We don’t talk about the engineering stuff often, but when we do, I can see you’re smart. Your gaming strategies are smart. Smart mouth, too
@pancakesareelite:
If I ever find you, I’m keeping you. Finder’s keepers and all that.
@theanswerisno:
That’s a little creepy
In a strange twist of fate, I was on my way to Los Angeles.
Mr. Anders had told me, in the nicest way possible, that there was very little for me to do without Mr. Carden around, and I may as well attend his presentation and learn something.
Ignoring the passive-aggressiveness, I’d leaped at the offer.
The familiar buildings came into view, and I was transported to a different life. LA had been my home since I was a child. I barely remembered the life we had before my mom married Douglas. And I wished I could forget a lot of it since then.
I willed his image out of my mind and pulled into the parking lot. Nothing made me feel faster than reaching my destination before the estimated time on Google Maps.
I exited the app and checked my notifications. One voice note. Gran. I hit play and let her voice fill my car.
“Lily, I’m sorry I missed your call. I think I may have reached the maximum amount of turmeric I should be having. I fell asleep earlier than usual and only woke up now. Pity. Really. A younger version of your grandpa had just entered the dream, and I could have used a few extra minutes. Anyway, call me when you can. Love you.”
My head dropped backward with a laugh before I sent her a voice message letting her know I’d call her tonight.
I sent another message, this time to my mom:I’m in LA. Maybe I could see you later?
There was a slim chance she’d reply. She hadn’t been answering my calls either. I didn’t know what else to do except text and hope for the best. Douglas was probably having one of his anger episodes or maybe a love-bombing episode—either would keep her occupied.
Ignoring the longing in my chest, I scanned through the other notifications.@wheretheresawilliam’s channel was flooded withmessages. I scrolled up and up until I found out what the noise was about.@wheretheresawilliamhad finally announced the promised LAN for his and@theresarose’s video game. A wonderful mixture of pride and excitement burst through me as if I knew these people. Sometimes it felt as though these online connections meant more than my real-life relationships.
It seemed as though everyone else felt that way too. Hundreds of replies filled the chat and more were coming.
Strangely,@theanswerisnodidn’t say anything. He hadn’t even reacted to the announcement. Maybe he hadn’t seen it yet.
The timestamp on his last message to me wasn’t that long ago. Although he did say he was busy. Possibly even too busy to play with me tonight.
But it begged the question: If he wasn’t going… was that a good or bad thing?
My heart fluttered wildly. I knew what I wanted. I wanted to meet Link. I wanted to be able to hear his voice and see his face when he said these ridiculous things. I wanted… There was so much I wanted from him. It was almost unfair.
But what if I went and was faced with Mr. Carden? What would I do?
The heart fluttering turned to panic.
I swapped over to my email app. There was nothing from Mr. Carden after I’d let him know I’d be coming to the conference. Either he felt no need to acknowledge my email or he was also too busy.
Was it a coincidence that both he and Link were busy tonight?
You’re reaching, Lily. Settle down.
With a deep breath, I made my way over to the hotel’s main entrance. Behind me, there was a line of cars looking for parking. I seemed to have snagged the last spot. You’d think a transportationand traffic conference would have ensured enough parking spaces for the anticipated number of attendees.
Security took one look at my Simucon pass and let me in. I grabbed the two-day program, scanning for the surname seared in my mind.
4 p.m. Ruby Room.
A number of other sessions drew my attention. There were talks on pedestrian-oriented development, high-speed rail, and so many other topics I had spent hours researching. But my pass only allowed access for today, and there was no way I was missing Mr. Carden’s presentation.
