A Chronetic Memory (The Chronography Records Book 1) Read Free Page B

It’s worth watching, though, if only because it’s so funny.”
    “Well, he’s only seven. It’s mostly about sportsmanship and having fun at that age, isn’t it?”
    “Exactly. And he does that part really well.”
    At that moment, their waiter arrived with the sandwiches and a complimentary apple turnover. It looked delicious. Excellent way to inspire loyalty in new customers, Dani had to admit. As if the whole two-hundred-year-old atmosphere thing wasn’t enough. “Where are his teammates from?”
    Kat shrugged. “They don’t really like to tell you that. Underage players and privacy, you know.”
    “You’d know all about privacy,” Dani teased. Kat’s whole reason for protesting was to keep private lives private.
    “Well, yeah.” Kat grinned. “But the kids talk, and Jored has a vague idea anyway. There are a few from China, two or three from the Balkans—their families have known each other a long time, it turns out—and only a handful from the western hemisphere.”
    “Impressive! Truly international, and at that age! I don’t think any of my telegames, when I was a kid, involved anyone from out of the country. Well, I mean, they would have, if we ever got to championship levels, but we were never that good.” Dani shook her head. “Kids these days don’t realize how much the world has changed.” Then she added, almost as an afterthought, “How do they communicate?”
    “Sometimes in English, sometimes in Croatian, but mostly in Chinese.” Kat laughed at her friend’s expression. “Kids pick up languages so fast.”
    “But he likes it, right?”
    “Oh, he loves it. Almost as much as he loves playing chess with you.”
    Day brightener, right there. “I love spending time with him. It surprises me how much I look forward to it. When we play chess, it’s not really about chess. It’s mostly about talking. He’s so smart. And he likes to hear about the parts of my job that I still enjoy. Reminds me of what attracted me to this field when I was his age.”
    “He asked me this morning when you were coming over again. Want to have dinner with us tomorrow night?”
    Dani didn’t hesitate. “What else have I got going? Six-ish?”
    “That’ll work.”
    They ate companionably for a few minutes, saying nothing. Kat was comfortable like that. But Dani felt like talking after her silent morning in an observation box. “How was your day?” she asked her friend.
    “Great! The fair-weather visitors have starting showing up, so we get to educate them about how dangerous your work is.” She winked.
    When the two had first met, they had kept their conversations to neutral topics. They both instinctively realized that a new friendship had to find common ground before venturing into potential discord or conflict. But now they were sure of their bond, and there were no rules to their topics.
    So it was with no trace of defensiveness that Dani replied, “Do you know how many yottabytes of information you’d have to sift through to find one damaging piece of information? And it’s all so boring.” She yawned, then laughed. “I didn’t plan that yawn, really.”
    Kat smiled. “Jored never hears about that part of it, does he? He thinks your work is the most interesting thing in the world. It’s my job that he gets bored with. To him, it’s just standing outside and waving a sign.”
    “You’re doing what you believe in. That’s what counts.” Dani reassured her friend. “Honestly, I’d squirm just like anyone else if someone decided to look at my life with a chronograph.”
    “There, see? That’s what I mean. People never think it’s about them. It’s about all of us, as much as it’s about any of us.”
    Dani looked at her fondly. “You have such a big heart, Katella. You’re always looking out for people, always making people’s lives a little easier or a little better. Does Marak know how lucky he is?”
    “Well, yeah. That’s how we met, you know. He was doing something