“Yes.”
I cringe, glad he can’t see my face turning red. What did I expect him to say—Tokyo, New Jersey? “Like... right now?”
A note of amusement enters his voice. “Yes, like, right now.”
“I—um—” My head spins. “I’d love to, but my roommate and I are actually about to get evicted from our apartment tomorrow, so...”
“Your debts have been taken care of.”
Keira and I exchange a blank look. “I’m sorry—what?” I murmur. “They’re... taken care of?”
“Yes.”
The calculations that run constantly through my head. Rent, bills, debt. $1,150. $3,450. $6,000.Your debts have been taken care of.Just like that, they scatter, replaced by nothing except white noise. How can this be? If I went to Mr. Alsole’s apartment right now, would he wave us away and tell us that we’re good to go?Whywould Hideo Tanaka do this? I suddenly feel light-headed, like I might float right out of my body.Don’t faint.“They can’t just be taken care of,” I hear myself say. “That’s a lot of money.”
“I assure you, it was very simple. Miss Chen?”
“Yes. Sorry—yes, I’m still here.”
“Great. There is a car waiting outside your apartment, ready to take you to John F. Kennedy International Airport. Pack whatever you like. The car is ready when you are.”
“A car? But—wait—when’s the flight? What airline? How much time do I have to...”
“It’s my private jet,” he says, unconcerned. “It will take off whenever you are in it.”
His private jet.
“Wait, but—all of my stuff. How long will I be there?” My eyes shift back to Keira. She looks pale, still processing the fact that our debts have been erased in the blink of an eye.
“If you’d like any belongings packed up and shipped to Tokyo with you,” he replies, “just say the word and it’ll be done today. In the meanwhile, you will have everything you need here.”
“Hang on.” I start to shake my head. Shipping my belongings over? Just how long does he want me to stay there? My brow furrows. “What Ineedis a sec to think. I don’t understand.” My emotions finally spill out, unleashing a torrent of thoughts. “What’s this all about? The car, my debts, the plane—Tokyo?” I sputter. “Yesterday, I disrupted the biggest game of the year. Someone should be angry with me.Youshould be. What am I going to Tokyo for?” I take a deep breath. “What do you want from me?”
There’s a pause on the other end. Suddenly, I realize that I’m mouthing off to one of the world’s most powerful people—to myidol,someone I’ve watched and read about and obsessed over foryears, someone who had changed my life. Across from me, Keira watches the phone intently as if she could see what Hideo’s expression looks like. I swallow in the silence, afraid for a moment.
“I have a job offer for you,” Hideo replies. “Would you like to hear more?”
6
Confession: I’ve beenon an airplane a grand total of one time. It was after Mom left, and Dad decided to move us from San Francisco to New York. What I remember of that flight is the following: a tiny TV monitor to watch cartoons on; a little window through which I could see the clouds; a Tetris-like meal tray holding something questionably called chicken; and a mod of the originalSonic the Hedgehog 2video game loaded onto my phone, my go-to game whenever I was feeling stressed out.
Somehow, I think my second flight will be very different from my first.
After the call with Hideo ended, the first thing I did was rush down the hall and knock on Mr. Alsole’s door. One glance at his dumbstruck face was all I needed to know that I didn’t just hallucinate everything.
Our rent is paid through the end of next year.
I pack in a daze. I don’t own a suitcase, so I end up stuffing asmuch clothing into my backpack as it can fit. My thoughts jumble together, every one of them about Hideo. What does he want me for? It must be huge, if it means flying me like this to Tokyo. Hideo has indeed hired a few hackers in the past—to help him work out bugs inside Warcross—but they were way more experienced, and probably with no criminal records. What if he’s actually angry with me, and is waiting to dole out punishment once I’m in Japan? It’s a ridiculous idea, sure... but so is being asked to pack up everything and go to Tokyo.Asked by Hideo Tanaka.The thought warms my insides again, and I tingle at the mystery of what this job offer might be.
Keira’s eyes trail me as I dart around the apartment. “When are you going to come back?” she asks, even though she’d heard the same conversation that I had.
I cram another T-shirt into my backpack. “Don’t know,” I reply. “Probably soon.” Secretly, I hope I’m wrong.
“How do you know this isn’t just some huge prank?” she says. A note of confusion in her voice. “I mean—itwasbroadcast everywhere across the internet.”
I pause to look at her. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, what’s to stop someone from dialing your number a million times and then playing the biggest hoax of all time on you?”
