Darryl.”
Nina Rizniak stepped out from the shadows beyond the case, her jumpsuit the same robin’s-egg blue as her slightly magnified eyes.
“See Mario’s new trophy?” he said, pointing at a Mario-shaped figurine.
“I wanted to ask you something,” she said, not even glancing at the case. “Yesterday morning you gave me a weird look when you heard my name. How come?”
“I’m not really sure. It seemed familiar, somehow. Your face, too.”
“Where are you from?”
“Seattle. You?”
“Oregon. Down near Eugene.”
“It’s like … it’s as if I know you from somewhere. But I can’t remember where. My memory’s a little …”
His whole past life seemed fuzzy and faraway. Looking back on it was like looking through the wrong end of a telescope. In fact, the people and events of his past seemed less real than the characters in
Meteor Fiends
. But he did his best to concentrate on Nina. She said he’d beaten her two out of three times at StarMaster. He’d played that on the laptop at the shelter. …
“Do you have a brother named Boris?”
Nina’s face turned white as chalk. “You know Boris?”
“He stole my GameMaster.”
“Where?”
“A children’s shelter in Seattle.”
“When?”
“Let me think. Gosh, it’s hard to say. In July? What is it now?”
“The middle of August.”
Oddly enough, he hadn’t given a thought to what time of year it was—maybe because Paradise Lab had no windows. Would he have to go back to school in September?
“Boy, you really lose track of time in here, even though we’re trying to conquer it.”
“How was he?” Nina asked, her face still bloodless.
“Boris? I don’t know. He took off out the window like a bird.”
A smile bloomed on Nina’s face, turning her quite pretty. “What do you expect, he’s a Flying Rizniak. What did he say?”
“I think he showed me your picture.”
“He did!”
“I think … he’s looking for you. All over. Funny. And here you are.”
A couple of magnified tears slipped out of her magnified eyes. She took off her glasses and wiped her face with a sleeve. “What else did he say?” she asked.
“I think he said you were good at GameMaster.”
“Yeah, my friend Sue Ann had one.”
Mario and Ruthie came out of doors farther downthe corridor and headed for the dining hall. “We better get to breakfast,” he said.
“Will you do me one favor?” Nina whispered, grabbing his sleeve.
“What?”
“Don’t take your vitamin.”
“Why not? They’re MasterPills.”
“Don’t take it. Just today. Okay? Pretend to, but slip it in your pocket.”
“But that’s the first thing you learn in orientation. A vitamin every morning gives you the added edge that might just make the difference.”
“I know, I know. But … if you don’t take it, I’ll be your friend.”
With that Nina headed for the dining hall. Darryl followed and took chair number eight, and soon Hedderly brought out a platter of sunny-side-up eggs. Then came a dish of link sausages, and finally a basket of cranberry muffins.
“To conquering Time!” Ruthie said, lifting her glass of fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice.
“Conquering Time!” the rest of them echoed.
They all reached for their pale-blue vitamins and popped them into their mouths and washed them down—all except Nina, who palmed her pill, and Darryl, who accidently dropped his. Nina ducked underthe table and snatched it up. She lost her glasses in the process. Darryl grabbed those.
“Trade you,” he whispered.
She shook her head. He turned to complain to Ruthie, but just at that moment Ruthie swiveled in her chair and cried shrilly:
“Hedderly! Some jam!”
Darryl swallowed his complaint and set Nina’s glasses by her place mat, figuring it wouldn’t kill him to miss his vitamin once.
19
A fter his mother left for work that morni, BJ rode up Twenty-third Street to Roanoke, where he locked his bike to the trunk of a skinny dogwood tree and joined a pair
Nina Rizniak stepped out from the shadows beyond the case, her jumpsuit the same robin’s-egg blue as her slightly magnified eyes.
“See Mario’s new trophy?” he said, pointing at a Mario-shaped figurine.
“I wanted to ask you something,” she said, not even glancing at the case. “Yesterday morning you gave me a weird look when you heard my name. How come?”
“I’m not really sure. It seemed familiar, somehow. Your face, too.”
“Where are you from?”
“Seattle. You?”
“Oregon. Down near Eugene.”
“It’s like … it’s as if I know you from somewhere. But I can’t remember where. My memory’s a little …”
His whole past life seemed fuzzy and faraway. Looking back on it was like looking through the wrong end of a telescope. In fact, the people and events of his past seemed less real than the characters in
Meteor Fiends
. But he did his best to concentrate on Nina. She said he’d beaten her two out of three times at StarMaster. He’d played that on the laptop at the shelter. …
“Do you have a brother named Boris?”
Nina’s face turned white as chalk. “You know Boris?”
“He stole my GameMaster.”
“Where?”
“A children’s shelter in Seattle.”
“When?”
“Let me think. Gosh, it’s hard to say. In July? What is it now?”
“The middle of August.”
Oddly enough, he hadn’t given a thought to what time of year it was—maybe because Paradise Lab had no windows. Would he have to go back to school in September?
“Boy, you really lose track of time in here, even though we’re trying to conquer it.”
“How was he?” Nina asked, her face still bloodless.
“Boris? I don’t know. He took off out the window like a bird.”
A smile bloomed on Nina’s face, turning her quite pretty. “What do you expect, he’s a Flying Rizniak. What did he say?”
“I think he showed me your picture.”
“He did!”
“I think … he’s looking for you. All over. Funny. And here you are.”
A couple of magnified tears slipped out of her magnified eyes. She took off her glasses and wiped her face with a sleeve. “What else did he say?” she asked.
“I think he said you were good at GameMaster.”
“Yeah, my friend Sue Ann had one.”
Mario and Ruthie came out of doors farther downthe corridor and headed for the dining hall. “We better get to breakfast,” he said.
“Will you do me one favor?” Nina whispered, grabbing his sleeve.
“What?”
“Don’t take your vitamin.”
“Why not? They’re MasterPills.”
“Don’t take it. Just today. Okay? Pretend to, but slip it in your pocket.”
“But that’s the first thing you learn in orientation. A vitamin every morning gives you the added edge that might just make the difference.”
“I know, I know. But … if you don’t take it, I’ll be your friend.”
With that Nina headed for the dining hall. Darryl followed and took chair number eight, and soon Hedderly brought out a platter of sunny-side-up eggs. Then came a dish of link sausages, and finally a basket of cranberry muffins.
“To conquering Time!” Ruthie said, lifting her glass of fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice.
“Conquering Time!” the rest of them echoed.
They all reached for their pale-blue vitamins and popped them into their mouths and washed them down—all except Nina, who palmed her pill, and Darryl, who accidently dropped his. Nina ducked underthe table and snatched it up. She lost her glasses in the process. Darryl grabbed those.
“Trade you,” he whispered.
She shook her head. He turned to complain to Ruthie, but just at that moment Ruthie swiveled in her chair and cried shrilly:
“Hedderly! Some jam!”
Darryl swallowed his complaint and set Nina’s glasses by her place mat, figuring it wouldn’t kill him to miss his vitamin once.
19
A fter his mother left for work that morni, BJ rode up Twenty-third Street to Roanoke, where he locked his bike to the trunk of a skinny dogwood tree and joined a pair
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