Zeke Bartholomew by Jason Pinter Page B

sound. The yellow light began to blink, and then it turned green. And once it turned green, the computer inside activated. It lit up in front of us. I couldn’t tell what was beaming brighter—me or the ComLet.
    â€œIt works!” Sparrow cried out.
    I smiled. “Of course it does. That’s what I do.” I had mentally given the ComLet about a fifty-fifty chance of actually working, but I didn’t tell Sparrow that.
    â€œThis is incredible, Zeke,” she said, toggling around with the newly fixed ComLet. “How did you learn how to do all this?”
    â€œI taught myself.”
    She looked up from the hardware.
    â€œSeriously?”
    â€œUm…yeah. I’ve always had a knack for gadgets and stuff. Always wanted to make my own things. But science and physics teachers never really teach you more than what will help you pass pop quizzes. I wanted to go beyond that. I wanted to be like Q.”
    â€œQ?”
    â€œYou know, from the James Bond movies. The guy who makes all the cool things, like grappling hooks that look like cocktail napkins and lasers built into rabbits’ feet.”
    â€œI must have missed those movies.”
    I laughed long and deep until my sides hurt. Then I stopped. “Wait…you’re serious?”
    â€œI never had time for movies. I was out actually saving the world.”
    â€œYeah. I see how that could eat into your free time.”
    Sparrow fiddled with her ComLet. “We need to go back to the surface. It doesn’t get good reception down here.”
    â€œAre you kidding me? Who manufactures your devices, a blind marmot? I could build a cell phone that gets five-bar reception down here in one day, and SNURP, with all its resources, can’t do it?”
    I could see Sparrow beginning to boil under the collar. No sense arguing. We’d need to get back to the surface anyway. Hopefully at that point we could get her ComSuckLet working and figure out how to stop Operation Songbird.
    â€œLet’s go,” she said, and we both turned back to leave the GeekDen.
    â€œOh, crap,” I said.
    Standing there in the doorway was Kyle.
    â€œHey, uh, Zeke,” he said. “Who the heck is she , and why did you let her in here?”

I’m Zeke’s cousin. Stephanie.”
    Sparrow responded without a moment’s hesitation. It led me to believe she’d been caught in predicaments like this before and had the lie well rehearsed. Sadly, I did not.
    â€œYour cousin?” Kyle asked, eyes narrowed. “I thought your aunt lived in North Dakota.”
    â€œShe does,” I stammered. “They’re visiting.”
    â€œAnd didn’t you tell me you couldn’t stand your cousin Dougie? Didn’t he smell like kitty litter or something?”
    â€œMixed with bacon,” I replied.
    â€œYeah. Bacon. I don’t remember you mentioning a girl cousin.”
    â€œWhat, do I need to explain my whole life to you? Who are you, my boss? Boss Kyle? Huh? What’s your problem anyway?”
    Penalty on Zeke: being way too defensive.
    â€œTake it easy,” Kyle said. He was nearly as tall as the GeekDen ceiling and practically had to hunch over so as not to scrape his head on the rocks. “Look, I don’t really care. But you weren’t in school today. I called your house; your dad is freaking out. He said you weren’t home last night. Cops are everywhere looking for you.”
    â€œCops?” Sparrow said, suddenly interested in the conversation.
    â€œYeah. I stopped by your place, Zeke. Cops have been talking to your dad all morning. He said you two had dinner, and that’s the last he remembers seeing you. Where’ve you been, dude? The whole town is freaking out like it’s under alien attack. It’s actually kinda exciting. Like our town won the Super Bowl or something.”
    I sank backward, finding a stool, and sighed. Cops everywhere. Looking for me. My dad a