If only Watt could find a way to prove that Atlas wasn’t hooking up with anyone. Ever since Leda’s message last week—that she would quadruple his pay if he could figure out who Atlas was seeing behind her back—he’d been working nonstop, tracking Atlas’s movements and cross-referencing them with every girl who could have possibly been there. So far, nothing. Watt had a feeling there was nothing to turn up, because Leda was being paranoid and crazy.
Especially because he now knew Leda was a recovering xenperheidren addict. He hadn’t done a deep dive into her past before, just pulled up her feeds that first day she hired him. Until the other day, when in a fit of frustration he’d asked Nadia to track everywhere Leda had been, ever. Nadia had been the one to discover Leda’s stint in rehab. Now Watt was even more convinced that Leda was wrong about Atlas—she was seeing things that weren’t even there.
He wondered what was going on with Avery lately too. He’d hoped that the flower arrangement he’d sent to her house would win her over, or at least spark a conversation, but all she’d done was send a polite thank-you flicker when she received it. It had been over a week since then, and he’d barely heard from her at all.
The bell rang signaling the end of class, eliciting a frantic tapping from the other students as they filled in the last bubbles before their school-issued tablets closed out of the exam. Watt just stretched his arms overhead in a lazy stretch. Depending on the grading of the essay, which Nadia had composed and he’d tweaked to sound more authentic, he should have scored somewhere between a 95 and a 98 on that midterm.
He slung his backpack over one shoulder and started out into the hallway. Girls stood at their lockers, conjuring up temporary mirrors with their beauty-wands and checking their hairstyles. The football team passed by in athletic gear, heading to the hoverbus that would take them to the practice field three floors down, in the Park Zone. Banners strung in the hallways changed from yellow to purple, alternately reading CONGRATS, JEFFERSON: HIGH SAT SCORES 3 YEARS RUNNING! and HOMECOMING DANCE: BUY YOUR TICKETS! A paper airplane, lifted on tiny microhovers, whizzed overhead as if by magic.
“Killer exam, huh?” Cynthia, an Asian girl with wide-set eyes and black bangs who’d been friends with Watt and Derrick since middle school, fell into step alongside him.
“Yeah, definitely.” They walked out the main double doors to stand in the broad paved area in front of school. Directly across the street was an Ifty stop, and an ice cream parlor that they’d cut class to go to countless times. Derrick was standing in the crowd of kids along the edge of the tech-net, all of them eagerly looking through their messages and feeds. He started over when he saw them.
“Hey, Cynthia,” Watt said suddenly, “can I ask your advice on something?”
“Absolutely not. I’ve told you before, don’t come to me with your girl stuff. Just because we’re friends doesn’t mean I approve of what you do when I’m not around.” She raised an eyebrow, challenging.
“How did you know …” Watt fell silent as a flicker appeared on his contacts.
“I hear things,” Cynthia said.
Watt couldn’t believe it. The message was from none other than Avery. Hey, I hope you had a good weekend, it read. I was wondering, if you’re not busy Saturday, do you want to come to the University Club fall gala with me?
Watt couldn’t hide a smile of excitement. The flowers had worked after all. I’d love to, he replied, sending the message transcranially through Nadia.
Great! I’ll send you the details. Just a heads-up, my parents and brother will be there too. It’s kind of a family thing, Avery added, and Watt could almost hear the caution in her tone. Well, he didn’t care if he had to charm Avery’s grandparents and cousins and the guy who cut her hair. He was going to be Avery Fuller’s date.
“What things do you hear?” Derrick asked, having fought his way through the crowds to join them.
“Watt asked me for girl advice, but I refuse to get involved. Honestly, I feel sorry for whoever his next victim is,” Cynthia explained, with mock solemnity.
“He came to you for advice?” Derrick scoffed. “Is this about Avery? Wow,” he said, turning to Watt, “you must be more desperate than I realized.”
“Actually,” Watt interrupted, “she just invited me to an event. The University Club fall gala.” He tried not to sound smug, but he couldn’t help it. He’d done the impossible, and gotten Avery Fuller to ask him out. He felt like doing a victory dance.
“The University Club? Who is this girl?” Cynthia sounded skeptical.
“She’s a highlier,” Derrick volunteered, as if that explained everything.
Watt nodded, but he wasn’t really listening. He pulled up Avery’s message and instructed Nadia to help with a witty but confident reply. Sounds great, he began. And—
“You know the University Club is formal,” Cynthia went on. “You probably need a tux.”
Watt looked up sharply at that. “I need a tux? Are you sure?” Now he really needed that bonus payment from Leda. He’d never bought a tux, but he knew enough to know they weren’t cheap.
He looked back at his contacts, about to finish the message—and realized in a panic that the words he’d spoken had just been sent to Avery: sounds great, and I need a tux, are you sure?
What the hell, Nadia? You knew I didn’t mean for that to go to Avery, he thought at her, furious.
You were in message-composing mode, Nadia replied. Perhaps if you upgrade me, I will be better able to intuit unspoken intentions. He thought she sounded sarcastic. Stupid recursive algorithms. He should have just programmed her with linear logic the way most quants had been, before the ban.
Watt squirmed, wondering how he could damage control this, but Avery had already replied. Yeah, it’s black tie. I can help you shop for a tux. I know exactly where to go!
“You definitely need a tux at University Club,” Cynthia was saying.
Derrick laughed. “Where the hell are you going to get the money for a tux?”
“He can rent one, you moron. There’s a rental place on this floor. On the east side, I think,” Cynthia added, trying to be helpful.
But Watt was focused on his reply to Avery. It’s okay. Mine just got red wine spilled on it at my last event.
Well, if you end up needing a new one, I’m happy to go with you this week.
Watt was about to protest again, trying to hide his embarrassment, his complete inexperience with formal events and really her whole world in general. But Nadia chimed in before he could think of a reply. I hacked the store records where Avery usually shops, Nadia volunteered, sounding almost apologetic. It doesn’t seem that she’s gone with anyone but her brother in the past. I calculate this as a good sign, that she’s offering to take you there?
I’m still annoyed with you, Watt replied. But Nadia was right. What was he thinking, turning down a chance to spend time with Avery, no matter where it was? Okay … I may take you up on that after all, he flickered to Avery.
“I’m not renting,” he said, in answer to Derrick’s question. He’d finally gotten his chance with Avery, and he wanted to do it right. “I’ve got some money saved. It’ll be fine.”
“I just hope this girl is worth it.” Cynthia looked curiously at Watt.
“And you said you didn’t want to get involved,” Watt teased, purposefully dodging the question. Of course Avery was worth it.
Derrick laughed. “Are we still studying calculus at your place tonight?” he asked Cynthia, who nodded. They normally had a rotating study schedule during midterms week, though they rarely came to Watt’s place anymore, because the twins were too loud and disruptive.
“Can’t,” Watt said. He loved hanging out with his friends, but he didn’t actually need the study time. He wanted to focus on the Atlas thing instead so he could hopefully collect payment from Leda before tux shopping.
“But my mom already made your favorite cookies!” Cynthia protested as Watt waved good-bye.
* * *
Back at home, Watt grabbed a bag of cheesy popcorn from the pantry, then settled at his desk and pulled up his view screen. “Nadia,” he said aloud, “we need to hack the Fullers’ home system. Now.”