All through physics class, Derrick kept his eyes on Bridget, as he always did. But he hadn’t spoken to her since two days after he’d taken Bob.

At least, not that Bridget knew of. In reality, it had been his fingers writing Bob’s emails in response to her latest additions to the database. First, Derrick had gone back through Bob’s outbox to see how he’d phrased them in the past. Most were brusque, a few chatty. As Bob, Derrick had replied to the first email of Bridget’s that he’d seen with a quick “Thanks!” After her second submission, he had risked a few sentences complimenting her on her thoroughness. And blushed at her smiling emoticon in reply.

Today, Bridget’s flame-red hair was tucked behind the pale shells of her ears. Ever since being caught by Mr. Manning, she had stopped surreptitiously listening to Swords and Shadows. While Derrick loved the stories, Bridget must practically inhabit them. Someday he hoped to introduce her to Cascadia. She would discover there were even better things than books. In Cascadia, you could be the hero of the story. And who didn’t want that?

Class broke for lunch. Derrick sat at the same table he shared with the other quiet kids, but now he always made sure to face the window. This way he could watch Bridget and Ajay as if they were on a giant muted TV. As the days had passed, Derrick’s jealousy had abated. The closest Ajay came to touching Bridget was when he handed her something to eat. Maybe he didn’t even like girls.

But it was clear he was falling for the world of Swords and Shadows. While Bridget read, Ajay turned his face toward her like a flower toward the sun, his expressions ranging from fear to sadness. If anything, Derrick told himself, that was what he was jealous of. Not Bridget’s attention, but being able to hear the books fresh. While the parts of Eyes of the Forest he’d read so far were amazing, it was still set in a world he already knew well.

After school ended, he drove home instead of to the cabin. This weekend, his mom would be in charge of Bob while Derrick was off in Cascadia.

Derrick had felt oddly empty lately, even though he was finally getting to read Eyes of the Forest. It must be the lack of LARP. Holidays messed up the whole schedule, plus they met less frequently during the winter months. The prospect of having to do battle in the middle of a downpour or sleep in an unheated cabin tended to cut down on the number of participants.