the self-knower

[lifes_sake]

Vague and grandiose chat about motivated capitalism take up the rest of the wizards' evening. Plans are made for Cam to learn about worldgates the following (skipped from school with Renée's kind accomplicehood) day and, assuming he catches on quickly enough, to go to New York and meet Jenny and talk about her operating as their business proxy.

Presently it's bedtime, and Cam goes to his room and Matilda and Jellybean go to theirs and Cam has the chance to ask Grace what on earth she meant.

"Well," Grace says, whispering, "you've been holding off on labeling because you're only fourteen, but people stabilize at different ages, don't they? And as near as I can tell you've been stable for almost a year now. Not on either, but on whichever. I think you're just as likely to get a crush on Jellybean as Matilda and vice-versa, and I don't think it's because you're still undeclared, I think you're just wired that way."

Cam considers this. "Okay," he says. "I can live with that."

"I should hope so," says Grace, and Cam laughs, and he goes to sleep.

He's still on a sleep cycle appropriate to school, so he may be up before Jellybean and Matilda in the morning.

Comments

[lifes_sake]

"Will you speak on camera?" Randi asks.

"A little. I don't want to do too much of it, and you won't be able to prove it's not voiceover anyway."

"True," Randi admits.

His phone rings. He picks up.

"If you'll come with me," he says to Cam when the call ends.

"Right behind you, Mr. Randi."

[pythbox]

Jellybean and Matilda trail them like a very short row of ducklings.

[lifes_sake]

"Are you still there?" Randi asks, when they get to the elevator.

"Yep," says Cam.

Down the elevator they go.

There are some pots and some seeds in them, and they're under plastic covers.

"All you have to do is talk to them, is that right?" Randi asks.

"I can do it that way," confirms Cam vaguely. "Pretty sure they can hear me through the plastic."

"Go ahead, then," sighs Randi.

"Heyyyy, seeds," says Cam brightly in Speech, familiar by now with how to wake up plants. "Sprout!"

[pythbox]

The plants sprout. They do it fairly energetically, for plants.

[lifes_sake]

"Do you need me to, like, come back next week and replicate?" Cam inquires.

"...We agreed on this test," says Randi quietly. "You've passed this test."

"Yeah, but I don't mind making another trip, I mean, it's a million dollars, it'll take you guys a while to liquidate it anyway, right?"

[pythbox]

Jellybean is still having snickerfits behind his soundproofing.

[lifes_sake]

"It'll take some time, yes. Where do you want it sent?"

"You're not getting this fake name, no bank account, invisibility thing, are you," says Cam. "I'll pick it up. You can email me to tell me when and where."

[pythbox]

Matilda emits a silent giggle.

[lifes_sake]

"How will we know it's you?" Randi wants to know.

"If someone else invisible with my voice who hacks into one of our email accounts to get the when-and-where information appears," Cam says, "or rather, doesn't appear, but invisibly comes to be located here, says he's in your records as Nick Carter, and asks for my money, you know what, hand him an installment, I won't blame you," says Cam. "The exactly one million figure does not matter that much to me."

[pythbox]

Which cracks both of them up all over again.

[lifes_sake]

"And you want it cash," says Randi.

"Yes, please, otherwise I'd have to do something awkward where I teleport to a lot of different post offices redeeming money orders so nobody can tell where I live, they maybe ask for ID, or whatever."

"...That'll take a while."

"I'm not in a huge hurry," says Cam. "Just keep it coming, please."

"As agreed," Randi sighs, picking up a plastic cover and poking at one of the plants.

[pythbox]

The plant rustles verdantly.

[lifes_sake]

"Am I all set to get out of here while you work out liquidation," Cam asks, "or do you need me to make a suspicious-looking indentation in a chair while you ask me some questions on camera and I answer evasively?"

"You can go," sighs Randi, poking another plant.

Cam strolls out of the room.

[pythbox]

Jellybean takes the lead, since he's the worldgate-finding expert.

[lifes_sake]

Cam follows merrily. "I'm gonna be a millionaire," he says cheerfully. "You guys have fun?"

[pythbox]

Jellybean drops his soundproofing.

"Yep! You're awesome."

[lifes_sake]

"I am!" Cam agrees without a trace of self-consciousness.

[pythbox]

"I kind of wanna make out with you," Jellybean declares.

[lifes_sake]

"What, right now, invisibly on the middle of the sidewalk?" asks Cam.

[pythbox]

"Yep," says Jellybean. "I mean, unless you really wanna go home first or something."

[lifes_sake]

"Going home first sounds like a lousy idea," says Cam. "I dunno, I think somebody'd bump into us if we weren't routing around them, there's pedestrians."

It's still not a no.

[pythbox]

"See," says Jellybean, "if this is you letting me down gently, we can just go back to your place, but if this is not you letting me down gently, how would you like to make out on the Moon?"

[lifes_sake]

"I think making out on the Moon sounds great," says Cam decisively.

[pythbox]

"Awesome," says Jellybean, and he heads off in search of a worldgate locus.

[lifes_sake]

Cam continues to follow. He glances at Matilda to see if she has any particular reaction to this exchange.