When I wake up, I wonder if last night was a dream. Until I look down at the foot of my bed and see a little black robot cat curled up at my feet, warming the blanket—a welcome comfort in the cold morning. I shiver, pulling the duvet cover up under my chin. I wonder why it’s so cold—and then I see that my window is open a tiny crack. I must have left it a bit open when I let Jinx in. A bad mistake in the dead of winter, so high up in the tower that the wind whips around and into my room, making the papers on my desk flutter. Finally braving the cold, I make a leap to the window and lean on it to shut it.

Jinx, what time is it?

>>Don’t ask me, I’m not some level one baku.

I groan, but since I don’t have access to Slick, I’m lost for an easy way to tell the time.

>>FINE. It’s 8:03 a.m.

“Oh, no!” Not only am I going to be late for school, but I’ve missed Mom. I quickly throw on my old St. Agnes uniform and run to the bathroom.

>>Don’t forget the duct tape!

“I won’t,” I say, with a shudder. The update. The change in Mom’s behavior. I can’t believe how close it came to being me too…

There’s a roll of tape in our kitchen drawers, so I grab it after brushing my teeth. I place a small square over the bottom of the leash, and it’s barely visible. Sometimes the simplest solutions are the neatest.

Back in my room, I pick my sweater up off the floor, holding it at arm’s length.

I’m afraid of Slick, I realize.

Jinx may not be a normal baku, but he’s never been as scary to me as Slick is now.

To my relief, the little beetle remains still as I unzip the pocket. He must be out of battery. But as I hold him, a series of lights brighten along the beetle’s shell.

>>I’m on very low power. Can I leash up to recharge and update?

I swallow, but guide him to the outlet, where I plug him in.

>>I charge 45 percent less efficiently via the outlet.

I understand. I plug him in anyway, and ask him to send a message to the Team Tobias group to meet me at my apartment building after school. I don’t know whether it will interfere with their training schedule, but they need to hear what I’ve learned from Jinx.

Tearing myself away from Jinx to go to school seems impossible, but he promises to be there when I return. I’m dreading my first few classes today, as I don’t share any with Zora, but I’ve sent her an urgent message telling her to meet me at lunch.