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

[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.

[pythbox]

She just asks, "Can I wait for you guys at your house? It'll be easier to get back that way, Jellybean and I can gate to each other more easily than we can to arbitrary locations."

[lifes_sake]

"Yeah, sure," says Cam.

[pythbox]

"Okay," she says agreeably.

[lifes_sake]

Ho hum looking for a worldgate.

[pythbox]

Ho hum ho hum there's a worldgate!

Matilda goes through first, into Cam's backyard. Then Jellybean takes over and sets the gate to take them to the Moon, conscientiously including a nice big supply of air.

[lifes_sake]

"Moon," observes Cam, perhaps unnecessarily, turning on the spot to take in the moonscape. The stars are something else, the view of Earth really something else. "Damn." The part they're standing on is pretty much gray dirt as far as the eye can see, but the sky from here...

[pythbox]

"I know," says Jellybean, "awesome, right?" He is grinning hugely. Only some of this is because they are on the Moon.

[lifes_sake]

"Fantastic. D'you hang out on the moon a lot?"

[pythbox]

"Not a lot," he says. "But once in a while, yeah."

He sits down in the dust and leans back on his hands and gazes up at the shining Earth.

[lifes_sake]

Cam laughs and flops onto his back and makes a moon angel.

[pythbox]

Jellybean giggles affectionately at this, and flops right next to him.

[lifes_sake]

"So, um," says Cam. "I have not made out with anybody on any celestial body at all before. Is there an instruction manual?"

[pythbox]

"Nah," he says, snuggling up a little. "But I can give you some tips if you want, I've made out with lots of people."