listen to reason, when—
“Go ahead, Trevor,” said Matt. “Hit a guy who weighs twenty kilos less than you do. Hit a guy who has half the muscle mass you do. Prove to the world—for all time, Trevor, in a record that your children and your grandchildren and your great-grandchildren will be able to access on down to the heat death of the universe—that you’re a real man because you can beat up someone smaller than you. Make that case for posterity.”
Trevor’s face contorted; Caitlin figured
Matt went on. “And, of course, what Caitlin sees, Webmind sees.
The words
Caitlin was terrified; Trevor looked like he was going to explode. But Matt pressed ahead, his voice somehow both shaky and firm at the same time. “And, just so you know, we live in a world of laws. Hitting someone is battery, and it’s a criminal-code offense here in Ontario—and if you hit me, I
“My next move,” Trevor said, his eyes locked on Matt, “is going to be to kick your fucking ass.”
In the circle around them, one of the students said,
Caitlin had read scenes like this in books, but although the blind were no less violent than anyone else, there hadn’t been many schoolyard brawls at the TSBVI. “Webmind,” Caitlin said softly, “how long would it take for the police to get here?”
Caitlin scowled; an eternity—and she doubted the cops would consider this a high priority.
Of course, she could run inside, get one of the teachers, but—
But Matt must have been thinking the same thing, for he looked right at her, and firmly shook his head; he didn’t want that.
More voices now as others joined in:
Trevor’s posture changed. He hunched over a bit, and his hands balled into fists. The light, coming mostly from a lamppost set into the concrete, was harsh, and it made his features look sharp.
Caitlin had read about women who got excited when men fought over them, as if their own self-worth was tied up in such a battle. But she didn’t want this—not at all. She didn’t want Matt hurt; she didn’t want
Not everyone was chanting. Sunshine wasn’t; several other boys and girls weren’t, either.
Caitlin pulled out her red BlackBerry and activated the video function. She aimed it at Matt and Trevor as they slowly circled each other.
The chanting of
She looked over at Sunshine, partway around the circle to her left. The tall girl seemed baffled for a moment, but then Caitlin saw her open her purse and fish out her own cell phone. She swung it left and right, too.
Next to Sunshine, a boy Caitlin didn’t recognize pulled out his phone and held it in front of him.
But others were still chanting,
Two girls on Caitlin’s right pulled out their phones, and a boy had something bulkier in his hand that Caitlin guessed must be a video camera, which he slowly panned over the tableau. They added their voices to Caitlin’s chorus:
More phones and cameras came out.
A few flashes went off, one after the other. They reminded Caitlin of the lightning bolts from that night when everything had changed, and—
And the chanting of
Trevor looked at Caitlin, then back at Matt.
“So,” said Matt, his voice holding steady, “what’s it going to be, Trevor? Who are you—for the record?”
Trevor looked around the circle, and it reminded Caitlin of that moment in
Trevor’s head nodded up and down a little. Caitlin was still learning to gauge these things, but it seemed to her that it wasn’t meant as a signal to others; rather, it was a sign that he was thinking.
And, at last, Trevor unclenched his fists. He glared at Caitlin and then at Matt, and then he turned, and slowly started walking. The crowd parted. Caitlin wondered if they hadn’t opened quite so large a hole whether Trevor would have made a show of bumping into someone—an assault he could dismiss as accidental. But they didn’t give him that opportunity, and he continued on. At first Caitlin thought he was heading for the door to the gymnasium, but he walked right past it, heading out into the chilly night.
Caitlin surged forward and gathered Matt in a hug. His body was shaking, and she could feel his heart beating as they pressed together. After a moment, she released him enough so that she could kiss him on the lips—and she didn’t care one whit how many records of
When they separated, Sunshine loomed in, and she squeezed Caitlin’s upper arm affectionately. “That was
Caitlin found herself grinning. “Yeah, I guess it was.”
She took Matt’s hand, and they opened the heavy red door and walked back inside. A new song was playing, and—
And, no, no, it wasn’t a
And yes, as she draped her arms around Matt’s neck again and they started to dance, she supposed you
thirty-six
The President of China stood looking out the window behind his desk. The glass was bulletproof, and covered by a special film to prevent those outside from seeing in. Spread before him was the Forbidden City, the vast area that housed the palaces of former Emperors. It had been closed to the public—hence the name—until 1912, but now tens of thousands of ordinary Chinese, and comparable numbers of foreign tourists, visited it each day.
The president’s computer bleeped, signaling a priority email; he stood at the window a moment longer, then
