Iâm working on that, too.â
âImprove load speed between levels three and four.â
âThatâs your problem, buddyâmy level transitions work just fine.â
Roadrunner gave him a grumpy look. âYou havenât even started writing code for your levels yet.â
âI know that, but when I do, theyâll be perfect. What else?â
Roadrunner was still annoyed, but he turned back to his list without comment. âThere are some minor glitches that carried over from the beta version, but it looks like Annie and Grace have those coveredâ¦oh. Hereâs one. In all caps: HARLEY. DRESS THE DAMN ICE PRINCESS.â
Harley glowered at him. âWho wrote that? Annie?â
âThe Ice Princess needs clothes, Harley.â
âSheâs dressed already.â
âSheâs wearing a bikini.â
âLike I said, sheâs dressed. Thatâs PG material.â
âThis is supposed to be a childrenâs spelling game. Ages five to ten. Itâs totally inappropriate.â
Harley spun his chair around and stared out the window. âLook at that. They havenât plowed yet. You know, nothing says we canât go out and buy a couple sleds right now and shred Summit Avenue.â
âAre you going to take care of the Ice Princess or not? Because if you donât want to do it, I will.â
âGreat, then sheâll end up looking like Lance Armstrong.â
Roadrunnerâs cheeks flared red and for a moment, Harley was certain he was going to chuck his freshly sharpened pencil at his head.
âChrist, Roadrunner, relax. Okay, Iâll dress her in a turtleneck, a nunâs habit, whatever you say.â
âAnd you canât impale the Snow Pixies on icicles when the kids spell a word wrong.â
âThat was a joke. Would you just take it easy? This is supposed to be fun, remember? At least thatâs what you keep telling me, but youâre taking things way too seriously.â
âThis is serious. Itâs for a good cause, Harley. The proceeds from this game are going to help out a lot of kids who need a safe place to go after school, and you know from personal experience how important that is. We all doâthatâs why we picked this charity in the first place, remember?â
âKiss my ass, of course I remember. And Iâm damn happy to do it, and all the other pro bono stuff. But this is the kind of programming I can do in my sleep. Plain and simple? Iâm bored.â
Roadrunner sighed, moped over to his own desk, and slumped into his chair. âI know what you mean. But we all agreed we needed to take a few months off after the Four Corners thing. Plus, we canât take the rig on the road in this weather.â
âI know, but Iâm ready for some action. Hey, what do you say we send out our virus and shut down a couple spammers?â
Roadrunner gave him a disapproving look. âSpam isnât illegal. If we get caught, we go to jail.â
âYou know what I got in my in-box this morning? A spam that said âDikkie 2 small? Not UR falt!â That should be illegal.â
âMaybe somebodyâs trying to tell you something.â
âThat doesnât even dignify a response.â He turned to his computer and started typing.
âWhat are you doing? Youâre not doing anything stupid, are you?â
âRelax. Iâm just checking my mail.â
âYouâre finished working for the day, arenât you?â
âItâs Saturday. I might have a hot date.â
âThen Iâm going home.â
âYouâre not biking home in this weather.â
âWhy not? Itâll be good exercise. Besides, it stopped snowing.â
âItâs not going to stop snowing for another day. Look it up.â
Roadrunner pouted at his computer screen. âIâll take a cab, then.â
âDonât be a jackass. Iâll give you a