Gameboard of the Gods (Age of X, #1)(60)

“I still want to finish this. How do I bring it home?” Tessa gestured to the screen Poppy had entered the answers on. So far, all of Tessa’s work had been completed in class, and she’d simply been able to send it from the screens to her teachers.

“Easy.” Poppy took Tessa’s ego and held it over a small panel. A few taps on the screen, and it went blank. She handed over the ego. “Done. Just upload later. Your model will only be 2D there, though. Unless you’ve got a projector.”

The luxury house had many amenities, but Tessa hadn’t seen anything like the projector. Thinking of how little she understood, she said, “I don’t think it’ll matter.”

Poppy gathered up her things. “Where do you live?”

Although Justin refused to call it anything except “the suburbs,” Tessa had recently learned the name of her neighborhood. “Cherrywood.”

“Hey, me too. We can walk there.”

Poppy headed off as though it were a done deal. After a bit of hesitation, Tessa followed. She’d ridden the bus this morning. It was another automated vehicle but one that had a supervisor to keep students in line. True, the distance to school hadn’t been very long, but no one like her would walk that far alone in Panama. Poppy had no fear, however, and neither Justin nor Cynthia had seemed to care how Tessa traveled, so long as she made it to and from school.

Poppy lit a cigarette as soon as they were three blocks away. Smoking was a lot less common here, and Justin had held good to his commitment to quit. Those who did smoke were very respectful of laws about where it was allowed, and they always cleaned up after themselves.

Tessa soon discovered Poppy had no sense of personal boundaries. She peppered Tessa with questions about Panama, but it seemed to be out of friendly curiosity and not some sort of perverse condescension. Poppy’s reactions ran the gamut of emotions as the many rumors she’d heard were either confirmed or denied. She seemed legitimately disappointed to hear particularly savage stereotypes dismissed—but that was matched by supreme delight at other revelations.

“Really?” she asked. “No gun laws?”

“No. I don’t even know how they’d enforce one. You can get guns anywhere.”

“Not here.” Poppy sounded wistful. “They’re hard to smuggle in, and production is pretty closely watched. I wouldn’t mind learning to use one.”

“Join the military,” suggested Tessa.

“Nah. I could never follow all those rules. This is where you live?”

Tessa had come to a stop in front of her house. “Yup.”

Poppy gave a nod of approval. “Wow, nice. Your parents must have made out pretty good back in the provinces.”

“I live here with friends.”

“Cool.” Poppy brightened. “Are you like some orphan rescued from the wild streets?”

It was hard keeping up with her sometimes. “Not exactly. My parents are still back there.”

“Okay, that’s cool too,” said Poppy. “You want to get some coffee before school tomorrow?”

Did she? Tessa wasn’t sure at first, but then she decided she might as well. Poppy was the only person who’d treated her like a human being today, and besides, she seemed like she might be a good person to have around if Melissa did come after her. Tessa accepted, and Poppy told her she’d be back at six thirty.

As she approached the house, Tessa was greeted by the astonishing sight of a man sitting on the front step. She hadn’t noticed him from the street. Seeing her, he flashed her a grin and leapt to his feet. Tessa came to a halt on the walkway, too nervous to proceed. She guessed he was Justin’s age and possessed the same powerful presence, albeit in a different sort of way. He was tall and broad chested, wearing a gray T-shirt that showed off his extraordinarily muscled arms. His features were plebeian, tan skin and brown eyes, though his long hair had been dyed blond.

“Finally,” he said. He had a rich voice, one that urged her to relax. It only made her more uneasy. “I was about to give up. Is my good friend Dr. March here?”

“Y-you’re friends with Justin?”

“Yes, of course. He’s my favorite servitor, you know. I’ve missed seeing him. I’d gotten used to his yearly visits, and then poof! Off he goes without a trace. I was hurt. His replacement was a huge disappointment.”

Tessa really had no idea what the correct response to that was. “Who are you?”

He extended a polite hand, one she paused before taking. “You, sweet child, can call me Geraki.”

“Oh. I’m Tessa.”

“They told me he had a protégée, but I didn’t expect someone like you. It’s very charming. And intriguing.” Behind that amiable face, Tessa caught a glimpse of something shrewd and dangerous.

“He’s not here,” she said. She pulled her hand back from his strong grip and looked around nervously. One of their neighbors was outside working in her garden, which made Tessa feel a little more secure. She could also see a couple of kids walking home from school, which meant Quentin would be back soon. Cynthia had said she’d be home around the same time. “He probably won’t be back for a while. He’s out of town.”

“Shame. I’d really hoped to catch up with him.”

“He’s got a pr?torian with him.” She didn’t entirely know what made her blurt that out or why it ended up sounding like a challenge.