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Mona?” s he asks, still not facing me.
    That’s an unexpected segue. “Yeah.”
    “I wish I had a sister,” she says, dreamily. “ A real sister. Someone always by your side, you know? S omeone you love. Someone you can talk to.”
    It’s my turn to chuckle, and she turns to face me. “What?” s he asks.
    “Mona and I are not like that. At all. I mean, I like her –”
    “You mean, you l ove her , ” Skye corrects me.
    “Okay, okay, love her,” I say, the L -word leaving a strange taste in my mouth. “ B ut from a distance. Especially now that she’s in a freakish phase. We don’t chat, and we certainly don’t, you know, talk .”
    She stares at me as if I had just strangled a kitten or something.
    We reach a light, and I stare back at her. The green light appears, and I lose the starin g contest. I snort, but I feel compelled to add, “Guys don’t talk.”
    “ You do,” she says — not asking.
    “I don’t.”
    “You would,” she replies with authority.
    I keep my mouth shut. Yes, I would. Who’s this girl, this stranger who knows so much about me? Damn, Skye , stop it . N o need to make me want you more.
    We mercifully arrive at her house. I want to be with her, but I know the way she can see through me might do me harm. She should come with a warning: enjoy Skye with moderation.
    ***
    I drop by Boulder’s after I recover from hurricane Skye. Of course, Sean is hanging out with him . They’re taking turns updating their status on Boulder’s c omputer. Hip-hop plays quietly — which strikes me as pointless , but I say nothing. 
    T he futon is free, and I let my body plunge there . It’s cool that I can just be there while I try to organize my thoughts . N o need to force conversation. Sean browses through a n X b ox magazine, sit ting close to the desk w here Boulder mans the laptop. Sometimes Boulder says, “Check this out,” and the two of them stare at the screen, laughing. “That’s so messed up,” Sean says, shaking his head. Watching them is maddening ; they could be talking about anything .
    Sean finally leaves Boulder’s side. He drops on the futon next to me and slaps my leg.
    “So, how’s the head?” h e asks.
    “Do I know you?” I deadpan. “Where am I? What is this place?”
    Sean’s chuckle is familiar and comforting. “We were worried, man,” he says.
    “Yeah,” Boulder booms from the computer desk , still glued to the screen. “When we heard you were alone with a girl.”
    I can’t help but join Sean’s laugh.
    Boulder continues, “Yeah, you’re alone with the new hot chick, you convince her to follow you to the woods, and what do you do? You faint!”
    Sean and I guffaw . I see Boulder joining us, his shoulders going up and down.
    After our laughter fades, Boulder asks, “A re you going to school tomorrow? ”
    “Nah,” I say. “ I’ll mi lk this injury as much as I can. I’ve got a note from the doctor kee ping me from school for a week.”
    Sean nods in approval . “Nice move. What about the girl?”
    “I know where she lives,” I say , shrugging. “I can drop by and talk to her away from a crowd . ”
    After a pause, Sean says, “I still can’t believe that you took her to the hospital for your first date!” He chuckles again.
    “It ’s worse. She took me to the hospital—” I have a n epiphany. “A date! I forgot to ask her out.”
    “Classic Drake,” Boulder says from the desk, shaking his head.

C hapter 10: Skye
    Drake drops me off just as the phone is ring ing . It’s my mother , calling from London . I do the time zone conversion : it’s 2 a.m. there, 6 p.m. here. Her performance is over and she’s checking on me. No way I’m telling her—or anyone else—about the ritual in the woods. I’m not supposed to have performed it. It’s waaay beyond my training.
    “H ow are you , darling ? ” Her familiar , stage- trained voice greets me. “ Found the Singularity yet?”
    “Mu m!” I say , admonishing her. “Someone