I nodded a solid yes and thought about what concert I would choose if I could see anyone. Alanis Morissette had always been my go-to answer, but with Kael, I chose what I actually thought of first. It felt freeing, to be honest in this way. I liked how he brought me out of myself. I didn’t give him the answer I thought he wanted. I gave him the truth.

“Shawn Mendes,” I told him.

“Shawn Mendes? I never would have guessed.” He smirked.

“And you?” I asked.

“Me, well, I would probably say either Amy Winehouse, before she . . .” He paused. It was lovely, a mark of respect somehow. I smiled, urging him to continue. “Or Kings of Leon on their first tour. Back when they were virtually unknown.”

“I’m going to make a playlist of unknown bands before our next . . . hangout session, or whatever we’re calling this,” I said.

“Our next not-a-date,” he said. I think we were both relieved to hear the word “next.”

“Right,” I said, feeling both relieved and excited.

“So,” Kael said. “Here’s another question for you. If you could describe your brother, Austin, in one word, what would it be?”

“Hmm.” I tapped my nose, thinking of one word to describe my twin. “Well-intended?” I finally answered. But I was unsure. It wasn’t the word I was going for. Not exactly.

“That’s two words,” he said.

“Actually, it’s hyphenated, so that counts as one word.” He liked that. I could tell. “He has good intentions,” I continued. “He makes bad choices to go along with them.”

“I get that,” he said. And I really felt that he did.

“My turn,” I said. “What about you? What about your little sister?” His expression hardened almost to say I had crossed a line. Then, just as quickly, it went back to normal. After a moment he answered me: “Powerhouse.”

“Powerhouse?” I repeated. What a lovely way to be viewed by someone, especially by someone in your own family.

He nodded. “Yeah, she’s brilliant. And doesn’t let anything stop her. Her high school, it’s one of those fancy private schools where they focus intensively on one subject. Science is her thing. She tested high enough to get into the school back when she was nine, but my mom can’t drive and wouldn’t let her ride the city bus alone until she turned fourteen. Now she takes the bus on her own, across town, every morning, and every afternoon.”

“Wow” was all I could manage. Of course Kael’s sister was brilliant. It was impressive and ironic to compare this teenage prodigy riding a bus across town to get to her gifted school to my twenty-year-old dropout brother who managed to get himself in trouble even when he stayed home.

Kael turned the game back to me, and I continued with a basic question. “What do you like to do in your spare time?”