Geekomancy by Michael R. Underwood Read Free Book Online Page A

the door, keys jingling, Bryan greeted her. His warm voice was always reassuring. “Good morning. Looks like it was a slow day yesterday?”
    Ree nodded. “Steady morning, then practically nothing in the afternoon.”
    Except the crazy guy who came in for a graphic novel and sent my life spiraling into crazytown.
    But Bryan didn’t need to hear about that. Who did need to hear about it? Was she going to tell anyone about this? Would anyone believe her? She didn’t know how much of anything worked on the Flip Side.
    They Might Be Giants played on the stereo, the two Johns serenading her with scientific singsong about the sun. Ree settled into the café’s routine, baking and brewing and then serving and squeezing through the tiny service area as she and Bryan dodged each other to accommodate the Friday-morning rush. The chatter about comics and movies and the latest political dustup helped Ree find her feet again, get grounded in the rhythm of the real world.
    At 3 PM, Bryan’s eldest walked in, dumped his backpack on an empty table, and stepped up to the counter for a drink.
    “Hola,” Ree said.
    Aidan Blin (Strength 12, Dexterity 11, Stamina 11, IQ 16, Will 14, and Charisma 15—Geek 3 / Prodigy 1) took after his dad, standing just on the tall side of average, neither skinny nor thick, with a mop of unruly oak-brown hair and an easy smile. He also kicked academic ass and took names, having become a high school senior at the ripe age of sixteen.
    Aidan gave her the half-smile (also inherited from his father), then asked, “Can I get a vanilla Italian soda with one shot of strawberry?”
    Ree nodded, spinning in place to make the drink. She talked over her shoulder as she worked, hands remembering where everything was and leaving her brain free to chat. “Any word from Stanford?”
    Aidan and his girlfriend had both applied to Stanford for early decision. The responses were due by the end of the month, and over the last week Aidan had turned into a coiled bundle of nerves.
    Aidan responded as he returned to his table. “Nothing. I can barely pay attention in class, and I got my phone confiscated during math for checking email.”
    “You’re not supposed to be using your smartphone during classes anyway,” Bryan said.
    Aidan rolled his eyes. “You didn’t have the temptation of instant gratification when you were in high school, Dad.”
    “Thank the goddess I didn’t. I’d have been a nervous wreck!” Bryan said, laughing. Aidan huffed.
    That’s what you get when you have a trickster for a dad, Ree thought, suppressing a laugh.
    Aidan looked down to his laptop screen, clicked at something, then sighed again.
    Oh, the Joy of the Endless Refresh, Ree thought. Aidan had a high standard to live up to. He’d been in Gifted & Talented programs his whole life, had skipped 8th grade, and was intending to declare pre-law. Ree had never had a plan like that—“become a famous screenwriter” was both more nebulous and more unrealistic, though she could pursue it on her own time frame.
    Aidan took off his headphones and rubbed his temples, looking tense even here, among family and friends, goofing off.
    Not a good sign, Ree thought. Time for a Spanglishvention.
    “Hang in there, kid,” she said in Spanish. Not her normal “I grew up speaking this with my dad” Puerto Rican Spanish, but “horribly pronounced if grammatically correct” Spanish, with an accent that sounded like it came from a Valley kid drunk on cheap tequila.
    Aidan perked up and responded in equally bad Spanish, “I am not Hang in There Kitty.”
    Ree cracked a smile, which Aidan matched. She ruffled his hair, and he brushed her hand off, scrunching up his face in mock annoyance.
    “Whichever way the universe goes, you’re going to do great,” Bryan said from behind the counter.
    Aidan nodded at his dad and went back to his laptop.
    •   •   •
    At 3:30 PM, Ree finished up her shift, hugged Aidan on her way out, and headed home.
    If