“I never agreed to that.”

“But Eli!” Eden said.

So Ilanka did know his name!

“Just give me one more day to figure out what it is, okay?”

Eden and the annoyed guy shared this ridiculously intense look. Were they really taking this whole thing seriously?

“Fine. Take it,” the guy said. “I’m working again tonight anyway.”

“Sure, take it,” Eden said.

Then Eli asked for her number and rattled off a list of rules, each more ridiculous than the last. Because seriously. What could possibly happen if you got it wet?

Eli said, “Marwan tried to get rid of it, and it fried his phone, so no funny business.”

What?

She nodded that she understood, then he turned to go as Eden looked at the other guy—Marwan—and said, “Hey, how’s your father doing?”

What were they even talking about?

They wandered off, and Ilanka unzipped her backpack and dropped the device in and zipped it shut.

“Svetlana!” she called out. “Wait up!”

Eli

ELI

Walking away felt all sorts of wrong, and Eli had to fight the urge to double back and go after Ilanka. But it had to be done, and he’d get it back soon enough. He was impressed Eden had figured out the reason for the countdown—Nobody leaves—and relieved that Ilanka agreed to play along.

He would not follow her around.

He would not check in with her if she didn’t check in with him.

He could just text Aizel, right?

But he wouldn’t.

He’d use the day to figure things out, do research. Because he felt … excited. The only other thing really happening in his life was that his grandfather was dying. Slowly. In a nursing home where everyone else was dying slowly, too. Three days ago, when Eli had gone to visit, his grandfather clearly didn’t know who he was but faked it. God, it was depressing.

Eli stopped at his locker, got his phone out, and sent Eliot to work—he’d had another good date because of course he had—then sent some other Sims out on various outings and quests, and then put his phone away.

If it had been Eliot in the music room yesterday afternoon, he’d have taken charge, walked out of that room with the device in his hands and Eden’s number—maybe even Ilanka’s. He would have said really nice and thoughtful things to Eden about what she must have been going through lately, with the whole thing with her dad and all. He would have reassured her that the device was nothing to be worried about, nothing he couldn’t handle. Marwan and Ilanka would have looked on with awe.

Eliot wasn’t real; Eli knew that. And Queens was no Willow Creek.