fake pout. “I take a few extra seconds and I’m replaced by a dragon.”
“Never,” he said, grinning. “She doesn’t have much personality, being computer-generated.”
“I knew it.” I kicked the ground with a bare foot. Devin had made my character in here an elf princess; I was pointy-eared, scantily clad, and shoeless. “You like me for my personality.”
He laughed. He had a good laugh.
“That’s why I like you too,” I said.
Our eyes connected, and our gazes held.
I can’t believe I say this stuff out loud now.
We’d still never stood across from each other like this in real life. The real-sim tech might fool our brains into feeling like this was actually happening, might make my heart beat harder in my chest and my palms feel sweaty. And our relationship was real. At least, I was almost certain it was. But this place was a simulation. That’s what the sim part of the name was short for.
When SmallvilleGuy reached out and offered me his hand, I slipped mine into it. The sensation of my hand enveloped in his felt real enough that—as usual—my brain was utterly convinced.
“How’s Bess?” I asked. First things first.
SmallvilleGuy smiled and swung my hand. “Better. Nellie Bly is refusing to leave her side.”
Nellie—named for my hero—was no longer a dainty baby calf, but I still considered her the world’s cutest adolescent cow. In a few more months, she’d have a little brother or sister.
“Good… Sooo, what’s the big surprise?” I asked. “Can you turn into a dragon now?”
His last surprise for me had been that he could fly in the game and take me with him—which led to a kiss with our feet off the ground. Maybe this surprise would be kiss-worthy too.
“No,” he said, suddenly shy and studying my fingers in his. “It’s not about the game. It’s a real-life thing.”
“Oh?” My heart picked up speed. I hadn’t expected something real-life big. I couldn’t decode his expression.
“So…” he said. “My birthday’s coming up in a couple of months.”
He took a step, and I let him lead me across the grass toward the Lois Annex.
“You’ll have to tell me when it is so I can, um, get you something.” Though as I said it, I knew that was impossible. I didn’t know his address. I couldn’t send him anything. “Never mind,” I blurted.
“No,” he said, quick. “I’m not letting you off the hook. I definitely want that present.”
He steered me through the arched entrance into our turret, and I placed my other hand in his, the two of us staring into each other’s eyes again. I felt like I was floating before our feet even left the ground. He flew us up to a ledge with a bench and a window that overlooked the hillside. The dragon was still visible off in the distance, sailing through the gray sky.
“Um, okay,” I said. “But… how?”
“Telling you this is more embarrassing than I imagined.” He stared out the window, avoiding looking at me. “I feel a little goofy.”
“You imagined telling me this? Whatever this is?” I gently hit his arm. “And you’re feeling goofy? I love it already. Spill the details. You’re murdering me with this suspense.”
He turned to face me again, and my breath caught in my throat for a moment. I hoped he didn’t notice. I didn’t want to spoil whatever his surprise was. But he was looking at me with such intensity. It legitimately short-circuited my brain and my nervous system along with it.
“What is it?” I asked, breathless.
“My birthday’s coming up in a couple of months, and my parents have, uh, noticed how into all things Metropolis I am,” he said. “Since you moved there, especially. And you know I mentioned you to my mom a while back.”
He paused. The pause lengthened.
“Still being murdered,” I said. “Possibly dying here.”
He smiled, a shyness to it. “They gave me a choice of what I wanted for my birthday. A new laptop—”
“Oh, that’s great,” I said, happy for him. He’d spent the money he’d been saving for a new computer on a holoset to help me out, and I felt guilty about that. Even though it had also produced the nice side effect of allowing us to meet in the game.
“As I was saying…” He smiled again, still nervous. Still shy. It made me like him even more. “They gave me a choice. A new laptop or a
trip to Metropolis.” He paused again. “I chose the trip.”
I knew my eyes were wide. My mouth had dropped open. I closed it. “Does this mean…”
“It does,” he said. “It means I’m coming to Metropolis and we finally get to see each other. Together, in real life.”
“In real life.” I echoed his words, too overwhelmed to find my own. Finally, I managed to ask, oh-so-articulately, “Really?”
“Really.” He reached over and gathered my other hand in his again. I clung to his hands, as if to convince myself this was truly happening. “And there’s more to the surprise. I’m going to tell you my name. It’s—”
“No!” I blurted, before I could think better of it. “Don’t tell me now.”
He arched his brows, puzzled. Who could blame him? I’d asked him nightly for more than two years.
“It’s just, I’d rather wait.” I felt my lips curve into a smile. “I want you to tell me when we meet. For real.”
Yes, I’d asked him over and over again for his name. I’d reassured him he could trust me. But now that it was a certainty, I wanted it to be when we were really across from each other. I needed to save some part of our meeting each other for truly meeting.
“Whatever you want,” he said, at last. “But… I mean. You’re sure?”
Tempting, but… if TheInventor was as tech savvy as I thought, he could have figured out some way to monitor us in here too. Sure, the task force had been keeping a low profile. We hadn’t had any close calls in the past few months.
But I didn’t want to risk it. In person was the safest way.
“I will probably hate myself later, because you know I’m a total snoop. But yes. I’m sure.”
“Okay then.” His thumb rubbed across my hand, back and forth. “You know what I’m not sure about?”
That we’ll like each other in real life? Oh god, did that have to be my first thought? What is wrong with me?
“Enlighten me.”
“That I can wait two more months.”
My heart might as well have leapt out of my chest and landed at his feet. I leaned in to give him a quick kiss. I rested my avatar’s forehead against his.
“It does seem like an awfully long time.” We smiled at each other, our in-game faces close, our real-world bodies states apart.
