Where am I?
That’s sure a dramatic-sounding start, but I have no follow-through.
Let me state up front: All my lines this time will be like the first story and mixed into the narration, so friendly warning not to worry about that.
From this point on, anything in “” is someone other than me, and I guarantee that this time, I won’t be using that ploy again.
Anyhoo, I had my arms folded and was staring out the window.
I was in the back seat of a cab. Near sunset.
It was just me and the driver. Not a hired car like last time, just the ordinary kinda taxi you hail outside your hotel.
I was headed to another party venue at some other hotel. Yuck.
There was a reason why I was flying solo. Namely, I felt like it.
If Dad was gonna chip away at my happy school life for these jaunts of his and drag me around to greet people willy-nilly, then I was gonna insist on operating independently as much as was feasible, and he’d agreed to that. Nothing more unpleasant than being paired up with your dad at the hotel and the cab.
But I was forced to accept a condition in return, and that’s the reason I had my arms folded and was glaring at the window so hard.
Between my clothes and my shoes, I was dressed from head to foot in stuff my dad had picked out, the sort of getup you only ever wear to get an Academy Award.
And I didn’t have any Oscars coming my way, just a long, uncomfortable sulk.
I could move around freely as long as I smiled at the party in the designated outfit.
And this time, I had no escape plan.
I’d been informed—well, threatened—that the penalty would be costly. Apparently, they had big news to reveal, and I had to be there. I still hadn’t located this new tracker, and I was kinda curious what the news was.
The girl’s family and mine had been getting real intense about developing super-tiny, micro GPS trackers basically just for the two of us, but this research had led them to some unexpected benefits. One of them serendipity things. Big old windfall.
All kinds of supersmart people had their brains running at full power, just trying to figure out how to make good trackers small enough to foil a couple of kids, and they accidentally figured out some new hypothesis or theory only tangentially related. And since it wasn’t what they were supposed to be working on, they just scribbled it down on a Post-it and forgot about it, until another research-type person wandered through and happened upon it. When they realized it fell perfectly in line with their passion project, they raised a huge fuss and got my dad’s attention, and he approved the research green light on the spot, and then a bunch of stuff happened, leading all kinds of industries and scientific think tanks and research facilities to get involved in one massive project.
And since this was clearly gonna be huge business for the foreseeable future, we were throwing an equally huge announcement party.
They’d assembled all the bigwigs and big brains and big accounts and were gonna raise glasses to the success of the project and bring everyone together.
I’d actually been given a lecture on the topic before we came, but I only got, like, maybe 10 percent of it. Something about using genes in lieu of processors and having them calculate whatevers; totally futuristic stuff. What did they call it? DNA computing?
Anyway, what little I understood was still pretty exciting, which was one reason I was showing up like I was supposed to. It was, like, number three on my list.
First would be seeing old friends who showed up at these occasions, and second would be making new friends I’d only run into at events like this.
Getting dolled up in a dress my dad liked sucked, but I did appreciate him providing me opportunities like this. That’s how I got to know that girl, after all. Shame I had to miss so much school for it, though.
All this was running through my head while I was staring out that cab window.
Based on the map I’d glanced at earlier, the taxi oughtta be taking me due north. It was a wide road, and the buildings on the side were pretty tall, so I wouldn’t exactly call it a picturesque view.
When I tried looking out the other window, the only noticeable difference was the oncoming traffic whizzing past, but at least there were a few gaps between the buildings that let me catch the odd glimpse of the setting sun. Each time this happened, the car interior lit up, and it became pretty bright, so I turned my gaze upward.
The color of the sky right before sunset is real nice, ain’t it? Also, the smell of the air right before summer arrives or the smell right after rain hits hot pavement. If they do a revised edition of The Pillow Book, they oughtta put that stuff in.
While I was gazing longingly at the receding summer evening, the sun set completely, the night was born, and the cab reached my destination.
This was a gorgeous luxury hotel, several ranks above the one I was staying at. The presentation and networking party were being held in the largest hall they had—I remembered that much, at least.
I paid the driver, got out, and put my party face on.
A bellboy came running over, but I smiled and told him I didn’t have any luggage, then asked how to reach the venue, thanked him, and walked as gracefully as I could in that direction. My dad always grumbles that I walk like a kid. Who cares? Lemme walk how I want.
It didn’t take me long to get to the venue. There was still plenty of time before the presentation started, but it was already pretty packed. There were round tables placed here and there, and they had started handing out drinks.
I applied my best ornamental smile and waded on in.
First up, I made the rounds by greeting my dad’s old business friends, sponsors, and colleagues. People my dad got on with were mostly easy for me to get on with, so this wasn’t a problem at all.
Anytime I got introduced to someone new, I kept things affable. Same old routine.
Once that was over, I could start looking for my friends.
“Tsuruya.”
One found me first!
“It’s been far too long.”
The girl rose from her bow, and the smile on her lips was pretty but a bit distant.
She was wearing a chic dress of a subdued hue and making it look like it was a part of her. I let myself stare. She was so elegant that it was like she added color to the air around her. No comparison with my obvious I hate wearing this demeanor. I had the same thought every time.
As I returned the greeting, a server passed by and offered us some grapefruit juice, so I took that and stuck my tongue in it, making sure it was 100 percent fruit juice.
She had a tumbler filled with something fizzy and was swirling it mournfully.
“I’m glad we could meet. It seems like there aren’t many people here I can talk to.”
Yeah, the regulars at these shindigs aren’t exactly our age. This girl and I knew at least one other kid in this predicament, but it looked like she wasn’t here tonight. Her family was connected to the project, too, but she must be better at wriggling out of these obligations, I guess. Lucky dog.
While the two of us were catching up, the presentation got underway.
The lights dimmed, and a projector lit up the screen on the stage. Some full-on philharmonic music started booming, and a giant logo filled the screen. Then an epic-sounding narrator began to speak.
The next chunk ran through the project abstract, using images and narration to explain things. The crowd gasped several times. Enough time passed that I finished off a second glass of grapefruit juice.
As the crowd’s enthusiasm peaked, the video ended, and the lights came on.
There was a thunderous round of applause, and a thin, older dude took the stage—it was his job to explain stuff. He’d been in the video, listed as the project leader.
For a good long while, he explained things and took questions from the audience, but none of that’s got anything to do with my story, so I’ll leave it out. The plan was all bioscience jargon, and I wound up feeling like I was listening to a grifter do his thing, which made me laugh.
“The rich gather together, investing their funds in a ploy at getting even richer. Successful projects bring new products to the market and perhaps contribute in some small way to civilization’s advancement, but that’s simply a side effect of the money made.”
This girl was not mincing words tonight.
The man on stage wrapped things up by calling for a toast. The reasons weren’t particularly clear, probably just an attempt at mood setting. Glasses were clinking all around us, and they started bringing in carts ladled with food. Another day, another buffet. I hoped some of it was edible.
The volume rose, and a lot of business cards got exchanged.
These gatherings were all about making connections. I’m sure my dad was around here somewhere, but I didn’t feel like tracking him down.
I kept hearing bursts of warm laughter from one corner.
I turned to look and saw a man who wasn’t quite my dad’s age but was too old to call my age.
I felt like I’d been introduced to him somewhere but couldn’t recall the name.
The girl noticed me looking.
“Not familiar?” she asked. “He’s a distant relative. My paternal grandfather’s brother’s family, I believe? I’ve only met him at these types of gatherings, so I assume my father must have invited him tonight.”
What’s he do?
“He’s on the boards of several companies. Far too many titles to remember, but I believe he primarily fancies himself an entrepreneur.”
He was swimming in cash, so they brought him in to be a sponsor?
“Very likely.”
She did not seem interested.
I kept an absent eye on him and soon realized his card was the source of the laughter.
Each time the girl’s relative handed over a business card, he said something that got a huge laugh. He must have a good one-liner that he always used when introducing himself. Whether it was actually funny…
Then someone I actually did know wandered into my field of view. He moved with purpose toward the joking card guy.