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I’m completely safe on a motorcycle.”
    I searched for something to say. “Maybe you should go ahead and start telling me what’s going on with your dad.” Otherwise, the silence was deafening, and I had no idea how to make small talk with a male genie.
    “I’d rather wait until I can show you some things. How about we grab some appetizers and soft drinks at Chili’s? It won’t be crowded in the middle of the afternoon.”
    “Sure.” I loved Chili’s. I glanced at Leo. Had Ian told him things about me? No. If Leo had acted interested in me, Ian would have suspected something was up. Nobody was ever interested in me.
    When we finally escaped the school parking lot, the car whirred quietly down the road and into a neighborhood. We cut through to the main road on the other side and headed to the shopping center with the restaurant.
    I didn’t even realize I was drumming on the dash with my fingers until I caught Leo looking at my hands.
    “You can tell you’re a drummer,” Leo said.
    “Nervous habit,” I said. A nervous habit that drove my mother nuts.
    “I’ve never met a drummer who didn’t do that.”
    “Really? I don’t know many other drummers.”
    “You never played in the school band?”
    “In middle school. But I didn’t hang much with the other drummers. Most of my musician friends are on an email loop called RokrGirlz.”
    “Too bad you got activated so early. There’s no way you could play in a band.”
    “I know,” I grumbled. It wasn’t fair that the guys got to wait so much longer before they had to work for the U.N.I.V.E.R.S.E.
    Finally, he pulled into the parking lot at Chili’s. I wanted to hear his story and get home before we got busted. Unlimited tea refills and some spinach con queso didn’t sound too bad either.
    He pulled a laptop bag from the back seat and carried it in with us.
    Leo had been right. The place was nearly deserted.
    The perky waitress took our order, working hard to convince us to order more and flirting shamelessly with Leo. When she finally walked away, Leo unzipped the bag and powered up his laptop. “The Oversight Committee doesn’t share much information,” he said, “but I have managed to find out a few things. My dad was framed. I’m pretty sure it’s related to The Summit. Dad was selected as a delegate.”
    “Your father was a delegate?” I was impressed. You had to be in good favor to be selected to attend. The Summit was the annual meeting of the genie representatives, non-genies, and the Directorate. “If he had such a good reputation, why don’t they believe him when he says he’s innocent?”
    Leo shook his head. “He doesn’t have a good reputation. My dad has a troubled past. He only recently straightened himself out. He has plenty of enemies and I’ll be honest with you, he has done a lot of bad things.”
    He wasn’t making sense. “How did he get chosen for The Summit?”
    Leo leveled his blue eyes on mine. “He used to be a real troublemaker, but he’s reformed. He’s been a picture-perfect genie for the last five years. He even has a serious girlfriend. He’s a different man.”
    “Assuming you’re right, that he has changed, what would be the reason for framing him?”
    “Revenge?” Leo shook his head. “I’m not sure. I just know it’s related to The Summit. My dad’s selection was announced a week before the first theft. It can’t just be a coincidence.”
    The timing was suspicious. “Aren’t those Summits at ritzy hotels? How was your father going to pay for it?”
    Leo closed his eyes for a moment as if fighting for patience. “He did not steal the money. Dad has money. Not a lot, but enough. Plus all the expenses at The Summit are covered. He wouldn’t have paid a thing. I’m surprised you didn’t know everything was comped.”
    “I don’t know much about the Directorate or the Summit,” I admitted. “Mom prefers the cell phone side of her job, and most of the genie business we discuss is