The Circle

his bag and
     unveiled a new phone, a few significant steps ahead of her own. Like the tablet, it
     had her name already engraved on the back. He set both phones, new and old, on the
     desk next to each other and quickly, wirelessly, transferred everything within from
     one to the other.
    “Okay. Now everything you had on your other phone and on your hard drive is accessible
     here on the tablet and your new phone, but it’s also backed up in the cloud and on
     our servers. Your music, your photos, your messages, your data. It can never be lost.
     You lose this tablet or phone, it takes exactly six minutes to retrieve all your stuff
     and dump it on the next one. It’ll be here next year and next century.”
    They both looked at the new devices.
    “I wish our system existed ten years ago,” he said. “I fried two different hard drives
     back then, and it’s like having your house burn down with all your belongings inside.”
    Brandon stood up.
    “Thank you,” Mae said.
    “No sweat,” he said. “And this way we can send you updates for the software, the apps,
     everything, and know you’re current. Everyone in CE has to be on the same version
     of any given software, as you can imagine. I think that’s it …” he said, backing away.
     Then he stopped. “Oh, and it’s crucial that all company devices are passwordprotected, so I gave you one. It’s written here.” He handed her a slip of paper bearing
     a series of digits and numerals and obscure typographical symbols. “I hope you can
     memorize it today and then throw this away. Deal?”
    “Yes. Deal.”
    “We can change the password later if you want. Just let me know and I’ll give you
     a new one. They’re all computer-generated.”
    Mae took her old laptop and moved it toward her bag.
    Brandon looked at it like it was an invasive species. “You want me to get rid of it?
     We do it in a very environmentally friendly way.”
    “Maybe tomorrow,” she said, “I want to say goodbye.”
    Brandon smiled indulgently. “Oh. I get it. Okay then.” He gave a bow and left, and
     behind him she saw Annie. She was holding her knuckle up to her chin, tilting her
     head.
    “There’s my little girl, grown up at last!”
    Mae got up and wrapped her arms around her.
    “Thank you,” she said into Annie’s neck.
    “Awww.” Annie tried to pull away.
    Mae grabbed her tighter. “Really.”
    “It’s okay.” Annie finally extricated herself. “Easy there. Or maybe keep going. It
     was starting to get sexy.”
    “Really. Thank you,” Mae said, her voice quaking.
    “No, no, no,” Annie said. “No crying on your second day.”
    “I’m sorry. I’m just so grateful.”
    “Stop.” Annie moved in and held her again. “Stop. Stop. Jesus. You are such a freak.”
    Mae breathed deeply, until she was calm again. “I think I have itunder control now. Oh, my dad says he loves you, too. Everyone’s so happy.”
    “Okay. That’s a little strange, given I’ve never met him. But tell him I love him
     too. Passionately. Is he hot? A silver fox? A swinger? Maybe we can work something
     out. Now can we get to work around here?”
    “Yup, yup,” Mae said, sitting down again. “Sorry.”
    Annie arched her eyebrows mischievously. “I feel like school’s about to start and
     we just found out we got put in the same homeroom. They give you a new tablet?”
    “Just now.”
    “Let me see.” Annie inspected it. “Ooh, the engraving is a nice touch. We’re going
     to get in such trouble together, aren’t we?”
    “I hope so.”
    “Okay, here comes your team leader. Hi Dan.”
    Mae rushed to wipe any moisture from her face. She looked past Annie to see a handsome
     man, compact and tidy, approaching. He wore a brown hoodie and a smile of great contentment.
    “Hi Annie, how are you?” he said, shaking her hand.
    “Good, Dan.”
    “I’m so glad, Annie.”
    “You got a good one here, I hope you know,” Annie said, grabbing Mae’s wrist and squeezing.
    “Oh I
do
know,” he said.
    “You watch out for her.”
    “I will,” he said, and turned from Annie to Mae. His smile of contentment grew into
     something like absolute certainty.
    “I’ll be watching
you
watch
her
,” Annie said.
    “Glad to know it,” he said.
    “See you at lunch,” Annie said to Mae, and was gone.
    Everyone but Mae and Dan had left, but his smile hadn’t changed—it was the smile of
     a man who did not smile for show. It was the smile of a man who was exactly