Pulse

asked. “And how will I get you more jeans for three Coin?”
    Liz stepped up and shoved Hawk hard on the shoulder. “No way.”
    Hawk shoved Liz right back, nearly hitting her in the chest. “Yes way!”
    “Watch the hand placement, Romeo,” Liz said. “And can you get me three-Coin jeans?”
    “Sure I can, but you’ll have to let me hack into your Tablet first. And bonus! We can chat during lectures.”
    “You’re right; he’s harmless,” Liz said to Faith. “And weird.”
    Faith wanted to get to their destination and started backpedaling. She smiled as she thought of the clothes and makeup Hawk was probably going to be able to get for her for next to nothing.
    “Come on, Liz, let’s let Hawk in on our little secret. It’s the least we can do.”
    Liz started walking, and Hawk fell in line with her, measuring her height against his own and smelling the air around her head when she wasn’t looking.
    “What are you, like, ten?” Liz asked.
    “Thirteen,” Hawk said. “I’m small for my age. But my brain is huge.”
    “I bet.”
    They walked toward the grade school, laughing and listening as Hawk explained in complicated, incoherent detail how he had hacked into the State shopping system and gotten the pants massively discounted and shipped for free.
    Even if Hawk had not been filling the air with his chirpy voice, none of them would have heard the figure dressed in black moving along the trees nearby, taking in every word.

Chapter 3
Great Story, Bro. Tell It Again.
    The grade school at Bridgeport Commons had been closed for many years. The building was crawling with green ivy that covered the walls, the windows, the doors, and the roof with a thick carpet of tangled leaves. Faith and Liz went to the grade school because it was the kind of place the States didn’t have: a secret place with treasures inside. On the darkest side of the school there was a broken window covered with plywood. They’d long since pulled away the thick ivy and used a hammer to pry a small, square piece of wood away from the opening. They crawled through and, once inside, made their way through the empty cafeteria.
    “Now we go it alone,” Faith said, glancing at Hawk, who looked shattered at the idea of being left behind by the two older girls.
    “Not you, silly,” Liz said, taking hold of his Tablet and trying to slide it free from his hand. He’d snapped it into its small size, using its screen as a flashlight. “We don’t take our Tablets any farther than this. It sort of ruins the experience.”
    For Hawk, the idea of being without his Tablet even for a few seconds went beyond his reasoning.
    “I can’t go anywhere without my Tablet. I don’t do that.”
    “It’s not alive,” Liz coaxed, gently tugging on the edge of the gleaming instrument. “It’s not like a pet or a brother or a girl. It’s just a Tablet. You can live without it for a little while.”
    Hawk looked at the Tablet and the girl, but he was not convinced. He pulled the Tablet closer, and to his astonishment, the girl came with it. She was not letting go. Liz leaned down, her lips inches from Hawk’s, and he could smell her grape bubblegum breath.
    “Give me the Tablet,” Liz whispered, and Hawk nearly fainted. “Come on, you can do it. Let it go.”
    Faith was having a hard time keeping a straight face and turned away, taking her Tablet out of her pocket and setting it on a cafeteria table with Liz’s. She stole a glance at the screen, searching for a message from Wade. No message—and she felt a little sting in her heart.
    “Here,” Liz said.
    Faith turned to face her friend. Liz was holding out Hawk’s Tablet, which she had finally managed to pry loose. Hawk was holding Liz’s hand.
    “We struck a bargain,” Liz explained, trying to downplay any meaning in the arrangement. “My hand for the Tablet. I’ll survive.”
    Faith laughed and set Hawk’s Tablet on the table. She could tell that Liz was actually fine with the circumstances. The keeper of Tablets was also a hopeless hand-holder. It was a comfort, even from a geeky freshman who wouldn’t shut up.
    “I can’t believe I’m doing this. Do you realize I haven’t been this far away from my Tablet since before I was born? They put it in my crib on day one! I feel like I lost a limb.”
    “One step at a time. It will get easier,” Faith said, then turned in the darkness, running her hand along the slick tile wall.
    “I love this school,” Liz said dreamily.