“We don’t need the likes of him.”
“I know you think that. But do you have his number? Or email? Any way for me to reach out?”
Granny’s neck barely swivels as she shakes her head. “The last time I saw Robbie Malloy, he was washing blood off his knuckles. He killed a man with his bare fists after the yoke whistled at his sister.”
“I need to talk to him.” After yesterday’s disaster of a conversation with Mam, it’s no longer a choice.
Granny sighs. She’s still not convinced.
I reach out and cover her hand with mine. “Daneeds me to talk to him.”
My grandmother’s eyes start to gleam. Her throat works, as if she’s forgotten how to swallow. Her fingers tremble under mine.
“Please,” I say.
“You can write to him. The old way, pen and paper. Send it by post to the Forge and Anchor.”
“Thank you.” I mean the words, more than I’ve ever meant anything in my life. I pray I won’t regret them in the end.
19
CAMPFIRE
[TheRealAriadne has entered the house]
TheRealAriadne: Sorry I’m late. Day job’s been hell…
MamaBear: We were just getting an update on new members.
CodeBitch: We’re up to thirteen, and it’s only been four days.
GirlWithGlasses: It would be higher, but some of us are really focusing on extending the Lab’s corridors.
MamaBear: I saw that CrazyCatLady created a Frostcat Café.
GirlWithGlasses: She’s one of my best friends from elementary school. It’s always bothered her that frostcats are threats in the game. Now she’s looking for frostkittens to bring in after their parents are killed. She’s bottle-feeding them and socializing them with the help of anyone who stops into the café for a cup of hot tea.
TheRealAriadne: I was impressed with the points she’s earned. She’s got an amazing grasp of sigma algebras and measurable sets.
GirlWithGlasses: Wait until you see what she can do with monotone functions and differentiability!
CodeBitch: I really like what SarahWithAnH did, building a library in the Lab. At first, I thought she was just buying armor decorations to cover the walls. But every book she’s put up there opens!
MamaBear: Not to sound too much like a professor, but it sounds like we could have a copyright problem…
CodeBitch: Not yet. She’s putting up classics. Pride and Prejudice. Little Women.
MamaBear: Sounds okay for now.
GirlWithGlasses: Have you seen the bakery? It opened around midnight last night.
CodeBitch: Haven’t seen it yet. I’m taking three credits this summer session. Probability and Stochastic Systems is kicking my ass.
GirlWithGlasses: Ouch. CupcakeQueen launched it, three turns in the Lab past Frostcat Café. She’s got muffins and cakes and handpies that she’s giving away. I can’t figure out how she got the game credit to put all of that out there so fast.
TheRealAriadne: She worked an Ice Nova.
GirlWithGlasses: What’s that?
