[Xander – 12 years]


    This was exhausting. The streamed portion of the demonstration concluded awhile ago, but I still had questions to answer. Grandpa Adrian helped me with a few of them, especially the ones I wasn''t really sure about how to answer or couldn''t really know – like the price point for the augmented reality stuff – and we''re finally, finally done.


    Now, I''m waiting for further instructions as Mr. Milton very nervously talks with Grandpa Adrian and another man about logistics and ordering and stuff. The other boys are goofing around again, but I''m too tired to join in. Well, and they''re also roughhousing, and I don''t want to do that. So I''m not joining in.


    Especially because Tyler just jumped into the air to do a drop-kick on Carter, who blocks it with an arm that doesn''t budge at all. Both of them have massive grins on their face, so I know they''re just goofing around, but… nope. Not me.


    I am not joining in.


    Even if it does look a little bit fun…


    "Xander?" Grandpa Adrian eventually comes over to me, along with some of the other men who were here. "Could you call the other boys over?"


    Oh, it''s time for that now. I give him a wave of one of Trenton''s paws, then look over to the other boys.


    "Hey, guys," I project my voice to the other boys using magic; I''ve figured out how to do it intentionally now. If I did the spell right, they should be hearing me as if I''m right beside them, not as if I''m yelling. "Can you guys come over here?"


    Curious about what they''re being called over for, the other boys all come over to me. At least, I think that''s curiosity on their faces.


    Noticing the horde of boys heading somewhere, the parents who came all walk over as well. Some of them are definitely nervous of my great-grandpa, but he''s not really that scary.


    Just unnerving because he''s in his old-man form and it messes with my eyes to look at him. Fortunately, I''m looking at the other boys right now instead of him.


    What was I supposed to say again?


    "Hi, everyone," I say. "Thank you all for helping with the demonstration and being a part of today''s beta test. Um… Grandpa Adrian has stuff to say and I don''t remember what I was supposed to."


    "Thank you, Xander," Grandpa Adrian says as some of the other boys giggle. "Everyone, thank you for participating in today''s demonstration and beta test. There are two things we have for each of you for participating, both of which can be found within the envelopes being passed around now. The first of those is a slip of paper with a URL and a code. That code is unique to you, and using it will allow you to give feedback regarding the devices and the game. It''s usable until the end of Wednesday – at midnight on Thursday, you won''t be able to input any feedback, so make sure to get it in before then. You can also tell Xander directly, but this will make it easier to keep it organized and logged."


    Grandpa Adrian glances down at me, and I look up at him.


    "That''s your turn, Xander," he gently says.


    "Oh," I say, then look at the other guys again. "Um… what was it? Oh, right. Thanks for helping."


    "No, Xander," Grandpa Adrian says. "About the feedback."


    "Oh," I try to remember what I was supposed to say. "I don''t remember. Sorry…"


    "It''s alright," he chuckles, then looks at the other boys again. "There will be another beta test here next Saturday, and you''re all invited to return for that as well. It''ll occur at 10:00 AM, and will feature the improved version of the game, which Xander will work on over the next week, incorporating some of your suggestions for the game while tweaking formulas for balance."


    I feel like what was I supposed to say was related to that, but I still can''t remember.


    "A check?" S.G. suddenly asks; he''s opened up his enveloped and pulled out the slips inside, as have some of the others. "Uh… sorry, sir. I didn''t mean to-"


    "It''s fine," Grandpa Adrian smiles at him. "That''s the next part. This was an official demonstration and an official beta test for a Xanson Technologies product. All companies under the Lumaria Group pays its beta testers, including new companies. Xanson Technologies is the company formed to sell products which Xander and one of his cousins, Greyson, develop. Xander''s puzzle spheres and hoverboard are being sold through them."


    "How does that work?" Carter''s friend I only met today blurts out, then looks nervous; I still can''t remember his name. "I mean, uh… I didn''t mean to-"


    "Why are you guys so nervous?" I ask. "He''s just my great-grandpa."


    "Xander," Luke snorts. "Your great-grandpa is Earth''s shadow ruler and he could smite people with a thought."


    "He doesn''t feel like a smiting sort of guy," I hold up Trenton. "Trenton says you''d probably only really invoke his wrath if you''re trying to cause trouble to the world at large or if you try to use or abuse his kin, whatever that means. Annoying him with a child''s curiosity would just cause him to give you a scolding, not immolate you. I don''t know what word means."


    "In this case," Grandpa Adrian says. "He''s referring to ''killing by fire''. And Trenton is right, just asking questions about what we''re discussing won''t get you into trouble unless you do it too much, and you''ll only be scolded if that happens. You can ask if you''re curious, Bo."


    Oh, that''s his name. I''ll probably forget it again in ten seconds.


    "Oh, um," Bo still looks nervous. "How does that work? Like, the company being able to pay? Or even afford to develop stuff?"


    "I invested money into supplying Xander and Greyson materials," Grandpa Adrian answers. "Some of the profits from their products will go into paying back the materials they use in their research, developments, experiments, and so on until that''s paid off, then those funds will go into purchasing the materials they use for said activities. For the costs of production, it depends on the product.


    "For the puzzle spheres," he continues. "I''m covering the initial costs, which will be paid back from their sales. Those sales will generate revenue for the company, which will allow it to cover the future costs on its own. For the hoverboards, the full cost is required up-front, and that covers its production costs."


    I also receive some of the profits for the products sold. For the hoverboards, they''re being sold at $200,000 apiece, but cost about $150,000 to produce, according to Grandpa Adrian. That''s around $50,000 in profit, and I receive an amount equal to either forty percent of the profits or ten percent of the sale price, whichever is higher. In this case, they''re the same. So if it''s equal to exactly $50,000 in profits, I receive $20,000.


    Except for the ones that are custom-built. Those have an extra $50,000 fee if I custom-build them, but only if I actually do. Grandpa Adrian was extremely clear that I can turn down any request for a custom build. The fee itself is meant as a deterrent, to decrease the amount of people asking for me to build them myself.


    It goes entirely to me.


    It was also made extremely clear to me that I shouldn''t tell people how much I earn, or what the profit margins are. Telling Luke is probably fine since he is extremely rich, considering the $500,000 he spent on the hoverboards for himself and Parker was his own money and not his parents'', but I''m not going to ask Grandpa Adrian if it is or not. Luke and I aren''t friends.


    "And four hoverboards have already been sold," Grandpa Adrian says. "So the company has already made some income, and that''s what''s allowing it to pay for the beta test."


    "We would''ve had to wait until next weekend, otherwise," I add. "But I told Grandpa Adrian that I was making these to play with my friends, so some of you would get to play even if the beta test wasn''t allowed."


    Some of the boys – including my friends – giggle a little at that. I don''t really understand why. They giggle a lot.


    The AR stuff isn''t being developed to be sold, that''s just something that''s going to happen. I''m designing them for playing games with my friends, so when it comes to playing things with my friends, whether or not there''s been a beta test doesn''t matter.


    "Yes," Grandpa Adrian looks at me for a moment before looking back at the others. "But as this was an official beta test, you''re all being paid for it. And I am going to emphasize here that this is a payment from the company to you as beta testers. Xander himself has no part in the pay."


    "I didn''t even know it was gonna happen until this discussion."


    That makes a few of the boys snort.


    "That''s a lot of money for a beta test," Sam''s looking at his check.


    How much were they all paid? I doubt it''s anywhere close to being the $500,000 I was paid for helping Luke with something, but it''s probably more than I paid the guards for helping test the guns. Maybe it was $25 an hour?


    "Five hours of time," Grandpa Adrian says. "Testing both hardware and a game, and having traveled to another location. While I know you were all simply asked while already out here, the majority of you would have had to travel here if this had been planned in advance, and you still had to travel some. This covers both your pay, fuel for the vehicles, and for food expenses, even if we did supply lunch and snacks."


    Very delicious lunch and snacks, so I think they had magic in them.


    "There''s also enough extra in there for a room at a decent hotel for a night since ten in the morning can be an early trip to make out this way," Grandpa Adrian adds. "And you''ll be paid at the same rate, with the same extra considerations, for next Saturday''s test, should you choose to participate. Do remember that it begins at ten, so you''ll need to be here and ready to go before then.


    "That is all," Grandpa Adrian says. "Thank you all for participating, and have a good day."


    Grandpa Adrian takes a few steps back and Luke looks at one of the other men who''d come today.


    "Hey, General!" Luke says. "Surprised to see you here! Are there demons nearby? Want me to take them on?" Sparks flash across his body as he begins to glow in a yellowish-white light. Whoa. That looks so neat. The small crackle sounds from the lightning magic isn''t, though. "I can take ''em out in half a second flat! Though taking out that entire demon base wasn''t intentional."


    "You were showing off a bit too much," the man – a general, I guess – chuckles. "And no, I and some others came out to watch the demonstration and beta test."


    "Really?" Luke asks. "How come?"


    "Augmented reality with zero delay or rendering issues can be useful for training soldiers," the general answers. "We wanted to see its capabilities," he looks at me. "Xander, you said that the AR doesn''t allow for interacting with things like real-world magic. Would it be possible to design it to do so?"


    "I didn''t say it can''t," I say. "The game itself doesn''t as that could give an even more unfair advantage to powerful mages than just how strong and faster their bodies are. Like, Luke could wipe out all of the zombies on his own using his lightning magics if I allowed that."


    "So it already can?" The general asks. "The glasses themselves, I mean."


    This is probably supposed to be an extra demonstration that''s not part of the one for Dream Best Entertainment, and that''s why Grandpa Adrian stayed over here even though he said ''that is all''. That was all for that discussion and that part of the demonstrations.


    "Yeah," I nod. "Um… hold on."


    All of the AR stuff has already been put away, so I pull some of it back out, including my own glasses and a pair that hasn''t been used yet. After setting things up, I hand the general the second pair of glasses and swap mine on.


    "I''ve put in a game card for a target-shooting game," I tell him. "It just makes targets appear in your vision, and you can use real magic and attacks to hit them. I''ve also set it up so there''s a set zone, and here''s a bigger monitor so we can display it, and… there we go. Okay. There''s the zone there. You can try it if you want. Oh, and the points don''t do anything. I couldn''t figure out what to do and this was mostly so I knew how to not include real magic and attacks for the game. Also because Greyson wanted to be able to use magic while playing with it. So I didn''t really put in effort to figuring out what to do with the points. Also, I chose that spot for targets because the only thing you''re at risk of damaging unless you miss really badly or send the spells really far is the ground."


    The general gives the program a try for a minute, then removes the glasses and hands them to me.


    "It''s very impressive," he tells me. "Would it be possible to have the targets tracked to objects, such as golems? Some of the training we put magic special forces members through involves them combating golems designed to have similarities to monsters."


    "Yeah," I nod. "You can even use them to make the golems look like the monsters through the view, and, um… you can also remove the labels that make things clear it''s fake. If-if you want."


    I don''t want to do that, though, so I won''t. But I knew it''d upset Greyson to have those so I added in the feature for him. Not that his glasses are ready yet, but I wanted that part to be there for him just in case he started playing with them early.


    "Okay," he says. "Once the design and hardware has been finalized a little more, we''ll be in contact with the company to discuss ordering them for use in training."Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    "I don''t know how to respond to that," I tell him. "So this is me acknowledging your statement."


    Trey told me I should at least acknowledge that someone said something if I don''t know how to respond during this. Since I don''t know how to respond, I''m making sure he knows I heard him.


    The general walks off to talk with Grandpa Adrian a bit, then Carter''s older brother – the one who took him, S.G., and Tate here – claps and calls for everyone''s attention.


    "Hey, guys!" He says. "Dad is preparing a big barbecue back at the ranch for y''all! If you want to come and you''ve got swim trunks, bring ''em – we''ll be doing it at a lake! If you want to ride a horse out to it, you can do that for free as well, though we''ll also be providing alternative transportation for those who don''t want to ride a horse! That''s starting at the ranch, though I can fit a few more boys in the bed of the truck!"


    A barbecue at a lake sounds good to me, but I''m definitely not interested in going swimming. As the other boys talk with themselves and their parents or current chaperones, Carter hurries over to me. He and several other boys took off their shirts when they started roughhousing after the streams ended, and he''s now a little bit too close to me for someone who''s not wearing a shirt. Him being cute doesn''t mean I want him this close to me even normally.


    How do I ask him to step back without making him made at S.G. for introducing us?


    "You don''t have to go swimming if you don''t want to," he quietly tells me. "S.G.''s told us that you''re not comfortable going shirtless in a large group of people, especially if there are strangers among them. If you want to come for the barbecue and that''s it, you can. No one has to swim if they don''t want to, it''s just something extra we''re doing."


    There''d still be a lot of shirtless guys there, though. But if they all go into the water and I stay out of it, that should be fine. I think. There will be distance between us.


    "Okay," I nod. "I''ll ask Trey. A barbecue sounds good."


    <hr>


    [Sig – 13 years]


    "Hey, S.G.?" Collin asks as he drives us to the ranch, Bo in the bed of the truck with us for this journey instead of with his parents.


    My friends'' dads still aren''t quite that comfortable with my mind mage sort-of friends, so Connor, Sam, and Isaac are being taken out to the ranch by the dads. Safety in numbers and all that. Sadly, Xander didn''t want to join us, either, but I think he''s going to be sleeping on the way there.


    "Yeah?" I ask.


    Even with the speed we''re traveling, we can hear each other just fine thanks to some magic on the truck itself. I''m not sure how it works, but it ensures those in the cab and those in the bed can talk without issue. I think he''s even got something which lets him observe the bed of the truck.


    "You''d mentioned last night that it was a shame your friends couldn''t be there," he says. "And when we talked, you''d mentioned Xander probably wouldn''t join in since he''s not too familiar with us and is really self-conscious about his body."


    That was a way better choice than saying he''s Autistic or that he has PTSD.


    "Yeah," I nod.


    "I noticed some of his mannerisms before, throughout, and after the demonstration," Collin tells me. "Do you know if he''s Autistic?"


    He figured that out? How? Is it that obvious to older folks? I mean, he''s only four years older than me, but that can be enough of a difference for him to notice things better. Though I think he mentioned he''s taking psychology in high school, so he probably learned stuff from that that''s helped him to figure it out.


    But shoot. I shouldn''t just reveal it. What do I say?


    "Your panicked expression tells me enough," Collin says. "I wanted to know if there are any considerations we should make at the barbecue.


    "Considerations?"


    "Accommodations," he clarifies. "For his disability. This is just supposed to be a fun dinner and hangout time for everyone, and reasonable accommodations for someone''s disability are reasonable."


    That''s a fair point. I don''t think any big accommodations are really needed for Xander, though. We hang out with him and the only thing we really do is not be too noisy or roughhouse with him, but that''s not even just because of him being Autistic. That''s just good manners all around, minding one''s volume around others and not roughhousing with people who don''t like it.


    "Um…" I try to think. "I dunno? He''s just a goofy guy with a few quirks and some stuff that makes him nervous. I don''t really understand Autism."


    "The shirtless thing probably comes from it," he says. "What are some of the things that make him nervous?"


    "Being shirtless around strangers," I say. "Or in public. He''ll probably always be on Shirts in a Shirts-versus-Skins game. And if people he''s not too familiar with get too close, he gets nervous and sometimes jump and flinches and stuff. Or if there are too many shirtless people around. That''s why it''s surprising that he''s coming, but I guess he''s tired enough he was just thinking about food."


    "So that''s why he flinched when I came over?" Carter asks. "It was ''cause I got too close?"


    "Probably," I say. "I didn''t see you do that, but I guess if he flinched, you probably got too close or came up too fast. Oh! And he prefers sitting at the end of a table. He gets really stressed if he can''t. Not, like, on the end, but at the end, so that there''s an open space to his side. If the table''s round, then as long as he''s between two people he''s comfortable with, he''s possibly fine, especially if his backpack is between him and one of them. But I think he''ll still get nervous if there are a ton of people around. And absolutely no touching. He''ll just freak out."


    "Yeah," Carter nods. "He did that on Sunday, when he caught me when I started to fall. Was freaking out over touching me even though I said it was cool. That was really weird."


    "Yeah," I nod. "He can be weird about stuff like that. Oh! And he doesn''t like loud noises or lots of noises, but I think he''s got headphones and earplugs for that, so he''ll probably be wearing them at some point."


    "Okay," Collin says. "Anything else that makes him nervous?"


    "Um…" I try to think. "Maybe? But I can''t thinking of anything, just that if we get too close or surprise him or if he can''t sit at the end or if there are too many people or too many noises or he gets touched… oh, but he can be touched if he''s comfortable with you, and is in the right mood, and depending on what it is. Like fist-bumps."


    "Okay," Collin says. "What about quirks?"


    "Quirks?" I ask. "Hm… like, what kind of quirks? ''Cause I''ve heard people say he talks a bit odd but I haven''t noticed it. I have noticed a lot of other things, though. Like how he treats Trenton as if the bear can actually talk, you probably noticed that earlier. And he sometimes looks off into space as if there''s something there only he can see. Not like he''s zoning out, but like there''s actually something there that he''s looking at."


    "I meant related to gatherings and groups of people," Collin says. "How does he act? Anything that''s not ''normal'' to you but is to him?"


    "I dunno," I shrug. "I mean, it gets weird sometimes."


    "Weird how?" Tate asks.


    "Like, we''ll ask him what he wants to play," I say. "And he doesn''t really answer that well. He always tries to let us pick and if he doesn''t want to do it, he''ll say he''s fine sitting out. But it''s like, we''re asking him because we want to play something everyone wants to play. And it''s like, we can tell he wants to play with us."


    "That is weird," Tate says. "He wants to play but won''t make a suggestion?"


    "Hm…" Collin seems to be thinking about something. "When he sits out, does he seem fine with it?"


    "Yeah," I answer. "Like, we can tell he wants to play, but he seems fine sitting out sometimes."


    "Y''all make an effort to include him and he seems fine with not participating sometimes," he says. "Ever thought that means he might be fine just getting to hang out? Dad would say to try not to push participation on him. Make the offers as y''all do but don''t press if he declines. Make sure to include something he enjoys every time so he knows y''all want to hang out, and I think he''ll be fine with that."


    "That he''s just… okay being there?" I ask, then lean back a little. "Huh."


    I hadn''t considered that, and I doubt the others did. Thinking about it, that actually makes a bit of sense. Xander''s always insistent on us not playing something he wants to play if there''s something else we all want to but he doesn''t, but he gets happy when we do play something with him. And if we play something that he doesn''t want to play, then something that he does, he seems pretty happy.


    It''s not as if we''re picking stuff just for him. In the usual group, it''s a decision based on what everyone wants. We all like playing with the hacky sack, flying disc, and cards. Xander enjoys participating in races as long as it''s not for actual competitive reasons, just like us. That makes it easy to pick something we all want to play. He''ll even join us for flag football if he''s in the right mood.


    So he likes being around us as long as he can participate at least some of the time, and really doesn''t mind sitting out for some games. It always makes me feel so bad when he doesn''t participate because it feels like we''re excluding him even when he''s the one who declined. That we should change games because he doesn''t want to participate.


    But he does always participate in the next one with the same enthusiasm as always. I guess he really doesn''t mind letting us have a game he''s not a part of from time to time.


    "Anything else?" Collin asks. "Quirks which might affect the gathering? Things we can do to make sure he''s comfortable?"


    "Um…" I try to think. "So we haven''t really been hanging out that much. But something we noticed is that likes to help."


    "Help?" Collin asks.


    "Yeah," I nod. "Like, helping put the dishes out, or clean up, or mix the lemonade. A couple of weeks ago, my aunt moved into a new home and we all spent the night there and were going to help her clean up the yard in the morning. We all woke up, and Xander had already begun helping her a bit. So he''ll probably ask your parents about helping put out the plates and cups or whatever. And if someone asks for volunteers to help with something, he''ll probably raise his hand pretty fast. That''s another weird quirk of his. It''s like, we''re all there to hang out, and he''s just like ''so what can I do to help?'' I don''t understand it."


    "That is weird," Bo says.


    "Right?" I ask. "It''s super weird! But he''s still a cool dude and we all love hanging out with him. Oh!" I just remembered another thing. "And if he takes his eyes off his drink for too long when there''s a group around, he''ll stop drinking from it. I don''t know why. He''ll probably carry it with him everywhere until that point. If you see his cup sitting somewhere away from him, that means he''s abandoned it and is drinking from something he has in his backpack. Probably water or lemonade, but potentially milk or orange juice.


    "Mr. Richardson accidentally knocked his cup over on Saturday," I continue. "Xander was trying to blame himself for it even though it wasn''t, and it was after the point where he''d stopped drinking from it. He tried to refuse the offer to replace it, but Mr. Richardson was insistent that it was fine and got a new cup for him. Xander was hesitant to drink from it at first, but then started drinking from it fine. It was really strange. But like I said, he''s a cool dude and we love hanging out with him. We''ve all got our quirks!"


    That gets Collin thinking for a bit. Should I mention that Xander had seemed super stressed and like he was going to cry over the spilled drink? Probably not, they''d probably just think he''s dumb and acting like a little kid.


    "Any other weird quirks?" Bo asks. "He did seem a bit strange."


    "Strange, but awesome!" I say. "He tends to be really literal about a lot of things, which Mr. Richardson said probably comes from his Autism. Oh! Also, do not try to steal food from his plate. We sometimes grab stuff off of each other''s plates, but Xander refuses to touch his plate again if you take something off of it, and he won''t get more."


    We learned that the hard way on Saturday. That really is something we just do all the time, stealing each other''s fries or grapes of chips or whatever. It''s all in good fun and I guess we didn''t think Xander would have an issue while we were doing it. He''s just one of us, and Sam hadn''t even thought we needed to not treat him exactly like us with that.


    I was sure Xander was going to cry, too, and no amount of apologizing helped. The dads sent us off to play some more, and when we finally came back to see if Xander was fine, he was quieter and calmer, but I just thought he was tired. They did tell us that they managed to get him to eat more, but it was definitely from a different plate since we could see the one we''d taken from in the trash, along with the half-eaten burger.


    "And if you see him eating food from little containers, do not mention it. The dads all told us to never mention it if we see Xander doing that, that we need to pretend like we didn''t notice. They said that Xander feels food insecure, and the small containers of snacks he keeps on him is his dad''s way of trying to help him overcome that."


    "S.G.?" Collin asks.


    "Yeah?"


    "Think maybe that''s why he doesn''t eat from his plate anymore if someone takes from it?" Collin asks. "If he feels food insecure, it means he doesn''t know if he''ll have food, or if he''ll be able to have food. If someone''s taking from his plate, he may be feeling like he''s not allowed to eat from it anymore. That he has to give it up to someone else."


    Oh.


    Oh crap. I hadn''t thought about that at all. And I know a lot more about him than they do, too. He probably thinks it''s being taken away, and he probably thinks that if he stops eating, he''s not allowed more.


    Crap, crap, crap, crap! We really messed up!


    I gotta talk with the dads and figure out how we can fix it. I know it''s been a week, but it''s probably still on Xander''s mind.


    <hr>


    [Xander – 12 years]


    "Xander," the lemon-blueberry cookie says. "Xaaaaander… Xander. We''re at the ranch. Xaaaander."


    The cookie needs to do what all good cookies do and enter my stomach.


    "Ouch!" It exclaims. "Xander! Biting! Biting! Xander!"


    That doesn''t taste like a cookie.


    "I''m not a cookie! I''m a human!" Why does the cookie sound like it''s laughing?


    You really look like a cookie to me.


    "What kind of cookie?"


    Lemon with blueberries.


    "I''m a human!" It''s definitely laughing.


    You certainly taste like one. It''s like when I bite my arm.


    "That''s because it was my arm, Xander, you''re dreaming!" It almost couldn''t talk from its laughter.


    Dreaming? Oh. It sounds like Russell.


    I open my eyes to find Russell smiling and giggling quietly as he examines his arm, where there''s a very clear bite mark.


    "Oh, my goodness!" I exclaim. "I''m so sorry! I didn''t meant to bite you, Russell! I was dreaming and there was a talking lemon-blueberry cookie and I thought I was just eating a dream cookie and I didn''t realize it was you and-"


    "I''m fine," he laughs a little. "You''ve got a really powerful bite."


    "I''m sorry!" I put a hand over the wound but don''t touch it. "Here! I learned this from Greyson! I''m really sorry and I know you probably hate me now but I really am-"


    "Xander, I don''t hate you and the pain is gone?" He pulls his arm away. "Hey! You healed it! Wait, you know healing magic?"


    "I saw Greyson use the spell before."


    "That''s pretty cool," he says. "Come on and get out of the truck, we''re at the ranch!"


    "But why aren''t you mad at me?" I ask. "I bit you!"


    "You were dreaming!" He grins at me. "It''s all cool! Come on! Let''s go!"


    How does me being dreaming make it okay for me to bite someone? I look at Trey, but he just gestures for me to get out of the truck.


    The entire way to the building, I keep expecting Russell to suddenly get mad at me for biting him, but he just… doesn''t? That''s so weird.


    "Alright!" Mr. Martins, Carter''s dad, says once we''re all in front of the main building. "Everyone who''s here from the beta test, raise your hand if you want to ride a horse down to the lake!"


    Carter, S.G., Tate, Bo, Connor, Luke, Parker, and Tyler all raise a hand from the boys, while a few of the parents do. Even though Sam and Isaac were going to come and hang out with S.G. and the other boys as well, they didn''t want to go riding. That was something I knew from the discussions of who wanted to do what.


    We were all assured that we wouldn''t have to go riding if we didn''t want to.


    "Okay!" Mr. Martins says. "We do have alternate transportation. To those of you wanting to ride a horse, you do need to change into pants and riding boots for the ride, for safety purposes. If you don''t have those, you won''t be able to."


    "I don''t! I don''t!" Carter waves a hand while jumping in the air.


    "Sure you don''t," his dad rolls his eyes. "Anyone else?"


    Carter''s not in trouble for lying?


    "Uh… I don''t have riding boots," Connor says. "I didn''t know we needed special boots for it."


    "It''s a safety thing," S.G. tells him. "It helps keep your feet in the stirrups, but also prevents them from getting stuck if you fall."


    "I got you a pair," Mr. Thompson tells him. "So you''ve got some; they''re in your backpack. They''re not properly broken in, but I was told that wouldn''t be a problem for riding?"


    "Shouldn''t just for this," Mr. Martins tells him. "Alright, for those of you who want to go riding, head on inside and get changed! Everyone else, we''ve got an alternative arranged. You can head toward the back with me. Yes, Xander?"


    I lower my hand.


    "Can I change, too?" I ask. "I put on this outfit for the demonstration."


    "Sure," he says. "Go on in with the others."


    I head inside and follow Carter and them to the changing room for boys. There are already some bags in here, though Bo, Connor, Luke, Parker, and Tyler brought bags with them. I''m going to guess the other ones are for Carter, S.G., and Tate. They spent the night here and there are three backpacks that were already in here.


    Well, and a duffel bag, for some reason, but I''m not sure whose that could be.


    "There are private changing stalls there," S.G. tells me while pointing.


    "Okay."


    I head into one of them and pull the curtain closed, then very quickly change into an outfit from my backpack. Since this is a ranch, I pull on a buttonup shirt in addition to jeans, and I also put on cowboy boots I made sure to break in already. No cowboy hat, because I''m not a cowboy, but the boots are because I think it''s probably a safety thing for walking around the ranch, too. The shirt is a little bit uncomfortable, but when I looked up what people on ranches wear online, it included this.


    At least I made sure to check the shirt''s texture before buying it. While it''s a little uncomfortable, it''s not enough that I can''t wear it for very long.


    "Lookin'' good, Xander!" Luke flashes me two thumbs-ups when I exit the changing stall. "Get yourself a cowboy hat and you''d look like you''d belong!"


    They''re all still changing. I wasn''t expecting that. And I have to go past them to leave here.


    "But I''m not a cowboy," I remind him.


    "Don''t need to be one to wear one!" Carter tells me. "Most folks ''round here wear one if they ain''t wearing a normal cap!In fact…"


    He turns and opens up the duffel bag, then pulls out a cowboy hat that matches the ones by his and S.G.''s clothes, but with a small alteration. Instead of being just black with a flame pattern around the band, it has a small green dragon breathing the fire that creates the band.


    "Mom was going to just make it like the normal ones for this ranch," Carter tells me. "But she saw the VOD of my stream where you breathed fire and decided to customize it a little. You like the color green, right?"


    "I do," I say. "Your mom made that? How much?"


    "No!" He laughs as he holds it out. "You''re not paying for it, it''s a gift."


    "A gift?" I look in his eyes to make sure I know if he''s being honest about this.


    "Yup!" He answers. "We aren''t really friends yet, but you do seem like a cool dude and I enjoyed hanging out with you on Sunday and again today and I want to be friends, at least, as much as two kids who live three hours away from each other can be friends. And Mom likes to make sure all of my friends have their own hats."


    "You want to be my friend?"


    "Of course!" He says. "Like I said, you seem pretty cool! And I liked doing the collab with you on Sunday, and today was pretty fun! We could do other collabs, too. Like just goofing around, or freerunning."


    "What''s freerunning?"


    "Uh… another time," Carter grins. "That''ll be a whole can o'' worms."


    "You put worms in cans?"


    Why would they do that? Maybe it''s to carry them to go fishing?


    "No," he snickers. "It''s just a phrase. But anyway the hat''s yours! On, and the dragon''s on the front, so you can tell which way to put it on with that, but there''s also a small design on the band inside, that shows which side is the back."


    "Hey, Xander?" Luke asks, now fully dressed in jeans, a maroon button-up, and cowboy boys. "Can I talk to you for a second?"


    "Sure?"


    That doesn''t sound good, and I follow Luke to the other side of the changing room, and he talks quietly when he speaks.


    "The reason you''re not riding," he says. "Is it because you don''t know how to ride a horse, or because of how high you''d be?"


    He knows, doesn''t he?


    "You know?"


    "Just a suspicion I had," he says. "But it''s the height thing, isn''t it?"


    "Yeah."


    "I usually come out to ride horses a few times a year," he tells me. "Let me tell you, the first time I did it, I was really scared because of the height, too."


    Luke was scared of something? I look in his eyes.


    "Really?"


    "Really," he says. "But once I was on the horse for a few minutes, I got comfortable and it was really fun. And unless you lean too much to the side, you won''t fall off. You''ve got some pretty good balance and these horses don''t spook that easily."


    "But-"


    "Hold on," he says. "I''m not saying you should ride them, Xander. I know it''s making you a bit scared. I''m just saying that I think you might enjoy it. It''s like with swimming. You get scared going in, but then start enjoying it after a few minutes, right?"


    "Yeah."


    "So think on that," he says, then looks at Carter for a moment before looking at me. "Also, both of your collab streams so far has been him doing stuff with your stuff. If you wanna stream with him doing something with his stuff, it could be him teaching you to ride a horse like you taught him hoverboarding. Not saying now of course, just something to think about for the future. Alright?"


    "A-alright."