“Cast.”
I swing the rod forward.
The line sails out across the water.
And immediately lands in the reeds ten feet to the left.
Boone bursts out laughing.
“That was not the lake.”
“It was close to the lake.”
“It was the shoreline.”
I cross my arms.
“This is harder than stopping a cascading infrastructure collapse.”
“That’s because fish are smarter than computer networks.”
“That seems unlikely.”
Boone gently takes the rod from my hands and frees the line from the reeds.
Then he hands it back.
“Try again.”
The sun is beginning to sink toward the horizon.
The sky turning warm shades of gold and orange.
The lake reflects the light like a mirror.
I take a breath and cast again.
This time—
The line lands perfectly on the water.
Boone nods approvingly.
“See?”
“I did it.”
“You did.”
I beam slightly.
Then the rod suddenly jerks in my hands.
“What was that?”
“That’s a fish.”
“Already?”
