Renegade World: Future Past by GD Patten Read Free Book Online

time that you have spent with
her.”
    “It hasn't really been that much.”
    “Maybe not, but she feels like she has two new friends in
you and Erica.”
    Naami came skipping over. “Did you see my back handspring?”
    “We were just talking about it,” answered Aaron. “I was
just going to ask your dad if I could take you to see my old gymnastics teacher
sometime.”
    “Is he a good teacher? What's his name? Is he mean or
nice?”
    Aaron laughed. “His name is Mr. Patterson. He is a good
teacher, and the answer to your last question is, it depends.”
    “Depends on what?”
    “Students who listen to him and try hard think he is very
nice. Students who don't listen to him, don’t do it his way, or don’t try hard
don't like him as much.”
    “I listen,” she said and then after glancing at her dad
added, “If it’s something I want to know about.”
    Her dad laughed.
    “Can I go with Aaron to see Mr. Patterson?” she pleaded.
    He rolled his eyes as she bounced up and down. “OK, OK!”
    Rebeka Lee smiled at the still bouncing Naami. “You always
get your way!”
    Naami stopped bouncing and smirked as she said, “That's
right.”
    Her dad grabbed his sparring gear, and everyone else took
the hint. Erica, Thor, and Aaron followed Rebeka Lee out to her vehicle. They
all waved goodbye to Naami.
    As they drove away, Aaron turned to Rebeka Lee and said, “I
didn't know that you worked for the Schmidts.”
    Rebeka Lee glanced over at him. “Anita and I are second
cousins, and I have known Fred since college. I was the third employee of
Thinking Technologies.”
    “The company that my dad acquired from them a year and a
half ago or so?”
    “Yes.”
    “How come you don't still work for Thinking Technologies?”
    “I still do work for them. I'm just not an employee now.
I prefer to work as a consultant, but
don't ask me about specifics because I can't divulge anything about the work.”
    “Do you also consult with the Schmidts' new company?”
    “Yes. I am also a consultant for Life Quality Technologies,
but again, don't ask about specifics.”
    Erica spoke up from the back seat. “When did you start
taking Tae Kwon Do, and when did you know that Mr. Schmidt also studied Tae
Kwon Do?”
    “I started taking Tae Kwon Do here from Mr. Hyon when I was
in high school. When I decided to go to the University of Minnesota, I asked
him if he knew of a studio near the campus there. He smiled and told me that I
must go to his uncle's studio.”
    She paused, and Thor interrupted, “Is it true that you were
sixteen when you started college?”
    Erica elbowed Thor. “Don't interrupt!”
    Rebeka Lee laughed. “I was sixteen when I started, but I
turned seventeen in November.”
    Thor started to ask another question, but Erica put her
hand over Thor's mouth and said, “Please continue about the studio.”
    Rebeka Lee glanced in the rear view mirror and saw Thor rip
Erica's hand away and glare at her. “I did train at his uncle's studio. Twice,
I saw this fourth-degree belt come to the black belt class. He was
the only other fourth-degree that I had seen except for Mr. Hyon, who was also a
fourth-degree black belt at that time. I wasn't a black belt, so I wasn't in any of the same
classes as him.”
    Rebeka Lee covertly glanced at each of them. She could tell
that they all wanted to ask the same question, but she made them wait. “The
next time I saw him was when I tested for my black belt. He was one of the judges.”
    She turned left onto the street where they all lived. “At the end
of the test, I broke a stack of four patio blocks with an elbow strike.
No one else had broken more than two, so I was feeling pretty smug until I saw two younger
students stacking up eight blocks. The fourth-degree solemnly bowed to Mr. Hyon's
uncle as kids in the audience whispered that there was no way anyone could break
that many. After he stepped forward into his
stance, he brought his elbow slowly down to the top block once